Configure Dependencies Display

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Prerequisites

• A Planningboard widget is already embedded in a Polarion LiveDoc or Wiki page.
• The Polarion work item link roles you want to visualize already exist in the project (for example, depends_on, blocks, or a custom link role).
• You have permission to edit widget parameters on the page.

1

Open the widget parameters

1. Navigate to the Polarion page containing the Planningboard widget.
2. Click Edit to enter page editing mode.
3. Open the widget’s parameter editor (click the widget configuration icon or choose Edit Widget Parameters from the widget context menu).

2

Set the Dependency Roles parameter

In the Parameters for Work Items section, locate the Dependency Roles field.Enter one or more work item link role IDs that should be treated as dependencies. Separate multiple roles with a comma.

Dependency Roles:  depends_on

Or for multiple roles:

Dependency Roles:  depends_on, blocks

Enter the internal link role ID exactly as defined in the Polarion project configuration — not the display label. Wrong IDs are silently ignored: no dependency arrows will appear, and no error is shown. Check Administration > Work Items > Link Roles to confirm the exact ID.

In Polarion, go to Administration > Work Items > Link Roles to see all defined roles and their IDs. Common defaults include depends_on and parent. Custom project roles vary.

3

Save and reload the page

Save the widget parameters and reload the page to apply the change.

4

Enable the Show Dependencies toolbar button

With Dependency Roles configured, the Show Dependencies button in the Planningboard toolbar becomes functional.

Click Show Dependencies to toggle dependency arrows on for all cards currently visible on the board. Clicking it again hides the arrows.

The toolbar Show Dependencies button reveals all dependency arrows for the entire board at once. The per-card Show Links quick action (hover over a card) shows only links for that specific card and dims all others. Both use the same Dependency Roles configuration.

5

Use card-level Show Links for focused inspection

When you need to trace a single card’s dependencies without visual clutter:

1. Hover over the card whose dependencies you want to inspect.
2. Click the Show Links icon (chain link icon) that appears in the card’s upper-right corner.
3. All other cards are dimmed; only the selected card and its directly linked cards remain highlighted.
4. Click the icon again or click elsewhere to return to the full board.

To create a new dependency link between two cards directly on the board:

1. Hover over the source card and click the Add Link icon (also in the upper-right corner).
2. The same icon appears on all other cards. A red icon means a link already exists.
3. Click the target card to establish the link. Click a card with a red icon to remove that link.

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How dependency arrows are visualized

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Configuration example

# Work Items parameters
query         = type:story
sortBy        = priority
dependencyRoles = depends_on,blocks
sidebarFields = title,status,plannedIn

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Verification

• A Show Dependencies button is active in the toolbar (it was previously greyed out or had no effect without Dependency Roles configured).
• Clicking Show Dependencies draws arrow lines between cards that have links of the configured role types.
• Hovering over a card and clicking Show Links highlights only that card’s direct links.
• Clicking Add Link on a card, then clicking another card, creates a new Polarion link of the configured role between the two work items.

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See also

• Widget Parameters Overview — full reference for all widget parameters including Dependency Roles and Sidebar Fields
• Visualize and Manage Dependencies — planning workflow for working with dependencies day-to-day
• Basic Board Interactions — card quick actions including Show Links and Add Link
• Configure Plans (Columns) — controlling which Plans (and therefore which cards) are visible on the board