The Connect Boards Column allows you to easily link a column to the items of another board - or multiple boards! This column is a great way to connect information between different boards and is especially handy when your workflow involves interrelated boards.

What is the Connect Boards Column? 

The Connect Boards Column is a linking column that allows you to show items from other boards within your new board. This can be very useful when managing a project or utilizing high-level and low-level boards! 

Throughout the article, we will use an example to demonstrate the dynamic capabilities of the Connect Boards Column. The example involves managing the "Life in Pieces Project," which includes three events. Each has its own board, while a high-level board oversees the project. We will use the Connect Boards Column to link event boards to the high-level board. 

How to add it

To add the Connect Boards Column, click on the "+" icon located next to your last column, at the far right-hand side of your board. From the resulting dropdown menu, select "Connect boards". 

To connect your subitems to items on another board, the Connect Boards Column must be added at the subitem level. To add a column at the subitem level, click on the dropdown arrow next to the item name, then click on the "+" icon within the subitem columns. 

Connect your boards

Immediately after adding the Connect Boards Column onto your board, a screen will pop up prompting you to select which board(s) you'd like to link. Click the "Select boards" button and choose a board (or multiple boards) that you would like to create a connection with.

In our example, we're using the "Life in Pieces Project- High-Level" board to get an overview of several project boards. Therefore, we want to connect the "Ceramics Gallery Showcase," "Artists Quarter Panel," and "Artists in Education" project boards to it.

Note: You can add up to 60 Connect Boards Columns to any board. When you reach the limit, a notice will inform you that you cannot add more. Read our linkage limitations article for details. 

After selecting our boards, you can automatically create a Connect Boards Column on your connected boards for bidirectional linking. This connects linked items on both boards, so changes on one board automatically update the other, and vice versa. Select the checkbox next to "Create a two-way connection" to create this workflow. 

You can choose to add the two-way connection option from your settings at a later point! Read our section on Connect Boards settings. 

Connect your items 

Once you have connected your boards, it is time to link specific items from the connected boards to the items on your high-level board. 

Click any cell in the Connect Boards Column to reveal items from a connected board. If multiple boards are linked, choose a specific one from the dropdown arrow next to the board's name.

You can select one or more items to link in each of your Connect Board Column cells by selecting the checkbox next to the item's name. You can also easily link multiple items from your different connected boards into one cell if you wish!

Hovering over the cell reveals the names of linked items from connected boards. If multiple items are linked, the column shows the number of additional items. Hover over the number to see their names.

To open an item, click on any cell within the column and click on the "expand" arrows to the right of the item name. An item pop-up card will appear, allowing you to easily view and edit all the relevant details of that linked item!

This can be extremely useful to edit specific project details directly from our high-level board. Any changes made to the connected item here will also be reflected in the board from which it originates.

To view an item's update section on a connected board, click the three dots in the upper right corner of the item pop-up card and select "Add to conversation." You'll be redirected to the update section linked to that item. 

Connect Boards settings

Through the Connect Boards Column settings, you can customize which boards are connected, and enable or disable the option to link to multiple items!

To disconnect a board or connect a new one, click the three dots next to your Connect Boards Column, hover over "Settings," and select "Customize connect boards." Then, click "Disconnect" next to a connected board to remove it or click the blue "+Connect more boards" button to add a new one.

From the same setting menu, you can enable or disable linking to multiple items. Disabling this allows only one item per cell in the Connect Boards Column, and clicking a linked item opens the pop-up card directly.

Alternatively, by keeping the link to multiple items enabled, you can connect as many items as you'd like in each cell of your Connect Boards Column. 🌟

You can choose to create a two-way sync between your connected boards at any point! This will ensure that the information is bidirectional on both of your linked boards. Click the three dots next to your Connect Boards Column, hover over "Settings," select "Customize connect boards" to open up the column settings, and click on the "Turn on' button. 

If creating the two-way connection will cause one or more of your boards to surpass the maximum number of connected boards or items, a window will appear explaining that you have reached the limit in that specific board, and therefore, the two-way sync could not be created. 

Automate board connections

Speed up and automate board connections with our cross-board automation recipes! Search "connect" in automations to find various recipes that instantly link items on different boards based on your chosen trigger. Some recipes match data between items across boards. 

Connect Boards with Mirror Columns

A Mirror Column is a great way to show specific information related to your connected items, taking your workflow one step further! 

When adding a Connect Boards Column, you'll be prompted to create a Mirror Column. You can also add it via the Column Center by clicking on the "+" icon next to the last column and searching for "Mirror Column." 

Note: Read our permissions article for details on Connect Board and Mirror Column permissions.