Overview
On a busy board it is easy to lose track of which parent a card belongs to. Show Parent Context isolates one parent at a time: it opens a floating legend of the parents at the current level and dims everything that does not belong to the parent in focus, so the children of that parent stand out.
Turn it on with the Show Parent Context control in the level picker.
Following your selection
By default the legend follows your selection. When you turn it on, it reads the cards you have selected and isolates their parent. As you select different cards, the isolated parent updates to match.
The legend header shows a badge for the current mode:
- Following: the isolated parent tracks your selection.
- Pinned: the isolated parent stays fixed, whatever you select.
| What you do | What happens |
|---|---|
| Turn the toggle on | The legend opens in Following mode and isolates the parent of the current selection. |
| Select cards under one parent (Following) | That parent is isolated. |
| Select cards under several parents (Following) | The legend clears the isolation and shows a hint: Multiple parents selected. Choose one to focus. |
| Select nothing eligible (Following) | The isolation clears. |
| Click a parent in the legend | That parent is pinned, and the mode switches to Pinned. |
| Click the pinned parent again | The pin is released, and the mode returns to Following. |
| Turn the toggle off | The isolation clears and the mode resets to Following for next time. |
Only cards count towards the selected parent. Edges and group nodes are ignored, each card’s immediate parent is used, and the parent has to be present at the current level for it to be isolated.
Hovering
Hovering over a card still previews its parent, in any mode. The preview does not change the parent you have isolated.
Out of the way of the Inspector
The legend keeps clear of the docked Inspector. It sits to the left of the rail and moves as the rail opens, closes, or resizes, so it never hides behind it. When the isolated parent changes, the legend scrolls that parent’s row into view.
Use cases
- Read one epic’s children on a crowded board. Select a card in the epic and its siblings stand out while the rest of the board recedes.
- Step through epics one at a time. Pin the first parent, review it, then click the next parent in the legend.
- Check where a card belongs. Select it and the parent it rolls up to is the one left bright.
Related
- Focus Mode: isolate a selection and its dependency chain, by hiding or dimming the rest.
- Semantic Zoom: move between parents and children across hierarchy levels.
- Inspector: the legend repositions itself around the docked rail.