--- title: "Viewing and Editing an Asset" slug: "asset-form" tags: ["SysAid Spaces"] updated: 2026-08-03T10:55:11Z published: 2026-08-03T10:55:11Z canonical: "documentation.sysaid.com/asset-form" --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://documentation.sysaid.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Viewing and Editing an Asset The asset form holds everything SysAid knows about one asset, spread across sixteen tabs. Some of it is collected automatically, some you record yourself, and some is a view into another part of SysAid filtered to this asset. > [!NOTE] > Available for: > > Customers using SysAid Spaces. If you're using SysAid Classic, see [Asset Form Classic](https://documentation.sysaid.com/classic/docs/asset-form). ## Opening an asset Go to **Asset Manager** > **Asset Management** > **Asset List** and click any row. The heading shows the asset's **Name** followed by its **Asset id**. While the asset is open: - **OK** saves your changes and closes the asset. - **Apply** saves your changes and leaves the asset open. - **Cancel** discards your changes. - **Print** prints the tab you are on. - **Modify Layout** changes which fields appear on each tab, and in what order. For more information, see [Modifying Forms (Design Form)](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/customize-customize-forms). ## Permissions you need What you can see and change depends on your permissions. - **View Inventory** controls which assets you can open at all, and it can be limited to particular asset groups and their subgroups, so two people can open the same asset list and see different assets. - **Modify Inventory** controls whether you can change the assets you can see. Without it, the form is read-only. - **Purge Inventory** controls whether you can delete assets. Individual tabs need their own permissions, noted in the sections below. In the Full Edition, an Admin can also be limited to data associated with their own company, which affects what appears in the **Main Asset** and **Main CI** fields. > [!TIP] > Tip! > > To view the full list of Admin permissions, see [Managing Agent and Admin Permissions](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/managing-agent-permissions). ## What to expect on any asset Every asset shows all sixteen tabs, whatever its type and however it was discovered. What differs is how much each tab has to show. Several tabs depend on the SysAid Agent and are empty for assets without it: Hardware, Software, Patches, Availability, RC, Access list, Login history, and Monitoring. Which fields appear on a tab depends on how your account has customized the form for that asset type through **Modify Layout**, so the same field can sit on a different tab in your account than in someone else's, and a field can appear on more than one tab. For what each field means, see Asset Field Reference. As a rule, inventory that SysAid collects is read-only, and information you record about the asset is editable. ## Tab list Below is an explanation of each tab - what you can see and what it’s connected to. ### What's on each tab Some tabs hold the asset's own record. Others show what SysAid collected from the machine, or track its health over time. The rest are views into other parts of SysAid filtered to this asset, so those sections are short and point you to where the feature is documented in full. | What you're looking for | Tabs | | --- | --- | | The asset's own record: what identifies it, who owns it, where it is, and what you paid for it | Information, Maintenance | | What the SysAid Agent found on the machine | Hardware, Software, Login history | | Whether the asset is reachable and patched, and what has changed on it | Availability, Monitoring, Patches, Activity log, History, Login history | | What the asset connects to, and what you can do from here | Service desk, Related items, CMDB, RC, Access list, Embedded services | ### Information The tab you land on, and where you check who has the asset and update what you know about it. It holds the asset's identity, ownership, and current state, and on assets with the SysAid Agent it also summarizes collected inventory such as processor, memory, storage, and operating system. **Source** records how the asset first arrived in SysAid, whether by network scan, the SysAid Agent, an integration, an import, or by hand. It is worth knowing because it explains how much SysAid knows about an asset: a machine with the SysAid Agent reports full hardware and software inventory, while an asset added by hand holds only what someone typed in. What you can do here: - **Update now**, next to **Update time**, asks the asset for a fresh inventory reading rather than waiting for the next scheduled one. - **Retrieve agent logs**, next to **Get logs**, pulls the SysAid Agent's logs from the server without signing in to the machine. - **Browse** and **Clear**, next to **Users**, set who uses this asset. - **Exclude Asset from Asset Owner Calculation** stops SysAid assigning an owner automatically. See [Asset Types](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/asset-types) for how automatic owner assignment works. > [!NOTE] > Please note: > > - Users listed in the **Users** field can select this asset when they submit a service record from the Self-Service Portal. > - **Additional data** can hold information collected by another system, such as a third-party discovery tool, even when **Source** names only one origin. Data from different sources is collected at different times, so one part of an asset's record can be considerably older than another. > - This tab cannot be deleted. For SNMP devices, you can also write a value back to the device itself from this tab. See [SNMP OIDs Settings](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/snmp-oids-settings). ### Maintenance What you record about the asset commercially and physically: its serial numbers, when it was bought and for how much, its warranty and supplier, and where it sits. Come here to check whether an asset is still covered before you repair or replace it. Everything on this tab is entered by hand, so it looks the same whether the asset came from the SysAid Agent, a network scan, an integration, or you. Click **Add** next to **Attachments** to attach a file to the asset. > [!NOTE] > Please note: > > An asset can carry three serial numbers, and they are not interchangeable. **Serial** is collected automatically and cannot be edited. **Company serial** is your own internal number. **External serial** is a number assigned by someone else, such as a reseller. ### Service desk Every service record where this asset is the **Main Asset**. A useful first stop when you're working an incident, because it shows whether the same device has caused trouble before. The tab embeds the Service Desk list filtered to this asset, so it behaves like any other list in SysAid. See [Using SysAid Lists](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/using-sysaid-lists). Click **Create** to open a new service record already associated with this asset. Records appear here only when the asset is set as the **Main Asset**. Service records linked to the asset in other ways appear on the Related items tab instead. ### Hardware Detailed hardware inventory: processor, display, memory, storage devices, and network adapters. Useful when you need to know whether a machine can run something, or what specification you are replacing. Where the Information tab gives you one-line summaries, this is the detail behind them. Everything here is collected by the SysAid Agent and refreshed whenever it detects a change on the asset. Nothing on this tab is editable, and it is empty for assets without the Agent. See [SysAid Agent Deployment Guide](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/agent-deployment-guide). To request a fresh reading, use **Update now** on the Information tab. ### Software What is installed on the asset, in three parts. Between them, they answer whether a particular product is installed, which version is running, and when its support expires. - The top table lists the software products you have registered in SysAid that were found on this asset, with the vendor and support expiration date where you have recorded them. Click a product name to open it in [Software Products](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/software-products). - **Products** lists everything the SysAid Agent found on the asset, with version numbers. - **Operating System** shows the operating system's name, type, version, architecture, and related details. Everything here is collected by the SysAid Agent and refreshed whenever it detects a change. Nothing on this tab is editable, and it is empty for assets without the Agent. See [SysAid Agent Deployment Guide](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/agent-deployment-guide). Serial numbers are only available for a few products, so that column is usually empty. ### Patches The patch state of this one asset: what is installed, what is missing, what has been approved, and what has failed. Use the **View** drop-down to switch between **Missing Patches**, **Approved Patches**, **Failed Patches**, and **Installed Patches**. Click any patch to see its full details, including its vendor bulletin and a link to the vendor's article. **Patch management** at the top of the tab turns Patch Management on or off for this asset. **Last patch** and **Last scan** show when patching and scanning last ran. Patch Management requires the SysAid Agent, and turning it on or off requires the **Manage Patch Management** permission. See [Permissions you need](/docs/asset-form#permissions-you-need). You can export a selection of patches from this tab. Approving, denying, and deploying patches happens in [Patch Management List](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/patch-management-list) rather than on the asset. > [!NOTE] > Please note: > > - Patch Management is licensed separately by asset count, and enabling it on an asset consumes one of those licenses. Enabling it also extends the SysAid Agent with additional software: the Agent downloads about 50 MB, and extracting it uses about 500 MB of disk space temporarily and can push CPU usage high for a while. See [Guide to Patch Management](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/patch-management-guide). > - Patch data stays on the asset after you turn Patch Management off, so a disabled asset can still show results from when it was enabled. ### Activity log A chronological record of what has happened to this asset: inventory changes the SysAid Agent detected, and service records created or modified against it. The quickest way to see what changed on a machine shortly before it started misbehaving. **Log Type** tells you which kind of event each row is, and **User** shows who or what caused it. Inventory events have no user, because the SysAid Agent reports them. Click **More info** on any row to see the full detail, which for an inventory change names exactly what changed, such as a software version moving from one build to another. > [!NOTE] > Please note: > > **More info** opens in a separate browser window, so allow pop-ups from your SysAid address. To see what the asset's record said before someone edited it, rather than what happened to the asset, see [**History**](/lg/docs/asset-form#history). ### RC (Remote Control) Start a remote control session to this asset. Choose how to connect from **Method**, then click **Start**. - **SysAid Remote Control Gateway (RCG)** runs the session in your browser through SysAid's gateway. There is nothing to install and no ports to open on either side. SysAid includes one concurrent RCG session, so you may need to wait for a colleague to finish. - **Direct connection** connects your computer to the asset directly, with no session limit, but it requires the SysAid RC Tools installed on your own machine. Starting a session requires the **Remote Control** permission. See [Permissions you need](/docs/asset-form#permissions-you-need). Remote control also requires the SysAid Agent, configured to allow remote control. That setting is stored on the asset itself rather than on the server, and is applied when the Agent is deployed, so changing it means redeploying the Agent with a different configuration. See [Agent Settings Management](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/agent-settings-management). The tab shows whether the asset is currently online. Requests reach the asset the next time its Agent contacts the SysAid Server, which is every 30 seconds by default, so a session can take a moment to open. > [!NOTE] > Please note: > > If someone is signed in to the asset and confirmation is enabled, they have to approve the session before it starts, and they can decline it. See [SysAid Remote Control Guide](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/remote-control-guide) and [Remote Control Settings](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/remote-control-settings). ### Access list The users who can reach this computer remotely through My Desktop. Requires the SysAid Agent and the **Manage My Desktop** permission. For assets without the Agent, the tab is empty. See [Permissions you need](/docs/asset-form#permissions-you-need). See [My Desktop Guide](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/my-desktop-guide). ### CMDB An asset is represented in your CMDB by a configuration item, or CI. This tab shows which CI represents this asset, and how that CI connects to the rest of your CMDB. **CI attachment** shows the asset's CI. Click **Change** to point the asset at a different CI, or **Remove** to detach it. **CI relations** lists the CIs that affect this one and the CIs it affects, each with a distance. Distance 1 means a direct relationship, and a higher number means the connection runs through other CIs. The graph draws the same relationships, labeling each connection with its type and showing indirect relationships as separate hops. Use **CI graph relations direction** to choose which direction to draw, and **relation type filter** to narrow it to particular relationship types. When an asset is failing, this tab is where you check what else might be affected. Seeing this tab's contents requires the **View CMDB** permission, and changing the CI attachment requires **Modify CMDB**. See [Permissions you need](/docs/asset-form#permissions-you-need). > [!NOTE] > Please note: > > - The graph only draws the direction you select. If the direction you choose has no relationships, the graph shows the asset on its own even when relationships exist in the other direction. > - **Change** re-points the asset at a different CI along with all of that CI's relationships. The CI list opens in a separate browser window, so allow pop-ups from your SysAid address. ### History Every version of this asset's record, with the version number, when it changed, and what changed it. Use it to see what the record said before someone edited it. **Modifier** can be the SysAid Agent, a named user, or a manual change. Click a version number to open the asset as it looked at that point, then use the version drop-down at the top of the page to move between versions. Older versions may not display correctly if the asset form's layout has changed since they were recorded. To see what changed on the machine itself, rather than what changed in its record, see [Activity log](/lg/docs/asset-form#activity-log). ### Monitoring The monitoring configurations that apply to this asset. The same list as **Asset Manager** > **Monitoring**, filtered to this one asset. Click a configuration to open it, where you can set performance thresholds, port and service checks, notifications, and whether monitoring is enabled for the asset. Monitoring computers requires the SysAid Agent. See [Introduction to SysAid Monitoring](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/monitoring). > [!NOTE] > Please note: > > The monitoring configuration has its own **OK**, **Cancel**, and **Apply** buttons. Use those to save monitoring changes rather than the buttons at the bottom of the asset form. ### Login history Who has signed in to this asset and when, including sign-in and sign-out times, the session, and whether the sign-in was at the console or from elsewhere. Useful for working out who was using a machine when a problem occurred, or whether anyone is using it at all. Requires the SysAid Agent. For assets without it, the tab is empty. The tab embeds the Online Users history filtered to this asset, so it behaves like any other list in SysAid. Select rows to export them. For sign-in activity across all your assets, see [Online Users](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/online-users). ### Availability Whether the asset is reachable now, how much of the time it has been reachable, and every period it has spent offline. Availability tracking requires the SysAid Agent. An asset with the Agent contacts the SysAid Server at regular intervals, and an asset that misses three intervals in a row counts as offline until it next makes contact. The usual causes are the machine being powered off, the Agent being stopped or removed, and network problems. **Availability statistics per period** give uptime over the last 24 hours, 7 days, 30 days, 90 days, and a year, along with a figure covering everything since **Reporting since**. An asset that was dormant for a long stretch can therefore show high recent uptime and a much lower lifetime figure. Tracking is on automatically for assets of type Server and for any asset with "server" in its operating system name. For everything else, select **Enable tracking for this asset**. See [Asset Types](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/asset-types). To discard the history and start measuring again from now, click **Reset to now** next to **Reporting since**. > [!NOTE] > Please note: > > You cannot recover availability records once you have discarded them. For offline periods across all your assets rather than this one, see [Asset Availability](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/asset-availability). ### Related items Everything linked to this asset: service records, other assets, CIs, agreements, catalog items, and more. Where the Service desk tab shows only service records with this asset as their **Main Asset**, this tab shows every kind of link. Use **Linked Item Type** at the top of the tab to narrow the list to one kind of item. **Relationship** shows how each item is linked. To link something to this asset: 1. At the foot of the table, select a **Type**. 2. Select a **Relationship**. Choose **None** to link the item without a relationship type. 3. Click **Link**. Links work in both directions, so this asset also appears on the **Related items** tab of whatever you link it to. ### Embedded services Embedded services are optional SysAid services deployed onto an asset alongside the SysAid Agent. This tab lists any that are deployed on this asset, and is empty if none are. See [SysAid Remote Control Guide](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/remote-control-guide). ## Next steps - [Working with the Asset List](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/working-with-the-asset-list) - [Asset Field Reference](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/asset-field-reference) - [Guide to Patch Management](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/patch-management-guide) - [SysAid Remote Control Guide](https://documentation.sysaid.com/docs/remote-control-guide)