Moving Lists within a board automatically based on set criteria

[PJRanson]

Hi.

So I have a kind of sales funnel setup where each LIST represents a client, and CARDS within that list are there, with the top card (pinned) representing the Client info and then additional, individual cards, associated as jobs specific ‘projects’ associated to that client - then each job card I use checklists to manage associated tasks applicable to that Job/Client etc... 

It works for me, everything is self contained, when Jobs are DONE, (and paid for) the card is archived and the list can either be collapsed (using the new list collapse feature) and dragged over into the historical clients section of the board. 

What I’m looking for though is a means to pull out a Client LIST and have it migrate to the Top (LEFT hand side of board) - assuming it’s a client who I’ve already done some work for, and they’re returning, or it’s a client I may have on hold, or whatever, the point is, I have multiple Lists and dragging (by hand) a Client out of the ‘History Section’ and into Live Projects can  be laborious - so was wondering if there’s a way an entire List can be moved to the TOP in a board.

That’s all.

I suspect the answer is no, but I wondered if anyone may have a solution? 

It might be I setup a new board for Historical Clients, and have Lists move from one board to another? if that’s doable (I’ve not looked into it)

Any thoughts/tips/ideas welcome. 

Cheers

[Jan Gebauer · Accepted solution]

Hello,

there is not out of the box solution and I couldn't find a PowerUp for this. Nonetheless, it is possible to make one. Is that something you would be interested in?

Regards,

Jan

[PJRanson]

Thanks Jan,

It depends on what’s involved and how simple a solution it is.

Since posting the question I found the ‘move list’ option in the ‘list specific menu options’ - which (for now at least) provides a quick(er) way to push the list to the top in just a few clicks. Previously I was dragging and dropping the list which was just bonkers.

[Jan Gebauer]

Hi,

I imagine it would be about the same amount of clicks as your new-found solution.

1. open a new modal/window on the board (button next to filter, automations, etc.)
2. type in the name of the list or pick from a dropdown menu
3. click push to top

Is your new flow this?

1. ctrl+f
2. search for the name of the list/client
3. enter
4. move list to position 1

[PJRanson]

Not quite. The whole point of finding a client is to add notes or update associated tasks (which are exposed in calendar shares and/or planyway - eventually trickling onto my phone calendar widgets so I always have oversight of trackable tasks in my hand)

The idea of being able to automatically move lists (based on criteria (in my case, literally any change to a card within that list)) is to bring it to the top of the board so any clients (and ergo "related project") I've recently interacted with are front and center and upper most on the board, rather than buried under dozens of other clients I may (or may not have) spoken to in a while.

So whilst you're right in the first 3 steps, there's also a step 3.5 where I'll update the record/tasks/labels etc - at which point I'd then need to remember to move the list to the top. 

If it was automated based on any change it would be a step removed therefore improving my workflow incrementally. 

Kaizen in action. 

👍😉

[Jan Gebauer]

Yeah, I see what you mean.

That seems possible. Let me verify this and get back to you.

[Jan Gebauer]

Hi,

I've looked into it as promised and I don't have good news. The webhooks, that I thought would work, are not available. So the only other option is that the powerup would check every minute/hour/etc. and re-order your lists based on the latest activity.

Obviously not ideal but let me know if that kaizens your process.

[PJRanson]

That doesn't sound too bad actually. There's often a delay anyway with many of the automations so it's not altogether unfamiliar behaviour. 

Apologies for my delay in responding btw - I've been unavailable. 

Thanks you Jan, that would be  fabulous. 🙏

[Jan Gebauer]

Amazing, I'll get to it.

[PJRanson]

Great thanks. 🤝

[Jan Gebauer]

Hi, so version 0.0.1 is out.

https://tools.sunshineworks.online/

1. Connect with Trello
2. Add a new push, one per user for now
3. You can check your existing push, and delete it if you'd like

Since it looks the way it looks, I'll be sprucing it up in the coming days. Note that it is not an official Trello Power-Up. If you have any questions, you can reach me at trello@sunshineworks.eu, or here.

[PJRanson]

Hey Jan, I'm sorry I completlely forgot about this. Is it something you've still got on the back burner?

[Jan Gebauer]

Hello, I should have the code lying around somewhere. I'll see if I can re-deploy the website tomorrow.

[Jan Gebauer]

@PJRanson I've deployed the tool on https://tools.blisskeys.eu/. I've tested it briefly and it seems to work but let me know if you run into any issues, please.

[PJRanson]

Thanks - Interesting... it seems to have worked, what's the best setting for the update? - I'm assuming this is looking for changes with the last minute/hour/day to then apply the list move behaviour?

Also, would it be possible to be able to apply an offset to the lists placement? -

(I have two lists that need to be 'pinned' - a SALES FUNNEL (that has instructional information for me to refer to (along with various other shortcuts) - and the other is my CLIENTS list - which (thanks to the new mirrored card feature) allows me to archive an individual Client list (and associated JOB cards) - but still expose each CLIENT information card as a mirror, adding those to this separate list - allowing easy access into those archived lists, unarchiving them as necessary.)

Using this as an example, the ability to apply a simple numeric offset of (in my case 2) means that any lists that are within that offset, firstly don't get moved, and secondly are essentially pinned in place.

If that make sense?

If's not possible, or too much work, I'm happy to move them to a different board - but thought I'd ask. 

[Jan Gebauer]

No, the frequency is for how often the the app should check and update the board, so the "minute" frequency is the best.

Yes, I could create an offset setting. I'll try to get it done tomorrow.

Let me know if there is anything else.

[PJRanson]

Thank you so much Jan. Just this simple solution is already a benefit. Other than locking those first two lists, I can't imagine any other behaviour. 

🙏👍😁

[Jan Gebauer]

I will probably have to reach out to the Trello support to ask about the list positioning because the positioning algorithm is not clear and I can't just pick "2" and have it placed on that position.

[Jan Gebauer]

Scratch that, it kind of works but it's very janky. It takes some time for Trello to reconcile the order of the lists and I don't think I can speed it up. 

The other option is that you could pin the list when you set up the pushing. That would be more reliable but requires more work from you up front.

[PJRanson]

Cool... Thanks for trying. What's involved in pinning lists? I've not come across that as a option?

[Jan Gebauer]

No, it would be an option for the setup of the push, as you can see on the picture. After every Push of a list, the pinned lists would get pushed all the way to the left.

I am guessing that you have loads of lists, so it would be a searchable dropdown menu. If the position exact position of the pinned list is important to you, that could be an option too.

[PJRanson]

Good stuff thanks. I'll check tomorrow when back at my desk. 

I do have a lot of lists, but I've started archiving older (less active) clients lists because I can now mirror their 'details' cards from those archives and have them visible in a pinned list of clients, archived and non-archived all appear. 

So this is really good, I can pin a list and have the most recently active list migrate to the top/left, whilst maintaining an overview of clients, past & present. 

👍

[PJRanson]

@Jan Gebauer - Hi, I've just checked the tool - I misunderstood (from the piccy above) that you had already implemented it. But clearly not - I see now it was a mockup. :)

No rush, but let me know when it's ready to play around with. 

Cheers.

P.

[Jan Gebauer]

@PJRanson The offsets are ready. I didn't implement editing of current Pushes, so you have to delete the current Push you have and make a new one.

I didn't check for corner cases, so if you spot any issues, please, let me know and I'll fix them.

[PJRanson]

Great. Thanks Jan. 

I'll check out and see how I get on. 

👍

[PJRanson]

This Works really well Jan, I've spent a good hour or so updating my most recent records and it performs brilliantly. What a fabulous integration. I'm really pleased -- it will really help with my focus and productivity.

This really needs to be a standard board feature IMO. 

Thank you so much for persevering - I really can't fault it. 

[Jan Gebauer]

I am glad you're happy. I might snoop around the forum for similar features and release it as part of a plugin later. If that happens, I'll let you know.

Otherwise I don't plan on turning the site off, so if it doesn't work or something, I am available at trello@sunshineworks.eu.