Kanban Board
Visual drag-and-drop project management with multi-project tabs and an AI project assistant.
Overview
The Kanban Board is TotalApp's primary project execution surface. It supports multiple projects simultaneously via a tab bar at the top of the screen — each tab is an independent project with its own columns and cards. Drag a card from one column to another to update its status instantly.
Projects & Tabs
Each project occupies one tab in the tab bar at the top of the Kanban screen. You can have as many projects open as needed.
Creating a Project
- Click the "+" button at the right end of the tab bar.
- Type a project name in the input that appears.
- Press Enter or click the confirm button — the new project tab appears immediately with five default columns.
Tab Uniqueness
Tab names must be unique within the board. If you try to create a project named "Marketing" when one already exists, TotalApp automatically appends a number: Marketing 2, Marketing 3, etc. This prevents confusion when two tabs look identical.
Closing a Tab
Hover over a tab to reveal the × close button (visible only when more than one tab is open). A confirmation prompt appears before the project is removed. This permanently deletes the project and all its tasks — use with care.
Tab Icon Style
The tab bar style is controlled by Settings → Appearance → Project Tab Style. Choose between text-only labels and icon + text labels. The icon used for each project tab is the folder icon; the active tab is underlined in the primary colour.
Tip — Keyboard Navigation
You can switch between project tabs without reaching for the mouse. The tab bar is scrollable on wide screens and keyboard-accessible via Tab + Enter.
Default Columns
Every new project starts with five columns that cover a standard development or business workflow:
Backlog
Ideas and future work not yet scheduled for the current sprint. The holding area for everything that is planned but not started.
To Do
Tasks committed for the current sprint or iteration. Ready to be picked up by a team member.
In Progress
Work actively being done right now. A card should only be here when someone is actively working on it.
Review
Completed work awaiting review, testing, or approval before it can be closed.
Done
Finished and approved work. Cards here are complete and counted in project progress metrics.
Cards can be dragged between any columns — there is no enforced workflow order. You can move a card from Done back to In Progress if rework is needed.
Card Details
Each Kanban card is a task with structured fields. Click a card to open its detail view and edit any field.
- Title (required) — the task name. The Save button is disabled until a title is entered.
- Description — free-text markdown notes about the task.
- Assignee — team member responsible for this task.
- Priority — Low ●, Medium ●, High ●, or Critical ●. The coloured dot is shown on the card face.
- Due Date — calendar date picker. Overdue tasks show a red date badge on the card.
- Labels — free-form colour tags for grouping (e.g. "frontend", "bug", "Q2").
Required Title Rule
TotalApp enforces that every card has a title before it can be saved. The Save button in the card form remains disabled until the title field is non-empty. This prevents orphan cards that appear as blank entries in the board.
Drag & Drop
Dragging cards is the core interaction of the Kanban board. The drag system is designed to be reliable — drop detection works even when the cursor moves quickly between child elements inside a column.
How to Drag
- Click and hold on a card — the cursor changes to a grabbing hand and the card dims to 40% opacity to signal it is being moved.
- Drag over a target column — the column highlights with a blue ring to confirm it is a valid drop target.
- Release the mouse — the card moves to the bottom of the target column and the board saves automatically.
Drop Zone Behaviour
- The entire column area (including empty space below the last card) is a valid drop target.
- A minimum 40 px droppable area is always available at the bottom of each column so you can drop into empty columns.
- If you release outside any column the drag is cancelled and the card returns to its original position.
Mobile Drag & Drop
On touch devices, long-press a card to initiate a drag. The same column-highlight feedback appears. Release over the target column to drop.
AI Assistant
The Kanban board has a built-in AI assistant that understands your project's current state — all the tasks, their statuses, priorities, assignees, and due dates.
Opening the Assistant
Look for the vertical "AI Assistant" tab anchored to the right edge of the screen. Click it to open the panel. The panel can be resized (small / medium / large) in Settings → AI Assistant → Panel Width.
What You Can Ask
- "Summarise the current sprint progress for Project Alpha"
- "Which tasks are overdue?"
- "List all tasks assigned to Sarah sorted by priority"
- "How many tasks are in the Review column?"
- "What critical issues are blocking the release?"
Saving Responses as Reports
After the assistant replies, a Save as Report button appears in the panel. Click it to persist the assistant's response as a markdown report linked to the current date. Reports are accessible from the My Reports screen.
Add Record Mode
When you click "Add Card" on the Kanban board, the new-card form can appear in two ways depending on your preference:
Modal (default)
The form opens as a centred overlay with a dark backdrop. This is the standard experience — the form is always in view and the board dims behind it. Recommended for most users.
Right Panel
The form slides in as a panel from the right edge of the screen. The Kanban board remains partially visible on the left. Useful when you want to reference existing cards while creating a new one.
Toggle this preference in Settings → Appearance → Add Record Mode. Editing an existing card always uses the modal regardless of this setting.