Creating Work Orders from Issues or Requests
Service Desk records the problem; the work order records the planned fix. When you create or attach a work order from an issue or request, the two records stay linked so the reported problem and the work done are visible from both sides. The link stays in place until you detach a work order.
What happens during the handoff
Creating a work order from an issue or request does not replace the original ticket. The ticket stays open in Service Desk while the work order becomes the scheduled job in Operations.
What carries over automatically: title, description, priority, location, due date, and the linked asset or location context. The creator is added as a follower on the work order.
What stays linked: the original issue or request appears in the work order details, and the work order appears in the issue or request details. Both records point to each other.
What you add on the work order: the work order type, checklist, scheduled date, and assignee. This is where you plan how the fix will happen.
Images copied from the ticket are badged Service desk in the work order gallery, so field photos and office reports are easy to tell apart.
Before you start
You need the Manager role in both Service Desk and Operations to create or attach work orders from issues or requests. To add or remove images in a work order gallery, you need the Manager or Admin role in Operations.
Create a new work order from an issue or request
Open the issue or request from Service Desk > Issues or Service Desk > Requests.
Click Create Work Order or Convert to Work Order.
Choose the work order type and any checklist if applicable.
Assign a team member or group.
Set the scheduled date if needed.
Click Create.
The new work order is created and linked to the original issue or request. The issue or request shows the linked work order in its details.
How the work order is named
When you create a work order from an issue or request, the work order name comes from the ticket in this order:
The issue or request title, if one is set.
If there is no title, the ticket description, with extra whitespace removed and the text limited to 50 characters. Longer descriptions end with ....
If both title and description are empty, a fallback name using the ticket reference: Work Order from REQ-42 for a request, or Work Order from ISS-7 for an issue.
Understand ticket reference numbers explains how REQ and ISS references are assigned.
Attach an existing work order
Open the issue or request from Service Desk > Issues or Service Desk > Requests.
Click Attach Work Order.
Select the existing work order you want to link.
Toggle Copy issue images to this work order or Copy request images to this work order if you want to import the images. This is on by default.
Click Attach.
Imported images are badged Service desk so they are easy to tell apart from images added directly to the work order. You can attach without copying images if you only have link access and do not have permission to update the source issue or request.
Detach a linked work order
Detaching removes the link between an issue or request and a work order. The work order itself is not deleted — it stays in Operations with its full record.
Open the issue or request from Service Desk > Issues or Service Desk > Requests.
In the Work Orders section, click the trash icon next to the work order you want to unlink.
Confirm the detach. The link is removed; the work order remains in the system.
You need the Manager or Admin role in Service Desk to detach a linked work order.
When Automatically update ticket status is on, detaching also re-evaluates the ticket against the remaining linked work orders. See Automation options below for the details.
What is copied and linked
Title, description, priority, location, and due date carry over from the issue or request to the new work order.
Source issue or source request appears in the work order details.
Linked work order appears in the issue or request details.
Images can be copied to the work order gallery and are badged Service desk. Images added directly to the work order gallery are separate.
Files (PDFs and other documents) on the work order live under Files, separate from Images.
Automation options
When you create or attach a work order, you can set automation rules that update the issue or request status as the work order moves:
Automatically move to In Progress: When any linked work order is started, the issue or request moves to In Progress if it is currently Open or On Hold.
Automatically update ticket status: When all linked work orders are closed, the issue or request updates to the Target Status you choose.
The completion check also runs when you detach a linked work order. If Automatically update ticket status is on and a target status is set, detaching re-evaluates the issue or request against the remaining linked work orders:
If every remaining linked work order is closed, the issue or request moves to the target status.
If the detached work order was the last linked work order, the status does not change.
For example, an issue linked to one closed and one open work order will move to the target status when you detach the open work order — only closed work orders remain. Detaching that final closed work order leaves no linked work orders, so the status stays where it is.
By default, these automations are off. When they are off, completing or detaching a work order does not change the issue or request status. A manager must still open the issue or request, select a resolution type, and mark it complete.
Manage images on a work order
Every work order has an Images gallery where you can upload, view, and remove photos. Gallery images are separate from images copied from a linked issue or request and from completion evidence photos.
Open the work order from Operations > Work Orders.
Go to the Images gallery.
Upload new photos, view existing images, or remove images you no longer need.
Members can add completion photos when resolving a work order, but they cannot add or remove gallery images directly.
Common questions
What if the issue or request has no location or asset? You can still create a work order. Add the location or asset when creating the work order, or the assignee can add it during execution.
Does completing the work order close the issue or request? By default, no. If you turned on Automatically update ticket status and chose a target status, the issue or request moves to that status when all linked work orders are closed. Detaching a linked work order can also trigger this: if every remaining linked work order is closed, the issue or request moves to the target status. If you detach the last linked work order, the status does not change. When the automation is off, a manager must open the issue or request, select a resolution type, and mark it complete.
Related guides
Work Orders explains the full work order lifecycle, statuses, and detail sections.
Complete a Work Order explains how to finish a linked work order, save progress during the checklist, and resolve it when the job is done.
Require and upload completion photos explains how admins can require photo evidence before an issue, request, or work order can be finished, and how users add those photos during the complete or resolve flow.
Understanding User Roles and Permissions explains the Operations and Service Desk roles and what each role can do.