Manage Work Items

A work item is the fundamental unit of work in SetGet. Every task your team needs to complete — a feature to build, a bug to fix, a document to write, or an experiment to run — is represented as a work item. Work items carry rich metadata, support collaboration through comments and activity tracking, and can be organized into cycles, modules, and views.

How to create a work item

SetGet offers multiple ways to create work items, depending on how much detail you want to provide upfront.

Quick add

The fastest way to create a work item:

1. Open any project and navigate to the work items list.
2. Click the + button at the bottom of the list, or press C on your keyboard.
3. Type a title and press Enter.

The work item is created with the default state (typically Backlog) and no other properties. You can add details later by clicking on it.

Creation modal

For a more complete setup:

1. Click Create Work Item in the project header, or press C and then click Open full modal.
2. Fill in the available fields:

Field	Description
Title	A concise description of what needs to be done
Description	Rich text content with formatting, images, and code blocks
State	Current workflow state (e.g., Backlog, In Progress, Done)
Priority	Urgency level: Urgent, High, Medium, Low, or None
Assignees	One or more responsible team members
Labels	Categorization tags defined at the project level
Due date	Target completion date
Start date	Expected start date
Estimate	Effort estimate (if the project has estimates configured)
Parent	A parent work item for hierarchical organization
Cycle	The sprint this work item belongs to
Module	The feature group this work item belongs to

3. Click Create Work Item to save, or Create & Add Another to save and immediately start creating the next one.

Create via URL

You can pre-fill work item fields using URL parameters. This is useful for creating links in external tools, emails, or automation workflows. See Create via URL for the full parameter reference.

View and browse work items

Layouts

SetGet provides five layout options for viewing work items. Switch layouts using the layout selector in the project header:

Layout	Best for	Description
List	Quick triage and scanning	Clean vertical list with inline property display
Kanban	Visualizing workflow	Columns grouped by state, priority, or any property
Spreadsheet	Bulk editing	Editable grid with sortable and resizable columns
Calendar	Date-driven work	Work items placed on a calendar by due date
Gantt	Timeline planning	Horizontal timeline with duration bars and dependencies

Each layout respects the same filters, grouping, and ordering settings. Changing the layout does not affect your data — only how it is displayed.

Peek view

Click on any work item to open it in a peek panel on the right side of the screen. The peek view shows the full detail — title, description, properties, comments, and activity — without leaving the current list.

To open a work item as a full page, click the expand icon in the peek panel or press Enter while the work item is selected.

Work item detail page

The full detail page provides the complete view of a work item:

• Header — title, identifier (e.g., WEB-42), state badge
• Description — rich text editor for detailed context
• Properties sidebar — all metadata in one glance
• Comments — threaded discussion with @mentions
• Activity — chronological log of every change
• Relations — linked work items (parent, child, blocking, related, duplicate)
• Attachments — uploaded files

Edit a work item

Inline editing

Many properties can be edited directly from the list or kanban view by clicking on the property value. For example:

• Click a state badge to change the state
• Click the priority icon to change priority
• Click the assignee avatar to add or change assignees
• Click the due date to set or modify dates

Detail editing

Open the work item (peek view or full page) to edit any property:

• Click the title to rename
• Click into the description to edit with the rich text editor
• Use the properties panel on the right to change state, priority, assignees, labels, estimates, dates, cycle, and module

All changes are saved automatically and appear in the activity feed.

Delete a work item

1. Open the work item or right-click it in the list.
2. Select Delete from the action menu.
3. Confirm the deletion.

WARNING

Deleting a work item is permanent. It removes the item, its comments, activity history, and attachments. Consider archiving instead if you want to keep the record.

Work item identifier

Every work item has a unique identifier composed of the project code and a sequential number — for example, WEB-1, WEB-2, API-15. This identifier is:

• Permanent — it never changes even if the work item is moved or renamed
• Searchable — you can find any work item by typing its ID
• Linkable — use it in comments, descriptions, or external tools to create references

Work item activity feed

Every change to a work item is recorded in the activity feed — state changes, priority updates, assignee modifications, comment additions, label changes, and more. Each entry shows:

• What changed — the property and its old/new value
• Who made the change — the team member
• When it happened — timestamp

The activity feed is read-only and cannot be edited or deleted, providing a reliable audit trail.

Organize with filters and views

Work items can be filtered by any combination of properties — state, priority, assignee, label, cycle, module, date range, and more. You can save filter combinations as views for quick access.

See Filters and Views for detailed guides.

Keyboard shortcuts for work items

Shortcut	Action
C	Create new work item
Enter	Open selected work item
Esc	Close peek view
↑ / ↓	Navigate between work items
Backspace	Delete selected work item

See Keyboard Shortcuts for the complete list.

Best practices

• Write clear titles — a good title answers "what needs to be done?" in one line
• Use descriptions for context — include acceptance criteria, reproduction steps, or design links
• Set priority early — it helps the team understand what to work on first
• Assign owners — every work item should have at least one assignee for accountability
• Use labels consistently — establish a labeling convention and stick to it
• Link related work — use relations to connect dependent or related work items
• Archive instead of delete — keep a historical record of completed work

Related pages

• Work Item Properties — Complete property reference
• Work Item Types — Configure item types
• Workflow States — Define your workflow
• Bulk Operations — Update multiple items at once
• Filters — Advanced filtering guide
• Views — Save and share filter perspectives