> 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/using-monolith/evidence-management/item-locations.md).

# Item Locations

Track where evidence and storage items are physically located and use locations throughout intake and chain of custody workflows.

Item Locations allows you to keep track of where you are physically storing items in your lab and keep that record associated with your evidence and storage items in Monolith. When you assign a location to an evidence or storage item, Monolith tracks where that item sits and updates it automatically as the item moves through the chain of custody process.

#### Offices and Item Locations

Item Locations are organized by **Office**.

Each Office can maintain its own user locations, Location Groups, and individual Locations to reflect how Evidence and Storage Items are handled at that facility.

If your organization has multiple Offices, use the Office selector at the top of **Item Locations** to switch between their location structures.

Creating an Office establishes the top-level facility, but the Office itself is not a selectable Chain of Custody destination.

For an Office to provide a usable destination, it must contain either:

* A Monolith user assigned to that Office through **Organization > Team Management**
* A configured **Group > Location** under **Evidence Management > Item Locations**

For example:

```
Kentucky Lab
└── Evidence Cage
    └── Locker B
```

`Locker B` can be selected during Evidence Intake or a Chain of Custody Move. `Kentucky Lab` or `Evidence Cage` by themselves are not the final destination.

See [**Offices**](/monolith/using-monolith/organization/offices.md) for information about creating and managing Offices in Monolith.

{% embed url="<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CRemJPhM1s>" %}

### View your item locations

1. In the left-hand navigation, open **Evidence Management.**
2. Click **Item Locations**.

This page shows the locations configured for the selected Office. If your organization has multiple Offices, use the Office selector at the top of the page to switch between their location structures.

<figure><img src="https://2683670198-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FCD1iskOdIm8E2TpCd9iZ%2Fuploads%2FnoUgRREVp74YdQt68DH4%2FScreenshot%202026-07-23%20at%205.03.51%E2%80%AFPM.png?alt=media&amp;token=19f7187a-764a-411d-94b1-c1908234b9d1" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

#### How locations are organized

Item Locations uses a simple hierarchy so you can recreate your physical storage structure in Monolith and maintain a clear picture of where Evidence and Storage Items are located.

The physical location hierarchy is:

```
Office
└── Group
    └── Location
```

* An **Office** represents the top-level facility or operating location.
* A **Group** organizes related physical Locations, such as an evidence room, evidence cage, locker area, or storage room.
* A **Location** is the final selectable physical destination, such as a shelf, bin, locker, or other place where an item can reside.
* In **Tiles** view, individual Locations are displayed as tiles within their Group.

For example:

```
Calgary
└── Evidence Room
    ├── Shelf A
    ├── Shelf B
    └── Shelf C
```

The hierarchy ends at the Location. Locations cannot contain additional nested Locations.

A Group by itself is not a selectable physical destination. Create at least one Location inside the Group before it can be used during Evidence Intake or a Chain of Custody Move.

<figure><img src="https://2683670198-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FCD1iskOdIm8E2TpCd9iZ%2Fuploads%2FUjZyhDu1lYsIYCPN4ESG%2FScreenshot%202026-07-23%20at%205.04.59%E2%80%AFPM.png?alt=media&#x26;token=f63022f8-416c-495c-b17e-4ccbee15fb35" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="info" %}
For details on creating and managing groups, see the Item [Location Groups](/monolith/using-monolith/evidence-management/item-locations/location-groups.md) documentation.
{% endhint %}

#### Switching views

You can view your item locations in two ways, using the view toggle near the top of the page:

* **Tiles** is the default view. It shows each group with its locations laid out as tiles, giving you a visual picture of your storage.
* **Grid** shows the same locations in a table, with columns for type, office, and the number of evidence and storage items in each. This is useful for scanning details across all of your locations at once.

<figure><img src="https://2683670198-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FCD1iskOdIm8E2TpCd9iZ%2Fuploads%2FZHiSm19PXpgPeG8BrmC8%2FScreenshot%202026-07-24%20at%2010.02.12%E2%80%AFAM.png?alt=media&amp;token=b56f1b35-4f7c-439b-961a-7f697434a5a3" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

**Team locations**

Alongside any custom Location Groups you create, each Office has a special user Group that Monolith creates automatically.

In a default Monolith configuration, this Group may be named **Users**. Your organization can rename it, for example to **Exam Table**.

Unlike a normal Location Group, users are not manually created inside this Group. It is populated automatically based on the Office assigned to each user under **Organization > Team Management**.

For example:

```
Calgary
└── Exam Table
    ├── Carlos Miller
    ├── Morty Johnson
    └── Matt Smith
```

A user inside this Group can be selected as a Chain of Custody destination in the same way as a configured physical Location.

When an Evidence or Storage Item is assigned to a user:

* **Current Location** displays the user's name.
* **Location Path** identifies the Office, user Group, and user.

For example:

```
Current Location:
Matt Smith

Location Path:
Kentucky Lab / Exam Table / Matt Smith
```

{% hint style="warning" %}
The special user Group is shared across Offices. Renaming it changes the name used for the corresponding user Group throughout the Office location structure rather than creating a separately named user Group for only one Office.
{% endhint %}

You cannot manually create users inside this Group using **Create Group** or **Create Location**. Use **Team Management** to control which users appear under each Office.

<figure><img src="https://2683670198-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FCD1iskOdIm8E2TpCd9iZ%2Fuploads%2Fr5wJjo6tIGVsT4XQLeNl%2FScreenshot%202026-07-24%20at%2010.06.05%E2%80%AFAM.png?alt=media&#x26;token=94a5a272-11a5-4c64-a595-889ebbecccfb" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

See [**Team Management**](/monolith/using-monolith/organization/team-management.md) for information about assigning users to Offices.

### See what is stored in a location

Click any tile to open it. Monolith shows a list of everything currently stored there, including both evidence items and storage items. Use the back navigation to return to the locations view.

<figure><img src="https://2683670198-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FCD1iskOdIm8E2TpCd9iZ%2Fuploads%2FlKxV8JMAwbcQoZeDiVJ0%2FScreenshot%202026-07-24%20at%208.48.08%E2%80%AFAM.png?alt=media&amp;token=acb53880-beae-47f2-b137-dc35ad2f9cf4" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### Assign a location to a new evidence item

You can assign a structured location as part of the intake process when creating an Evidence Item.

1. Open the **New Evidence Item** window.
2. In the **Intake Details** section, find **Received By**.
3. Search for and select either a Monolith user or a configured physical Location.
4. Complete the remaining intake details.
5. Save the item.

The **Received By** selector searches across the structured destinations available in Item Locations.

For example, you might search for:

* `Matt Danner` to assign the item to a user
* `Shelf A` to assign the item to a physical Location

Monolith displays the related Office and Group with the search result to help distinguish between destinations.

<figure><img src="https://2683670198-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FCD1iskOdIm8E2TpCd9iZ%2Fuploads%2FwihffspMcuLgGiLKPuon%2FScreenshot%202026-07-24%20at%208.53.08%E2%80%AFAM.png?alt=media&#x26;token=a39e9846-b277-4e26-bfc0-fd6e3e9124e3" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

{% hint style="info" %}
**Location Received** and **Received From** are different from the structured Item Location selected in **Received By**.

**Location Received** is free text used to describe where the item physically arrived, such as `Mail Room` or `Front Office`.

**Received From** is also free text and can identify a person, agency, shipment, tracking number, or other source.

The structured **Received By** selection establishes the item's location in Monolith.
{% endhint %}

For example, an intake record might contain:

```
Received By:
Matt Danner

Received From:
John Smith

Location Received:
Front Office
```

In this example, `Front Office` records where the item physically arrived, while `Shelf A` is the structured destination selected from Item Locations.

Once intake is complete, scroll down to the **Evidence Overview**. You will see the **Current Location** along with the full **Location Path**.

For example:

```
Current Location:
Shelf A

Location Path:
Austin / Evidence Locker / Shelf A
```

<figure><img src="https://2683670198-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FCD1iskOdIm8E2TpCd9iZ%2Fuploads%2FH37LtZYjEHrKzm5IvNJ7%2FScreenshot%202026-07-24%20at%209.17.37%E2%80%AFAM.png?alt=media&#x26;token=3e77e20a-4600-43da-b2ef-39680cd34415" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### Add a location to an existing item

If you open an evidence item and no location appears in the evidence details, intake has not been started for that item yet. You can assign a location by entering intake details directly from the item.

1. Open the evidence item and go to its **Chain of Custody** actions.
2. Click the **COC Actions** dropdown and select **Enter Intake Details**.
3. In the window that opens, choose a location from the dropdown in the **Received By** box, the same way you would for a new item.

<figure><img src="https://2683670198-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FCD1iskOdIm8E2TpCd9iZ%2Fuploads%2FHIRhWhQiELvOhTLg6JlY%2FAdd%20Location%20on%20Existing%20Evidence%20Item.png?alt=media&amp;token=d068a4e6-ab10-4c52-b1ca-2398b36d4ede" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

## Assign a location to a storage item

Storage items work the same way as evidence items.

1. Open the **Storage Items** tab and create a **New Storage Item**.
2. Assign one of your item locations.
3. Click **Create Storage**.

To confirm the assignment, view the storage item. In the box on the left-hand side you will see the **Current Location** and the **Location Path**, just as you do for evidence items.

<figure><img src="https://2683670198-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FCD1iskOdIm8E2TpCd9iZ%2Fuploads%2Fi8BRbWRY1Zk7ImIcsYxY%2FScreenshot%202026-07-24%20at%209.23.50%E2%80%AFAM.png?alt=media&amp;token=8efb9be0-72d3-4708-853c-713ae2fb7488" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### Location Path and chain of custody

Item Locations shows **where an item is now**, while Chain of Custody preserves **how the item got there**.

The **Current Location** identifies the item's current structured destination. This can be either a Monolith user or a configured physical Location.

For example:

```
Current Location:
Locker B2
```

The **Location Path** provides the full hierarchy for that destination:

```
Kentucky Lab / Evidence Cage / Locker B2
```

If an item is assigned to a user, the same pattern applies:

```
Current Location:
Matt Danner

Location Path:
Kentucky Lab / Exam Table / Matt Danner
```

Any time an Evidence or Storage Item moves through the Chain of Custody process, Monolith:

1. Creates the applicable Chain of Custody record.
2. Updates the item's **Current Location**.
3. Updates the item's **Location Path**.
4. Retains the previous movement in the Chain of Custody history.

For example:

```
Locker B
    ↓
Matt Danner
    ↓
Shelf A
```

The item's Current Location eventually becomes `Shelf A`, while its Chain of Custody continues to show the previous destinations and movements.

#### Location Received vs. Current Location

**Location Received** is not the same as Current Location.

Location Received is a free-text intake field used to preserve context about where an item originally arrived.

For example, an Evidence Item might display:

```
Location Received:
Mail Room

Current Location:
Locker B2

Location Path:
Kentucky Lab / Evidence Cage / Locker B2
```

In this example:

* `Mail Room` records the free-text context of where the item physically arrived.
* `Locker B2` is the item's current structured Location.
* `Kentucky Lab / Evidence Cage / Locker B2` identifies the complete structured path.

Because Item Locations are used throughout intake and Chain of Custody workflows, configuring them before active Evidence intake helps keep physical location information consistent.

{% hint style="info" %}
Use **Location Received** for contextual arrival information that does not need to become a managed physical Location. Use the structured Item Locations system for destinations that should update Current Location and participate in ongoing Chain of Custody movement.
{% endhint %}

### Managing existing Locations

Groups and Locations can be updated as your physical environment or naming conventions change.

#### Rename a Location

Locations can be renamed after they have been created.

When a Location is renamed, Evidence and Storage Items currently assigned to that Location reflect the updated Location information.

This allows the location structure to change without requiring each item at that Location to be updated individually.

#### Delete a Location

A Location cannot be deleted while Evidence or Storage Items are currently assigned to it.

If items are still present, Monolith disables the delete action and requires those items to be moved to another valid destination first.

{% hint style="warning" %}
Move all Evidence and Storage Items to another Location or user before deleting a Location.
{% endhint %}

This protection helps prevent active items from being left without a valid structured destination.

#### Review What Is Currently at a Location

Before renaming or deleting a Location, open it from **Item Locations** to review its current contents.

The Location details page includes separate tabs for:

* **Evidence Items**
* **Storage Items**

The same inventory view is available for user destinations, making it possible to review the Evidence and Storage Items currently assigned to a specific examiner or other Monolith user.

### Related Documentation

* [**Offices**](/monolith/using-monolith/organization/offices.md)
* [**Team Management**](/monolith/using-monolith/organization/team-management.md)
* [**Location Groups**](/monolith/using-monolith/evidence-management/item-locations/location-groups.md)
* [**Storage Items**](/monolith/using-monolith/evidence-management/storage-items.md)
* [**Audits**](/monolith/using-monolith/evidence-management/audits.md)