---
title: Parent records and task numbers
id: boards.tasks.parent-links
description: "Link a task to the order, contact, item, location or task it is about."
lastUpdated: 2026-10-24
order: 70
---

## What it does

Link a task to its parent record so anyone on the task can open the thing it is about. Parent Record on the task form, and on New task on a board, takes the link.

- The picker searches orders, contacts, items, variants, locations and other tasks, and groups what it finds by kind. It groups an order as a quote, a sales order or a purchase order by its number.
- Picking a variant links the task to its item.
- The parent picker finds a task by its Task Reference, its T-number or its title.
- The task page shows the parent as a link with its icon, and it opens in a new tab. The Parent column on the Tasks tab shows it too.
- A task has one parent record. Picking another replaces it.

The T-number is the task's number, and the first thing in the task header. Select it to copy it to the clipboard. Task Reference is a separate free-text field for a number of your own, such as a ticket in another system.

Good to know:

- The parent is a link. Moving the task leaves the order or contact behind it untouched.
- A parent record deleted since shows struck through on the task page, on its card and in the Parent column, and does not open.

## How to use it

1. Open a task and select Edit, or start a new one with Create Task.
2. Select the Parent Record field.
3. Search by name, number or label, and pick the record from the group it appears under.
4. Select Save, or Create on a new task.
5. On the task page, select the parent to open that record.
6. Select the T-number in the header to copy it, for pasting into a message or a board's search box.

## Related

- [Creating and editing a task](/docs/boards/tasks-create.md): Create a task with a title, due date, priority and board, and change any of it later.
- [Assignees, watchers and status](/docs/boards/tasks-assign-watch.md): Assign a task, follow it as a watcher, and move it from assigned to completed.
- [Columns and cards](/docs/boards/columns.md): Add, rename, sort and reorder a board's columns, and drag cards between them to change a task's status.

## Changes

- [Deleted records show struck through](/changelog/2026-10-23#2026-10-23-deleted-records-struck-through) - 2026-10-23
- [Help pages for every feature](/changelog/2026-09-30#2026-09-30-help-pages-for-every-feature) - 2026-09-30