Node types

This page lists every node type you can place on a canvas and every widget a node can hold. For what a node is, see Node in the glossary.

At a glance

Type	Starts with	Can add widgets	Links in	Links out	Status
Objective	Text, Dates	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Activity	Text, Protocol, Task Board, Attachments, Results, Dates, Review	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Material	Attachments, Text	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Decision	Options, Text	No	Yes	One per option	Yes
Milestone	Dates, Review	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Deadline	A date	No	Yes	Yes	No
Portal	A destination canvas	No	Exit portals only	Return portals only	No
Note	Text	Yes	No	No	No

“Can add widgets” means the node’s editor shows Add widget, which lists every widget the node doesn’t already have. You can also remove widgets a node started with.

Node types

Objective

The question or goal the work answers. Put one near the start of a canvas and link the work that follows from it.

Activity

Work someone does. It’s the only type that starts with a Task Board, so it’s where most tasks, and so most plan items, come from.

Material

Something you use or produce, such as a sample, reagent or dataset. It starts with Attachments so you can keep the files that describe it on the node.

Decision

A point where the flow branches. Add the choices in Options; each option has its own output, so you link each branch from the option that leads to it. A Decision holds only Options and Text.

Milestone

A checkpoint. It starts with Dates and Review, for a target date and a sign-off.

Deadline

A fixed date the work has to meet. Choose Set deadline to pick the date. The node then counts the days: “5 days remaining”, “Due today”, or “2 days overdue”. A Deadline holds no widgets.

Portal

A jump to another canvas in the same workspace. Choose Link destination canvas and pick the canvas it opens.

Linking a portal also creates a matching return portal on the destination canvas. Portals work in one direction:

• On the canvas you’re leaving, link into the portal.
• On the destination canvas, link out of the return portal to continue the flow.

Deleting either portal deletes its pair, and unlinking a portal removes its return portal. You need edit access to both canvases to link or delete a pair.

Note

Free text on the canvas, such as context or a rationale. Notes can’t be linked and have no status. Sticky notes, placed with Sticky note in the canvas toolbar, are separate from Note nodes.

Widgets

Each widget appears at most once on a node.

Widget	What it holds
Text	A description or free notes
Dates	A Start Date and a Target Date
Protocol	A summary and links to personal or shared protocols from Library
Task Board	Tasks, each with an assignee, dates and a status. Each task is an item in the canvas’s plan.
Attachments	Files from the workspace (see Explorer), and links
Results	A summary of what the work produced, and the date it was recorded
Review	A status (Not started, In review, In progress, Done or Blocked), an assignee and a due date
Checklist	A titled list of items. Apply to task board turns the items into tasks on the node’s Task Board. The checklist counts as ready when every task on that Task Board is done.
Options	The choices of a Decision node. Only Decision nodes have it.