Record Links relate any record to any other record, across any two datastores, without either needing a field added for the purpose.
An ordinary relationship field ties one datastore to one other, decided when the datastore is designed. Record links are not fixed like that: an order can link to a case, a case to a document, a document to an asset, all through the same mechanism.
What a link records
- The two records it joins.
- A link type describing the relationship — duplicate, caused by, converted from, related.
- When it was created and by whom.
Links work from both ends
A link is stored once but found from either record. You record a relationship once and both records know about it — there is no second entry to keep in step.
Where links come from
Most are created automatically. The Workflow Builder's Create and Convert nodes link the new record back to the one that produced it, so a converted record always knows where it came from.
Worked Examples
- Service desk: mark five cases as duplicates of one parent, and resolve them together.
- Sales: quotation converted to order, order linked to delivery, delivery linked to invoice.
- Facilities: a fault report linked to the asset and to the resulting work order.