Work Item Layouts

Overview

The Work Item Layouts feature, located in Global Settings ⚙️, allows you to control which fields appear — and in which sections and order — when users create or open a work item. Defining clear layouts helps each team see the fields that matter for their process, while unused fields stay out of the way. Only global administrators can create and edit layouts. Changing a layout only changes where fields appear; existing work item data is not deleted.

1. The Work Item Layouts Dashboard

Navigate to Global Settings ⚙️ > WI Layouts. This screen lists every layout in your Zymmr instance.

• Search Bar: Allows you to quickly find a specific layout by name.
• Create Layout Button: The primary action to add a new layout.

The dashboard table displays the following information:

Column	Description
NAME	The layout name. Click the name to open the editor.
SCREEN	Where the layout is used: Detail view or Create modal.
WORK ITEM TYPE	The type this layout applies to, or All.
PROJECT	The project this layout applies to, or All.
DEFAULT	A Default badge for the built-in system layouts, or blank.
MODIFIED	The date the layout was last changed.
ACTIONS	Icons to Edit (pencil) or Delete (trash can) the layout. Delete is unavailable on default layouts.

System default layouts appear first in the list. There are two: System Default (Detail view) and System Default (Create) (Create modal). They apply to all types and all projects and cannot be deleted.

2. How to Create a New Layout

Create a layout when a work item type or project needs a different set of fields on the Detail view or the Create modal.

1. From the Work Item Layouts dashboard, click the Create Layout button in the top-right corner.
2. The "Create Layout" modal window will appear.
3. Fill in the required information:

Field	Description
Layout Name *	Enter a clear and descriptive name (e.g., "Bug Detail View"). This field is required.
Work Item Type	Optionally limit the layout to one type. Leave this as all types to apply it more broadly.
Project	Optionally limit the layout to one project. Archived projects are omitted from the list.
Applies To *	Choose Detail view or Create modal. This defaults to Detail view

Click the Create button. You are taken to the editor for that screen. The new layout is copied from the current system default for that screen — the same sections and fields as the default, not an empty layout.

The name, work item type, project, and screen cannot be changed after you create the layout. To use a different scope, create another layout.

3. How to Configure a Layout

Once a layout is created, click edit action or its Name on the dashboard to open the editor. The editor you see depends on the screen you chose when creating the layout:

• Detail view: Two regions — Description region (main content) and Context region (sidebar) — plus an Available Fields list.
• Create modal: A single Form layout plus Available Fields. Project, Type, and Title always appear at the top of Create Work Item, regardless of the layout.

Use Add Section to create a named group of fields. Each section can be renamed, reordered, or removed. You can make a section collapsible (and collapsed by default). On the Detail view sidebar, you can also hide empty fields after a given field number.

Available Fields lists every field not yet placed on the layout. Custom fields are tagged so you can distinguish them from system fields.

To build the layout:

1. Drag fields from Available Fields into a section.
2. Drag fields between sections, or reorder them inside a section. In the Description region and Form layout, you can set a field to half or full width. Sidebar fields are always full width.
3. Drag sections to change their order.
4. Click Save to apply your changes.

Removing a field or a section returns those fields to Available Fields.

Required, hidden, and read-only behavior is not configured in the layout editor. Those rules come from the field itself and from Custom Field Context. A hidden context hides the field even if the layout placed it. Actual Start Date, Completion Date, Logged Time, and Remaining Time are always read-only.

Some system fields never appear in the Detail view picker because they live elsewhere on the screen (for example, the title bar chips and bottom tabs).

4. How Layouts Are Applied

Layouts are not attached through a separate scheme. Scope is chosen when you create the layout.

Zymmr picks one layout for the current type, project, and screen, in this order:

1. This Work Item Type + this Project
2. This Work Item Type + all projects
3. All types + this Project
4. The system default for that screen

A more specific layout always wins. Keep scopes unique so the intended layout is the one that applies. On Create Work Item, changing Project or Type reloads the matching create layout.

Saved field values do not change when you edit a layout. Users see the new arrangement the next time they open create or detail. For the user-facing description of create and detail, see Work Item Field Layouts.

5. Managing Existing Layouts

You can edit, delete, or restore layouts from the dashboard.

Editing a Layout

1. Find the layout you wish to modify in the list.
2. Click the layout Name or the Edit (pencil) icon in its row.
3. Add, remove, or reorder sections and fields.
4. Click Save to apply the changes.

Editing a Default layout is allowed. Use Restore to default if you need the original arrangement back. You cannot rename a layout or change its type, project, or screen; create a new layout with the scope you need.

Deleting a Layout

1. Find the layout you wish to delete. Delete is only available on non-default layouts.
2. Click the Delete (trash can) icon in its row.
3. A confirmation prompt will appear. Confirm the action to remove the layout.

Restoring a Default Layout

1. Open System Default (Detail view) or System Default (Create).
2. Click Restore to default.
3. A confirmation prompt will appear. Confirm to replace the current arrangement with the original system arrangement.

Best Practices

• Leave System Default as the fallback: Use type- or project-specific layouts for exceptions, rather than editing the defaults for every case.
• Keep create layouts lean: Only place fields that users need at creation time. Additional fields can live on the Detail view.
• Place custom fields where they belong: Add a custom field to a layout to control its position, and still configure visibility, required, and read-only on the Custom Fields context.

Before You Delete

Deleting a custom layout does not delete work item data. Users fall through to the next match in the priority list, usually the system default. System Default and System Default (Create) cannot be deleted.

Restore to default discards any edits you made to that default layout and cannot be undone.