> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.monolithforensics.com/monolith/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.monolithforensics.com/monolith/relay-request-portal/relay-overview/managing-relay-requests-in-monolith.md). # Managing Relay Requests in Monolith Review Relay requests as Inquiries, triage submitted information, update request status, and create or merge cases when your team is ready to begin work. Requests submitted through Relay appear in Monolith under **Case Management > Inquiries**. The Inquiries area provides a central intake queue for Relay requests, where your team can review submitted information and determine how the request should proceed. For many teams, the workflow is straightforward: review the request, then either **create a new Case** or **merge the Inquiry into an existing Case**. When additional review is needed, an Inquiry can remain in the intake workflow while your team updates its Status, waits for additional information or physical Evidence, communicates with the requestor, or determines whether the request should move forward. ### Review Inquiries Open **Case Management > Inquiries** to review requests submitted through Relay. The Inquiries table provides a central view of incoming and previously processed requests. Available information may include: * Request name * Inquiry Status * Inquiry date * Request type * Converted date * Client / requestor * Organization * Description * Evidence total * Other available request metadata Use filtering, sorting, and search to locate or review requests as your intake queue grows. ### Open an Inquiry Select an Inquiry to review the complete request. Depending on what the requestor submitted, the Inquiry may contain: * Requestor information * Organization information * Request details * Submitted date and time * Evidence Items * Evidence metadata * Uploaded files and documents * Contacts * Custom Inquiry fields * Custom Evidence fields Review the submitted information before deciding how the request should proceed. ### Decide How the Request Should Proceed After reviewing the Inquiry, determine the appropriate next step. If the request is ready for Casework, you can: * **Create a new Case** when the request represents new work * **Merge the Inquiry into an existing Case** when the request belongs to Casework that already exists in Monolith If additional information, physical Evidence, clarification, or internal review is needed, the Inquiry can remain in the intake workflow until your team is ready to proceed. Relay supports both approaches: a direct request-to-Case workflow and a more structured triage process when additional review is useful. ### Create a New Case When a request represents new Casework, select **Create Case** from the Inquiry. Because this workflow creates a new Case, Monolith can use information collected during the Inquiry to initialize the Case record. Depending on the request, selected options, and your configuration, information carried forward may include: * Case Name from the request * Case Type * Case Description * Client / requestor information * Selected Evidence Items and their supported metadata * Selected Contacts * Uploaded Documents * Mapped Inquiry Custom Field values Review the information that will be transferred before completing Case creation. After conversion, the Inquiry Status reflects that the request has been **Converted** into a Monolith Case. ### Merge Into an Existing Case If the Relay request belongs to a Case that already exists in Monolith, use **Merge Inquiry** instead of creating another Case. This is useful when additional requests relate to an existing investigation, matter, or other ongoing Casework. The Merge workflow is intentionally more limited than **Create Case**. Because the destination Case already exists, Monolith does not carry forward or overwrite Case-level metadata in the same way it does when creating a new Case. During the merge, users can select supported related records to carry forward, including: * Evidence Items and their supported metadata * Contacts * Uploaded Documents Monolith also links the Inquiry to the existing Case. Case-level information from the Inquiry does not automatically carry forward in the same way as Create Case. This includes information such as: * Inquiry / Case Description * Case Name * Case Type * Case Status * Case Lead * Assignments * Case-level Custom Field values {% hint style="warning" %} Review important Inquiry metadata before completing a merge. Information stored only at the Inquiry level may need to be manually added to the existing Case if it should remain part of the permanent Case record. {% endhint %} #### Review Inquiry Information Before Merging Before completing the merge, review the Inquiry for information that should remain directly visible in the existing Case. This may include: * Request narrative or Description * Important operational context * Inquiry Custom Field values * Supplemental instructions * Other information needed for reporting or future review Add this information to the appropriate **Case Description**, **Case Note**, **Case Custom Field**, **File**, or other Case record as part of your workflow. After the merge is completed, the Inquiry Status reflects that the request has been **Merged** into the existing Case. ### Triage When Additional Review Is Needed Not every request needs to become active Casework immediately. An Inquiry can remain in Monolith while your team determines whether the request is ready to proceed. This can be useful when: * Physical Evidence has not yet been delivered * Supporting documents are still needed * Additional clarification is required * The request needs internal approval * The request should be declined * The request belongs with an existing Case For organizations that use a more structured intake process, Inquiry Statuses and Relay communication provide additional tools for managing the request before creating or merging a Case. ### Update Inquiry Status Use the Inquiry Status menu to reflect the current state of the request. Available Statuses may include: * **New** * **Contacted** * **Accepted** * **Declined** * **Converted** * **Merged** * **Transferred** The current Inquiry Status is visible to the requestor in Relay, providing visibility into how their request is progressing. For example: * Use **New** for requests that have not yet been reviewed. * Use **Contacted** when additional communication or information is needed. * Use **Accepted** when the request has been approved for work. * Use **Declined** when the request cannot move forward in its current state. * **Converted** indicates that the Inquiry was used to create a new Monolith Case. * **Merged** indicates that the Inquiry was merged into an existing Case. {% hint style="info" %} An accepted request does not need to become a Case immediately. For workflows involving physical Evidence, your team may choose to accept the request and wait until the Evidence arrives before creating or merging the Case. {% endhint %} Teams do not need to use every Status or triage step for every request. If the submission is ready for Casework, the Inquiry can move directly into the Create Case or Merge Inquiry workflow. ### Communicate With the Requestor Request-specific messaging is handled in Relay rather than directly from the Monolith Inquiry page. A Monolith user who also has the appropriate Relay access can open the corresponding request in Relay and use the **Comments** section to communicate with the requestor. Relay comments support request-specific communication and @mentions. {% hint style="info" %} Monolith and Relay currently use separate user accounts. A Monolith user who needs to communicate with requestors through Relay should also have a Relay account with the appropriate permissions. {% endhint %} Relay comments remain in Relay and do not become Monolith Case Notes or comments. If the Monolith user does not have the required Relay access, the requestor's contact information can still be used to communicate through another method such as email or phone. ### Wait for Physical Evidence For some forensic workflows, especially law enforcement intake, the Relay request may be submitted before physical Evidence arrives at the lab. This allows the forensic team to review the request in advance and identify missing information before accepting custody of the Evidence. A workflow using this additional intake step may look like: ``` Relay Request Submitted ↓ Inquiry Reviewed ↓ Request Accepted ↓ Physical Evidence Delivered ↓ Create or Merge Case ↓ Chain of Custody / Intake ↓ Forensic Work Begins ``` This is one available workflow rather than a required Relay process. Requests that are already ready for Casework can move directly from review into Case creation or merge. ### Information That Can Carry Forward Information submitted through Relay can continue into Monolith when an Inquiry is used to create or merge a Case. The exact information carried forward depends on the type of information, the Create or Merge workflow, selected options, and your organization's configuration. #### Custom Field Mapping Custom Inquiry fields can be mapped to Custom Case fields. These mappings are most useful when creating a new Case from an Inquiry, allowing submitted request information to initialize the corresponding Case Custom Fields. When merging an Inquiry into an existing Case, review mapped Inquiry values before completing the merge. Merge does not carry forward Case-level metadata in the same way as Create Case, and important Inquiry values may need to be added manually to the existing Case. See [**Custom Field Options**](/monolith/using-monolith/settings/custom-fields.md) for setup instructions. #### Requestor and Client Information The person who submits the Relay request can carry forward as the **Client** associated with the resulting Monolith Case. This preserves the relationship between the requestor and the Case without requiring the forensic team to manually create the Client again during intake. See [**Clients**](/monolith/using-monolith/people/clients.md) for more information. #### Contacts Contacts submitted through Relay can also carry forward into Monolith. These may represent people such as: * Custodians * Suspects * Victims * Witnesses * Attorneys * Device owners * Account holders * Other people related to the request Contacts can be associated with specific Evidence Items during the Relay submission and can continue to be associated with Case records after conversion. See [**Contacts**](/monolith/using-monolith/people/contacts.md) for more information. #### Evidence Evidence Items submitted through Relay can be brought into the resulting Case. The submitted Evidence information may include details such as: * Evidence Type * Manufacturer or provider * Item name * Unique identifier * Size * Description * Custom Evidence fields * Associated Contacts * Other available metadata After the Evidence becomes part of the Monolith Case, your team can continue normal Evidence workflows such as intake, photography, Chain of Custody, storage, acquisition, and reporting. #### Uploaded Files Requestors can attach supporting files and documents to their Relay request. When the Inquiry is converted or merged, supported documents can be carried into the resulting Case. Examples may include: * Search authority * Warrants * Consent forms * Case documentation * Supporting reports * Other request-related files ### After the Inquiry Becomes a Case Once the Inquiry has been converted or merged, the forensic team continues working in Monolith using the normal Case workflow. This may include: * Evidence intake * Chain of Custody * Storage * Acquisitions * Analysis * Tasks * Notes * Files * Contacts * Quality Assurance * Reporting Relay remains useful after Case creation because the requestor can continue to review available Case and Evidence progress through the request portal. ### What Requestors Can See After Case Creation Once the Relay request is connected to a Monolith Case, the requestor may be able to review information such as: #### Case Information * Case Name * Case Number * Case Lead * Case Status * Case Progress * Case Open Date * Case Close Date * Last Activity Date #### Evidence Information * Evidence Number * Evidence Progress * Evidence Type * Manufacturer or service provider * Unique identifier * UUID * Size * Description * Evidence photos * Chain of Custody Available Chain of Custody information can also be downloaded from Relay. This visibility can reduce the need for manual status-update emails or phone calls during active Casework. ### Sharing Files Through Case Drives Files shared with a Relay requestor after Case creation are available through **Case Drives**. From the Monolith **Files** tab, a user can share an appropriate file with a Relay user. The requestor can then access the shared file from **Case Drives** in Relay. This can be useful for: * Reports * Deliverables * Exported data * Supporting documents * Other Case-related files Files originally attached to the Relay request remain part of the request and intake workflow, while Case Drives provide a way for the forensic team to share files back with the requestor. ### Best Practices * Review the complete Inquiry before creating or merging a Case. * Create a new Case when the request represents new Casework. * Merge requests into existing Cases when appropriate instead of creating duplicates. * Use Inquiry Statuses when additional intake or triage visibility is useful. * Request clarification before creating or merging a Case when important information is missing. * Wait for physical Evidence when your workflow requires custody or intake before active Casework begins. * Review which Evidence Items, Contacts, and Documents should carry forward during conversion or merge. * Configure Custom Inquiry field mapping when request information should remain part of the resulting Case. * Make sure Monolith users who need Relay messaging also have appropriate Relay access. * Use Case Drives when sharing deliverables or other files back with requestors. ### Related Documentation * [**Relay Overview**](/monolith/relay-request-portal/relay-overview.md) * [**Using Relay**](/monolith/relay-request-portal/relay-overview/using-relay.md) * [**Clients**](/monolith/using-monolith/people/clients.md) * [**Contacts**](/monolith/using-monolith/people/contacts.md) * [**Custom Field Options**](/monolith/relay-request-portal/relay-overview/relay-administration/custom-field-options.md) * [**Case Drives**](/monolith/relay-request-portal/relay-overview/using-relay.md#case-drives)