Best Of

Hello Community,

Board view has quickly become the Smartsheet view of choice for users who prefer taking a more visual and interactive approach to task management. We’ve heard your suggestions around how to make finding and organizing data in board view even more intuitive and delightful, and we’re excited to share some highly requested enhancements based on your feedback.

Please don’t hesitate to share your feedback or questions in the comments below. Your input directly informs what we build next. Thanks for being part of the Smartsheet Community!

1. Colored dropdown values: We previously introduced the ability to assign colors to values in dropdown columns in table view to help users visualize information quickly. Now, users can configure colored dropdown values directly from lane titles in board view too!

Note that this functionality is only available in board view when grouping by a single-select dropdown column and when the sheet does not have card (“task bar”) conditional formatting.

2. Board density configurator: Many customers and employees requested the ability to see more cards at once to make it easier to scan and find specific cards in board view. However, some users also expressed the desire to see more details on each card, while others preferred a simpler and more spacious layout.

It became clear that card density is a personal preference, so we’ve introduced new card density settings that empower users to customize their board layouts to match their work styles and needs. Simply click into the toolbar to choose from these three flexible options: 

1. Condensed: See more cards without sacrificing visibility of key fields by minimizing column width and white space.
2. Comfortable (default): Get a balanced view of card content and spacing.
3. Wide: Show more information per card by expanding the card width to see fields with longer text or detailed notes.

Whether you’re a manager who needs to see as many cards with as much context as possible, or an individual contributor looking specifically for the next card in your queue, board view works the way you do.

3. Find in board by primary column: You asked for a better way to quickly find and update specific cards, and we’ve delivered! Rather than having to rely on global search, it’s now possible to search for and locate cards by keywords within titles (AKA primary column values).

Navigate large boards, streamline updates, and stay focused on the tasks that matter most. It’s easy: Just click the Find icon on the toolbar or use keyboard shortcuts (CTRL + F or CMD + F) and choose whether to show matching cards only (default settings) or show all cards with the matching ones highlighted.

4. [COMING SOON] Conditional formatting by single-select column: If you use board view, chances are you’ve thought about color-coding items by status, project owner, or team. Currently, this requires switching back to grid view to set up or modify conditional formatting rules that don’t visually carry over to color bars on cards in board view. 

We’re excited to launch conditional formatting in board view in the Early Adopter Program (EAP) in the coming weeks. This feature will allow users to create formatting rules backed by a single-select dropdown list, contact list, and symbol columns. It will improve how users discover and manage formatting rules, making the experience more intuitive and efficient.

Hello Community,

If you’ve used timeline view, you already know it helps teams visualize and manage date-based work in real time. It reimagines how work is managed in Smartsheet, allowing users to easily track tasks and milestones, group information by theme, and adjust plans with clarity and speed. Whether you're building robust roadmaps, managing complex campaigns, or following individual project plans, timeline view helps your team stay aligned and focused.

Since launching timeline view last May, we’ve made significant progress, delivering several highly requested enhancements based on your feedback. Read our roundup of the top timeline view updates released since the start of this year, and drop your feedback or questions in the comments below: your input directly informs what we build next.

Thanks for being a part of the Smartsheet Community!

1. Timeline view widget in dashboards: You can now bring project timelines, big or small, directly into your dashboards with the new timeline view widget. Give stakeholders a clear, at-a-glance view of key milestones, tasks, and project phases, all alongside your other key metrics. It's a powerful way to drive alignment and faster decision-making, right from your most-used dashboards.

2. Show/hide additional fields on bars: Need to tailor what stakeholders see on your timeline? With the new Show fields toolbar button, you can choose what fields appear on bars (right next to their title) by showing or hiding additional fields on each bar. This allows you to customize the data displayed on your view for your audience and gives you control over the level of detail shown in your timeline view.

3. Consolidated item details, attachments, and conversations: Double-click on any bar or milestone to view its details, attachments, and conversations all in one place. This gives you faster access to critical context without navigating away from your timeline.

4. Group by more column types: We expanded grouping options to provide even more flexibility in how you organize your data. In addition to single-select dropdown, contact list, and symbol columns, you can now group timeline items by single-select text/number, checkbox, and date columns.

5. Hide empty lanes when grouping: Cut down on visual clutter by toggling Show empty lanes off. This new setting helps create cleaner, more focused timelines by hiding lanes that don’t contain any items in the selected time period, thereby making your timelines easier to read and work with.

6. Add child items: You can now add child items directly in timeline view, without switching to a different view. This saves time and helps you instantly visualize task hierarchies alongside other bars and milestones.

7. [COMING SOON] Conditional formatting: Soon, you will be able to color your timeline by status, owner, priority, or any key indicator using conditional formatting. This initial release will allow formatting rules based on single-select dropdowns, contact lists, and symbol columns and includes an improved, intuitive interface for managing rules right from timeline view.

cc: @Olen Ronning