Card View: Limitations on how much text can be displayed on one line, etc.

Preston Murphy

I have noticed there are some confusing limitations imposed on the desktop version of smartsheet that are not on the mobile. I have one primary concern to focus on:

When I am on desktop, card view does not display any more than one line of text before adding an ellipsis (...). Why is it limited like this on desktop but not on mobile? Is there any way I can change the view for desktop use? This is where the view is most vital, as most of our users won't use mobile. For some uses, adding an ellipsis will make it impossible to understand the full extent of what is in the field. (I know you can hover over the field to see all of it, but that is pretty inconvenient and repetitive if you need to do it often.) Being able to use only one line maximum is very limiting. I have noticed the primary column can take up 2 lines, so it looks like the capability is tantalizingly close... In regard to line limits, the converse is true for mobile: there appears to be no limit at all, and I think this is non-ideal as well but better than being limited to one line.

My suggestion: Allow us to display fields just as it works on mobile. If not, allow the user to change the maximum number of lines displayed on a field-by-field basis (similar to form text boxes). This solves the issue of potentially some fields having so much text that the card is massive. This way, all cards/fields on the cards will have a consistent maximum size.

I love what I am able to do so far, but suggestions or new developments in this area would make it that much better! Thank you!

Pictures:

Full field text:

Desktop:

Mobile (iOS):

As you can see, the desktop version doesn't fit that many characters on each line and is limited to one line.

The mobile version can fit more on a single line and has no line limit, making it able to fit way more information if needed.

One line on desktop seems way too crippling of a limitation. For example, let's say you need to describe a customer order but that takes 2 or 3 lines at least. You could use card view as a way of tracking customer orders and their stage in your company's process. If you have to hover over to see these vital details, then this becomes a massive issue and limitation.

Genevieve P.

Hi Preston,

Thanks for taking the time to describe what you are looking to do, the screen captures were very helpful. As you have found, the functionality in Card View on a desktop is that only one line of text from a text field is initially shown, and to see the full content you can hover over top of the field for a pop-up window to display. Users can also double-click on the card if they want to read more, as that will bring up the field in an editable mode and display the full text.

Please submit an Enhancement Request to our Product team so they know you'd like to see more than one line immediately in the card!

Thanks,

Genevieve

Tanya Pammy

Hi @Genevieve P. ,

I have the same problem with the Card View, additionally I also have another issue with card view limits. I want to be able to add all the fields into the Card view display. Currently, Smartsheet only allows me to add upto 9 fields. Please check the screenshot below.

As a work around, I thought I could add all the values into one filed and add that instead of adding +9 fields. When I do this, boom I am hit with the text limit that @preston.murphy@vallourec.com described. In addition, I am now stuck with weird "Edit" screen, where the calculated column having all the values from all the fields is shown. Can you help me with any other workaround ?

Thanks,

Tanya.

Genevieve P.

Hi @Tanya Pammy

You've detailed the workaround that I would have suggested: creating a helper column to add together values that you need displayed in the Card View.

If this view isn't working for what you need, Grid view may be a better fit so you can display additional content.

Please submit your feature requests to the Product team by creating an Idea Post in the Smartsheet Product Feedback and Ideas topic here in the Community. This will allow other users to vote on your enhancement idea!

Cheers,

Genevieve