# Sections

> Frames that hold cards and stickies, and what they can become.

A section is a frame with a title. Whatever’s inside moves with it.

![Three sections, Now, Next and Later, in green, blue and purple, each holding issue cards, with stickies beside them.](https://tack.social/_astro/sections-light.XhHSJTYx_ZE5XBB.webp)

## Making sections

Press `F`, then drag out a rectangle, or click to place one. A section drawn around shapes takes them in. One placed with a click starts empty: it goes in the free space where you clicked (smaller, if that’s what fits), or the nearest free space, and never takes shapes from another section. Type its title straight away (“Name this section”); to rename it later, double-click the title, or select the section on its own and press `Enter`.

Sections come in grey, red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple: choose from the colour button at the start of its bar (below), or, with several sections selected, from the colours beside each one’s title. The badge beside the title counts what’s inside.

## The section’s bar

Select a section on its own (as an editor) and one bar shows over its title, above everything on the board, in groups:

- **Colour**: its colour, and the others in a menu.
- **Display**: **Cards**, **List** or **Mini cards** (see below), and a list’s **Sort**.
- **Facilitate**: [**Silent**](https://tack.social/facilitation/silent-mode.md) (silent mode), [**Vote**](https://tack.social/facilitation/dot-voting.md) and [**Inbox**](https://tack.social/automation/inboxes.md) (make it an inbox).
- **Actions**: what it can become, such as **Make parent issue** and **Auto-stack**, then **Fit**.
- **AI**: **Summarise** and **Decide** (draft a decision), when AI is on.

![The Next section selected, with one bar over its title: its colour, the display switch, Silent, Vote and Inbox, then Make parent issue, Auto-stack and Fit, then Summarise and Decide.](https://tack.social/_astro/section-bar-light.DyxhR6nz_ZP4f3t.webp)

With no room over the title, the bar goes under the section, and it’s pinned to the edge of the view when the section fills it, so it’s always on screen and never under another shape. The colour, the display and **Make parent issue** are always there; the bar is as wide as the window lets it be, however small the section is on screen, and on a small screen what matters least goes, whole, into the **…** menu at its end. `Tab` from the selected section (or `F6`) goes to the bar; the arrow keys move along it, and `Esc` goes back to the section.

## What’s inside

A shape belongs to the deepest section that contains its centre and is bigger than it. Drop something in and the section lights up as it’s about to land. Drag it out and it leaves.

- **Moving**: pick a section up by its title. Dragging inside a section draws a selection box over its contents instead.
- **Resizing**: drag one of the eight grips. Things stay where they are: shapes the section no longer covers leave it, and shapes it now covers join.
- **Nesting**: sections can sit inside sections, as deep as you like.

## Growing and fitting

A section grows to hold what’s in it. Drop, paste or add something that reaches over its edge (with its centre inside, so it belongs there), and the edge glides out to take it in, with a little room to spare. The same happens when a stack in it opens into its tray, or a card in it loads taller than it was placed. A section inside another one grows the one around it too. Undo takes back the drop and the growing together.

Sections never shrink on their own, and never grow past a size you chose by hand: resize one smaller than what’s in it and it stays that size. To snap a section to its contents, larger or smaller, select it on its own and choose **Fit** in its bar (`⌥` `F`), or double-click any of its grips. It fits snugly around what’s in it, with room all round and for its title; an empty section fits to a small default size. It’s one undo step.

Sections showing a list or mini cards already size themselves to what’s in them, so they don’t need either.

- **Deleting a section deletes everything in it**, with an undo toast.

## Cards, a list or mini cards

A section can show what’s in it three ways. Select it on its own, and choose in its bar (**Show contents as**):

- **Cards**: everything where it was placed, as usual.
- **List**: a compact row for each thing, in order. Sections inside show as groups, with a header row.
- **Mini cards**: a grid of small cards, filling the section’s width.

![Two sections: Now as a list of rows for issues, pull requests and stickies, with a group for a nested section; and Backlog as a grid of mini cards, sorted by state.](https://tack.social/_astro/lists-light.DRjBEEjE_m6NJw.webp)

Switching never moves anything: every card keeps its place, so switching back to **Cards** puts the board back exactly as it was. Each switch is one undo step.

In a list or grid:

- **Point at a row** for a moment to see its full card (or sticky) beside it; select a row on its own to keep it open, with the usual actions under it.
- **Drag rows** to reorder them. Drag one out of the section and it becomes a card again where you let go. Drop a card onto a list and it joins it where you dropped it (or, in a sorted list, where its sort puts it).
- **An empty list or grid** shows a few faint placeholder rows (or a line of mini cards) where the first things will go, and says what goes in it: the lists in a [template](https://tack.social/templates.md) say what they’re for. Drop issues, pull requests or stickies on it, or point at it and paste a link. While you hold something over it, the placeholders it’ll take light up; once it’s in, the list shrinks to its rows.
- **Arrow keys** move the selection between rows; `Shift` with an arrow moves the selected rows up or down the list.
- **Sort** a list **By hand** (drag to order), or by **State** (open, draft, merged, closed), **Number** (oldest first) or **Title** (A to Z). Choose the same sort again to reverse it. Reordering a sorted list by hand switches it back to ordering by hand.

Stamps and dots show on rows, and stickies in [silent mode](https://tack.social/facilitation/silent-mode.md) stay face down. Lists and grids can’t be resized yet: switch to cards to resize the section.

## What a section can become

Select a section on its own (as an editor) and its bar offers **Make parent issue** (`⌥` `⇧` `I`): one new issue, with everything in the section as its sub-issues. See [Built-in actions](https://tack.social/writing-back/actions.md#parent-issue). With AI suggestions on, it also offers **Auto-stack** (`⌥` `⇧` `G`): what’s loose in it sorted into named stacks, inside it. See [Stacks](https://tack.social/boards/stacks.md#a-whole-section).

Its bar also offers, under Facilitate:

- **Silent**: silent mode, where everyone writes on their own, and stickies stay face down until you reveal them. See [Silent mode](https://tack.social/facilitation/silent-mode.md).
- **Vote**: a dot vote on what’s in the section. See [Dot voting](https://tack.social/facilitation/dot-voting.md).
- **Inbox**: make it an inbox, collecting new matches for a search. See [Inbox frames](https://tack.social/automation/inboxes.md).

A [dependency map](https://tack.social/widgets/dependency-map.md) can map the cards in a section, and a [rule](https://tack.social/automation/rules.md) can add matching items to one.