> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.msportal.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Ticket description layout > Choose how answers from ticket templates are laid out in the PSA ticket description, and give long questions a short label for technicians. When someone submits a ticket template, MSPortal writes their answers into the ticket description in your PSA. The **Ticket description layout** card in **Settings > Tickets** controls how those answers look. A field's **Short label for tickets** in the template editor lets technicians read "Desk phone: No" instead of the full question. **Audience:** MSP staff who manage ticket settings and ticket templates. ## Before you start * You need the **write** or **manage** Tickets settings permission to change the layout or edit templates. With read access only, the card's controls are disabled and **Save layout** does not appear. * The layout applies to tickets created from a ticket template after you save it. Tickets that already exist keep their description. ## How the layout changes the description Until you change it, the description lists every question and its answer, separated by blank lines: ```text theme={null} What is the new employee's full name? Jordan Lee What is the new employee's job title? Office Manager Does the new employee need a desk phone? No Should the new employee be enrolled in Duo? Yes ``` With the structured layout and its starting choices, the same answers are grouped under the template's section titles, with short labels and bullets. In Autotask it reads: ```text theme={null} EMPLOYEE & ROLE - Name: Jordan Lee - Title: Office Manager PHONE & DUO - Desk phone: No - Duo: Yes ``` HaloPSA, ConnectWise and Syncro get the same grouping as formatted text, with bold labels and a bulleted list. See [How each PSA shows it](#how-each-psa-shows-it). ## Choose the layout **1. Open the card** Go to **Settings > Tickets**. On the **General** tab, scroll to **Ticket description layout**. **2. Turn on Use a structured layout** Off keeps the layout shown first above. Turn it on to show the other choices. **3. Group answers under section headings** On, each template section's title becomes a heading over that section's answers. Sections with no answers are left out. Off, answers follow one another with no headings. **4. Use short labels** On, fields that have a **Short label for tickets** show it instead of the full question. Fields without one keep the question. See [Add a short label to a field](#add-a-short-label-to-a-field). **5. Pick the styles** | Setting | Choices | | - | - | | **Heading style** | **CAPITALS** writes the title in capital letters. **Underlined** underlines the title (in Autotask, a line of dashes goes under it). **Plain** writes the title as it is. Available while section headings are on. | | **Answers** | **Bulleted** makes the answers a bulleted list (in Autotask, each answer starts with a dash). **One per line** puts each answer on its own line with no marker. | | **Spacing** | **Compact** keeps a section's answers on consecutive lines. **Blank line between answers** adds an empty line between them. Sections are always separated by a blank line. | **6. Check the preview** The **Preview** beside the settings updates as you change them. It uses sample answers from a new employee request and shows them the way the PSA selected in **PSA Integration** on the same tab displays the description. The hint under the preview names that PSA. **7. Select Save layout** **Save layout** is available once you change something. "Ticket description layout saved." confirms the save. Leaving the page without saving discards your changes. ## Add a short label to a field Template questions are written for the person asking for help, so they are often long. A short label gives the technician a compact name for the same answer. **1. Open the template** Go to **Settings > Tickets > Templates** and open the template, or select **New Template**. **2. Open the field** Under **Sections & Fields**, select the field to open its editor. **3. Enter the short label** Type a label in **Short label for tickets**, for example "Desk phone". It is optional and holds up to 255 characters. Label (display text) and Embedded Template fields do not have one. **4. Save the template** Select **Save Template**. The short label is kept only when you save. ![Template field editor with the question "Does the new employee need a desk phone?" and the short label "Desk phone" in Short label for tickets.](https://mintcdn.com/msportal/YUe_TPWr_CGAxrkh/images/product/ticket-description-layout-short-label.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=YUe_TPWr_CGAxrkh\&q=85\&s=eb5f97f48efb74de927c415464072c5d) A field with a short label, in a MSPortal Demo template editor. The form your users fill in still shows the full question. The short label appears only in the ticket description, and only while **Use a structured layout** and **Use short labels** are both on. ## Preview a template's description In the template editor, select **Preview** and enter sample answers. Under the form, **Ticket description** shows the description those answers would produce with your saved layout. Pickers such as **User** or **Device** show "(details of the selected record)" in place of the record's details. Preview does not create a ticket. The preview uses the saved layout. After you change the layout in **Settings > Tickets**, select **Save layout** before checking a template. ## What goes into the description * Answered questions, in template order. Blank questions are left out. * Questions hidden by a template's conditional logic are left out, even if they had an answer before they were hidden. * Label (display text), PSA Classification and Embedded Template fields do not add a line. Each embedded template creates its own ticket. * Acknowledged notices are listed at the end as "Acknowledged:" with the notice text. * A label that already ends with "?", "!" or ":" gets no extra colon. ## How each PSA shows it The layout you choose is the same for every PSA. How it looks depends on the PSA that receives your tickets: | PSA | How the description looks | | - | - | | **Autotask** | Plain text. Headings, underlines and bullets are built from ordinary characters: capital letters, a line of dashes under an underlined heading, and a dash before each answer. | | **HaloPSA** | Formatted text, with bold labels, underlined headings and a bulleted list. | | **Syncro** | Sent as formatted text, like HaloPSA. Whether Syncro shows the formatting depends on your Syncro account's rich text setting. | | **ConnectWise** | ConnectWise's own formatting of the same description. The preview shows it the way MSPortal displays ConnectWise ticket notes. | The settings preview and the template editor's **Ticket description** preview both follow the PSA selected in **PSA Integration**, so you can check the result before you save. With the structured layout off, every PSA gets the default layout. ## Troubleshooting | Symptom | What to check | | - | - | | The controls are disabled | Your role has read access to Tickets settings only. Ask someone with write or manage access. | | A ticket still shows full questions | **Use short labels** is off, or the field has no **Short label for tickets**, or the template was not saved after adding it. | | A ticket shows no headings | **Group answers under section headings** is off, or the layout was not saved. | | **Heading style** is greyed out | Turn on **Group answers under section headings** first. | | The template preview shows the original layout | Save the layout in **Settings > Tickets** first. The preview hint then says it uses the structured layout. | | An answer is missing from the ticket | The question was blank or hidden by conditional logic when the request was submitted. | ## Related guides > **[Ticket settings](https://docs.msportal.ai/user-guides/settings/tickets.md)** > > Delivery, defaults and the other cards on the General tab. > **[Create and preview a ticket template](https://docs.msportal.ai/user-guides/ticketing/create-and-preview-ticket-template.md)** > > Add sections and questions, then try the form in Preview. > **[How to create a ticket template](https://docs.msportal.ai/user-guides/ticketing/how-to-create-a-ticket-template.md)** > > Field types, conditional logic and embedded templates. > **[Show or require a field conditionally](https://docs.msportal.ai/user-guides/ticketing/how-to-create-a-ticket-template.md#show-or-require-a-field-conditionally)** > > Rules that hide questions, and their answers, from the ticket. 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