Keep things together in sections

A section is a named area on a board. What you put in it stays together and moves with it, and its name stays easy to read when you zoom out. Sections work on every board: days, the braindump, projects and boards inside boards.

Wrap things in a section

1. Select the things you want to keep together.
2. Choose Wrap in section in the actions bar above them, or press ⌥⌘GCtrl+Alt+G.
3. Type a name for the section, and press ↵Enter.

The section fits round them with a little room to spare, in one undo step. Wrap in section is also in the node menu, the command menu and, on a Mac, the Edit menu. Sections don’t go inside other sections: a section among the things you chose stays as it is.

Draw an empty section

1. Choose Add more in the toolbox.
2. Choose Section, under Arrange.
3. Drag on the board to draw the section. Or click once, and a section of the usual size starts where you clicked.
4. Type its name, and press ↵Enter.

Anything already under the new section, with its middle inside it, joins it.

Name or rename a section

The name sits on a label just above the section’s top left corner. A section with no name says “Section” there. To rename it, double-click the label, or select the section and press ↵Enter. Type the new name and press ↵Enter, or click anywhere else. Rename in its menu does the same.

The label keeps a readable size however far you zoom out, so a busy board still shows where things are.

Put things in and take them out

• In: let go of a thing with its middle over the section, and it joins. This counts for things you move, paste, duplicate or add there.
• Out: drag it away until its middle is outside the section, and it leaves.
• Add inside: double-click the section’s empty space. What a double-click adds lands in the section: a note, unless you chose otherwise in Settings.

The section grows to hold anything moved or made larger past its edge. It never shrinks on its own.

A thing can be in one section on a board. If it is also on another board, it can be in a different section there, or in none.

Select and move a section

• Click a thing in it to select that thing.
• Click its empty space or its label to select the section.
• Drag from its empty space or its label to move it with everything in it. One undo puts it all back.
• Nudge it with ⌥Arrow keysAlt+Arrow keys while it is selected. What is in it moves too.
• Resize it by dragging a corner. It never gets smaller than what it holds.

To select several things inside a section, hold ⌘Ctrl and drag across them, starting on the section’s empty space. Select what’s in it, in the section’s menu, selects everything in it at once.

A section always sits behind everything else on its board. Bring to front and Send to back change its order among other sections only.

Colour a section

Select the section and choose Colour in its actions bar. Choose one of the seven colours: Gray, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue or Purple. No colour gives it back its plain grey ground. Its label takes the colour too.

The section’s bar and menu

The actions bar above a selected section holds Colour, Turn into a board, Remove section, and More, which opens its menu. Right-clicking the section opens the same menu:

• Rename
• Colour
• Turn into a board
• Select what’s in it
• Bring to front
• Send to back
• Remove section (⌫Backspace)
• Delete section and what’s in it

Tidy with sections

Tidy lines up two or more things you select. Zoom, pan and Tidy explains it.

• Tidy a section with other things: select them all and choose Tidy. The section lines up as one block, and what is in it keeps its place inside it.
• Tidy what is in a section: choose Select what’s in it from its menu, then Tidy. They line up and stay in the section, which grows if they need more room.

Turn a section into a board

When a section outgrows its board, choose Turn into a board in its actions bar or menu. Everything in it moves onto a new board, laid out as it was. A board card with the section’s name takes the section’s place.

• Links between the things that moved go with them. A link to something left outside goes.
• A day’s My tasks card stays on its day, outside the new board.

The message “Turned into a board.” has Undo. The new board card is selected, so ↵Enter opens it. See Boards inside boards.

Copy and find sections

• Duplicate, Copy, Cut and Paste take a section with everything in it.
• Search finds a section by its name, with the board it is on: “Trip ideas › Flights”. Choose it to go there.
• A board’s picture, and the board exported as a PNG or a PDF, show its sections.

A section belongs to one board. It has no Also show on, Add to Today or Open, and links don’t attach to it.

Remove a section and keep what is in it

Select the section and press ⌫Backspace, or choose Remove section in its actions bar or menu. The section goes, and everything in it stays exactly where it was. The message “Section removed.” has Undo.

A section holds nothing of its own, so it never waits in the Trash.

Delete a section and what is in it

1. Right-click the section, or select it and choose More in its actions bar.
2. Choose Delete section and what’s in it.
3. Bloomingo asks first, for example “Delete “Flights” and what’s in it?” Choose Delete.

In the question, Remove section removes the section only and keeps what is in it. Cancel changes nothing.

When you choose Delete:

• Anything that is also on another board leaves this board only. It stays on the others.
• The rest goes to the Trash with the section, and waits there for 30 days. Restoring any of it brings the section back round it.
• Text, shapes, drawings and cards with nothing written on them don’t wait in the Trash. They are deleted, and Undo brings them back while Bloomingo stays open.

An empty section doesn’t ask. It is removed at once.