How read-only mode works
Planningboard enforces read-only access automatically for users who do not hold a Planningboard license. When a user without a license opens a board, the following restrictions apply:- Drag and drop is blocked — cards cannot be dragged between swimlanes or into plans; any drag attempt leaves the card in its original position and no change is persisted.
- Create New Plan button is hidden — the toolbar button that creates a new plan (
#btnCreateNewPlan) is not shown. - Show Unplanned button is hidden — the toggle that opens the unplanned sidebar (
#btnShowUnplanned) is not shown. - Sidebar panel is hidden — the editing sidebar (
#sidebar) is not accessible.
1
Identify who needs read-only access
Read-only access is license-driven, not a widget parameter. Determine which users in your Polarion instance should view-only:
- Open Administration > Nextedy PLANNINGBOARD > License.
- Review the list of assigned license seats.
- Users not assigned a seat will automatically see the board in read-only mode.
2
Verify the board URL is accessible
Read-only users must be able to open the page where the board widget is embedded. Check that:
- The Polarion project is accessible to the user (project visibility and role).
- The Wiki page or LiveDoc containing the widget is readable by the user.
- No Polarion Document or Space ACL blocks the user from viewing the page.
3
Confirm read-only behavior
After a read-only user opens the board:
- Ask them (or test with a non-licensed account) to attempt dragging a card to a different swimlane or plan column.
- The card should return to its original position and no change should be saved.
- The Create New Plan and Show Unplanned toolbar buttons should not be visible.
- The sidebar should not appear when clicking a card.
Even in read-only mode, the Refresh button (↺) remains visible. Read-only users can use it to reload the current board state from the server at any time.
4
Refresh the board after changes
If a licensed user makes changes while a read-only user is viewing the board, the read-only user will not see those changes automatically. They must click the Refresh button to reload the board state from the server.
Decision matrix — read-only vs. licensed access
Limitations
- Read-only mode is enforced at the license level only — there is no widget parameter to force read-only mode for licensed users. If you need to lock down editing for a licensed user, manage access at the Polarion role or page ACL level.
- There is no visual indicator on the board that tells a read-only user they are in read-only mode beyond the absence of the edit controls.
You should now see…
After following these steps, unlicensed users who open the board should see all planning data — swimlanes, cards, capacity bars, and plan columns — but find that the Create New Plan and Show Unplanned buttons are absent from the toolbar, the sidebar does not open, and any drag attempt leaves cards in their original positions.See also
- Widget Parameters Overview — full list of widget parameters for controlling board behavior
- Basic Board Interactions — overview of board interactions available to all users
- License Installation — how to install and manage Planningboard license seats
- Drag and Drop Issues — troubleshoot cases where drag and drop is unexpectedly blocked