Anatomy of a case

Cases put information at your fingertips while staying flexible enough to fit your workflow. This article breaks down the key components of a case and how they work together.

Case structure 

The case layout uses a visual hierarchy: high-level information sits at the top left, with more detailed content toward the bottom right. Scan the essentials first, then dive into specifics.

The topics of this article correspond to each section in the diagram below.

  1. Navigation path

  2. Controls

  3. Title, properties

  4. Table of contents

  5. Content

  6. Sidebar


When you open a case, you'll see where it lives in your team structure.

Cases live within a team or in a Team's case groups. The navigation path shows breadcrumbs to help you understand where the case is in the hierarchy.

Team > Case group > "Cases" > Case name & ID

The navigation path also displays a hint with a few key details about the case, specifically:

  • Case ID

  • How long ago the case was created

  • Who created the case

  • Number of user comments


Controls  

Next are controls for managing the case:

  • Number of case tasks remaining vs completed

  • Navigational arrows to advance to the previous or next case assigned to the current user

  • Notifications and configuration for subscriptions

  • Case status selection

  • Options & controls

    • Copy the direct link to the case

    • Subscribe/unsubscribe to the case

    • Export the case as a PDF

    • Delete the case

    • Hide/show the case sidebar

    • Toggle wrapping of code blocks

    • Collapse/expand all blocks


Title and properties 

This section shows case details and metadata:

  • Severity of the case (Critical, High, Medium, Low, Info)

  • Subscribers to be notified of case changes (users are subscribed by opting-in via the control options or from being mentioned in a comment)

  • Assignee(s)

  • Case title

  • Tags

  • Info icon—click to view timing and activity metadata

    • Timing metadata: Created at, updated at, resolved at, time lapsed since creation

    • User metadata: Created by, last comment from


Table of contents 

Navigate case contents using the table of contents. It showcases the case description and structure of case blocks.

Click to navigate to a section

Each entry is a header in the case description, a case block group, or a case block. Click any section to quickly scroll and display the description heading or case block.

Spotlight one or more sections

When hovering on a section in the table of contents, the spotlight icon will appear. Click this icon to hide all content except the target description header, case group, or case block.

Easily compare content between specific case sections by clicking more than one section's spotlight icon.

Reorder sections by dragging

Click and drag a case block to re-order it within the case structure. You can also drag the case block into and out of case groups. Headings and the description section cannot be moved - it is pinned to the top of the case table of contents.

Show and hide sections

Drag TOC sections down to the hidden area to hide it from displaying in the case content. Clicking a hidden case block will display it's content similar to spotlighting unhidden sections.


Description and content 

Build and view the core content of your case here.

Case content uses CommonMark formatting. When you type and format content, it's stored as markup. When you interact with APIs and stories, you can view and edit the raw markup.

The content area is broken up into two sections: Description and Case blocks. Every case has a description block. Case blocks are optional.

Description section 

The description is the beginning of the case content and is followed by case blocks. It supports a large volume of text and is searchable. You cannot re-order the description within the case structure or TOC.

Case blocks and groups 

Click each button in the toolbar at the bottom of the case to add content.

Load in workbench chat 

Click this button in the toolbar at the bottom to load the current case into a workbench chat.

Record section 

Create, add, view, and delete records that have been linked to the case. This section is pinned to the bottom of the case.

References & formatting 
  • Use the / shortcut to open the formatting menu. The formatting options support Headings, bullet lists, ordered lists, task lists, a code block, a quote, inserting an image via link, pasting an image, a table, or a callout.

  • Use the @ shortcut to open the reference menu. The reference options support mentioning stories, users, pages, other cases, as well as blocks within the current case. You can also include shortcuts to case primitives like fields and case actions.


Case sidebar 

The sidebar keeps essential tools and context within reach while you work. Customize it to fit your workflow by reordering sections and setting which ones are expanded or collapsed.

🪄Tip

Interacting with the sidebar 

Configuring the sidebar 

Sidebar customization is saved locally in your browser. Your section order and expand/collapse preferences persist across all cases, case groups, and teams.

The sidebar cannot be centrally managed.

💡Note

Resizing the sidebar 

Adjust the sidebar width by dragging the divider between the case content and sidebar. The sidebar can expand up to half your window width.

Hide and show the sidebar 

Use the case options menu in the top-right to hide or show the sidebar. Alternatively, use ⌘ +] or ctrl + ] as a keyboard shortcut.

Was this helpful?