Connecting Elements
Many elements can show the data from another element, and they update when it changes. You keep the information in one place, and every element that shows it stays up to date.
Connecting A Data Source
- Hover + on the element and select Connect data source or Update data source
- Select the element you want to show the data from, then select what to show in the preview, like one row, one task or one layer, or click Select whole to show all of it
- Click Connect
To find an element quickly in the list, hover + on it, select Copy connection ID and paste it into the search bar.
Some elements also let you select One-way sync or Two-way sync before you click Connect. With one-way sync, changes in the source show up in your element. With two-way sync, changes in either element show up in the other.
How Elements Show Their Sources
What you connect shows up differently in each element.
A Timeline shows the project's calendar, so what you connect to it is added to its tasks. After you select what to show, select the tasks to add it to.
A Blueprint follows every Inventory List you switch on in its Inventory tab. Pick from inventory under + places the item on the plan, and picking it again places another copy, like a second chair of the same kind.
In a Table, each cell, row and column can show its own source, so one table can show data from many elements.
A chart, the Budget Dashboard, a Colour Chart, an OpenStreetMap and a Video show one source. When you connect a new one, it replaces the one before.
A Colour Chart shows one colour, so connecting a whole Colour Palette adds a Colour Chart for each of the palette's colours. From a Moodboard, it takes a layer's strongest colour, or the colour that covers most of the Moodboard or of the layers you selected.
In the same way, connecting a whole Budget Dashboard to a Payment Status Chart adds a Payment Status Chart for each of the dashboard's charts.
Connecting A Cell, Row Or Column
A cell, row or column in a Table or Budget Sheet can show data from another element, and the rest of it stays as you've written it.
- Right-click the cell where you want the data and select Connect data source. In a Budget Sheet, you can also right-click a column header, or right-click a cell and select Connect row to data source for its whole row
- Select the element, and in the preview select what you want to show, like a cell, a row, a column or a task. A Budget Sheet can show data from a Table or another Budget Sheet
- In a Table, the cell you right-clicked shows it. To show it in a different cell, or in a whole row or column, click that cell, row or column header under Apply to
- Click Connect
In a Table, you can also hover + and select Connect data source. Then select a cell, row or column under Apply to before you click Connect.
Selecting Part Of An Element
When you've selected an element, a preview of it opens for most elements. Click a part of the preview to connect only that part, and click it again to deselect it. What you can select depends on the element, for example:
- Table: A cell, a row or a column
- To Do List, kanbans, Timeline, Content Calendar and the Calendar: One task, meeting or event, or everything with a status, priority, person responsible, list or period
- Moodboard: One layer, or every layer of one type
- Whiteboard: A sticky note
- Storyboard: A frame, or one field of a frame
- Colour Palette: One colour
- Inventory List: One item, a tag or a type
- Photo Selection and Shopping Selection: One item, or every item with a status, like Client selected
- Budget Sheet: Income, expenses, the net result or the whole sheet. From another Budget Sheet, a cell, row or column
- Payment Status Chart and Project Status Chart: One status
- Budget Dashboard: One of its charts, like income or expense categories
To show all of an element, click Select whole in the preview. A Table has no Select whole, so you select a cell, a row or a column.
Removing A Connection
When you write your own value over one that's connected, that value stops changing with the source, and the rest of the connection stays. In a Table, you can also click the small link dot on a cell, row or column header to remove the connection.
If you delete the element the data comes from, the elements connected to it keep the data they last showed, but it won't update any more.
What Elements Can Connect To
| This element | Can connect to |
|---|---|
| Blueprint | Inventory List, from the Blueprint's Inventory tab |
| Budget Dashboard | Budget Sheet, Table |
| Budget Sheet | Budget Sheet, Table |
| Colour Chart | Colour Palette, Moodboard, Table |
| Colour Palette | Colour Chart, Moodboard, Table |
| Meeting List | Calendar, Content Calendar, Timeline |
| Content Calendar | Budget Dashboard, Budget Sheet, Calendar, Client Revisions List, Colour Chart, Colour Palette, Inventory List, Meeting List, Mindmap, Moodboard, Payment Status Chart, Project Budget Status Chart, Project Status Chart, Shopping Selection, Storyboard, Table, Tickets Sold Chart, Tracking List, User Feedback, Video, Whiteboard |
| Mindmap | Table, To Do Kanban, To Do List, User Feedback |
| Moodboard | Blueprint, Colour Chart, Colour Palette, Mindmap, Moodboard, Photo Selection, Shopping Selection, Storyboard, Table, Video, Whiteboard |
| OpenStreetMap | Calendar, Table, Tracking List |
| Payment Status Chart | Budget Dashboard, Budget Sheet, Table, Tracking List |
| Project Budget Status Chart | Budget Sheet, Table, Tracking List |
| Project Status Chart | Calendar, Content Calendar, Shopping Selection, Table, Timeline, To Do Kanban, To Do List, Tracking List |
| Shopping Selection | Table |
| Storyboard | Blueprint, Mindmap, Moodboard, Storyboard, Table, Video, Whiteboard |
| Table | Blueprint, Budget Dashboard, Budget Sheet, Calendar, Client Revisions List, Colour Chart, Colour Palette, Content Calendar, Inventory List, Meeting List, Mindmap, Moodboard, Payment Status Chart, Photo Selection, Project Budget Status Chart, Project Status Chart, Shopping Selection, Storyboard, Table, Tickets Sold Chart, Timeline, To Do Kanban, To Do List, Tracking List, User Feedback, Video, Whiteboard |
| Tickets Sold Chart | Table |
| Timeline | Budget Dashboard, Budget Sheet, Client Revisions List, Colour Chart, Colour Palette, Inventory List, Meeting List, Mindmap, Moodboard, Payment Status Chart, Project Budget Status Chart, Project Status Chart, Shopping Selection, Storyboard, Table, Tickets Sold Chart, Tracking List, User Feedback, Video, Whiteboard |
| To Do Kanban | Budget Dashboard, Budget Sheet, Calendar, Client Revisions List, Colour Chart, Colour Palette, Content Calendar, Inventory List, Meeting List, Mindmap, Moodboard, Payment Status Chart, Project Budget Status Chart, Project Status Chart, Shopping Selection, Storyboard, Table, Tickets Sold Chart, Timeline, To Do Kanban, To Do List, Tracking List, User Feedback, Video, Whiteboard |
| To Do List | Budget Dashboard, Budget Sheet, Calendar, Client Revisions List, Colour Chart, Colour Palette, Content Calendar, Inventory List, Meeting List, Mindmap, Moodboard, Payment Status Chart, Project Budget Status Chart, Project Status Chart, Shopping Selection, Storyboard, Table, Tickets Sold Chart, Timeline, To Do Kanban, To Do List, Tracking List, User Feedback, Video, Whiteboard |
| Tracking List | Inventory List, Shopping Selection, Table |
| User Feedback | Table |
| Video | Storyboard, Table |
| Whiteboard | Blueprint, Colour Palette, Inventory List, Mindmap, Moodboard, Storyboard, User Feedback |
Why Connect Elements
When the information is kept in one place, you only update it there. Add a person to your team table, and every table that picks names from it, like the production plan or the logistics, can pick them too. That way you never type the same names or items twice.
Some elements can connect to another of the same kind, like a Table, Storyboard, Budget Sheet, Moodboard, To Do List or To Do Kanban. That's how you keep the details on one page and a summary on another.
Tips
- Set up the connections when you start the project. Connect the charts, lists and calendars before there's anything in them, and they'll show the information as soon as it's added. Then you won't have to worry about it once the project gets busy
- Keep track of every project's budget in one place. Add a Table, Budget Sheet, Budget Dashboard or Project Budget Status Chart to a team overview project or page, and you'll see the budgets of all your projects together. On a team project, these elements can connect to the elements in the team's other projects