Unplanned Sidebar

Planningboard layout showing the Unplanned Sidebar with filter and search controls, parent groups containing WI cards, and an item counter, next to the Board Area grid of Plan columns and swimlane rows with scheduled cards

Overview

Attribute	Value
Panel position	Right side of the board
Default visibility	Visible (toggle with Show Unplanned toolbar button)
License requirement	Licensed users only — panel is hidden for unlicensed users
Primary interaction	Drag card from sidebar onto a board swimlane/Plan cell to schedule
Secondary interaction	Click a card to open the Work Item Properties sidebar

Visibility Toggle

The sidebar can be shown or hidden using the Show Unplanned toolbar button (#btnShowUnplanned). This button is only visible to licensed users.

When hidden, the board area expands to fill the full width.
When shown, the board area narrows to accommodate the sidebar.
The panel preference is saved between sessions.

The Show Unplanned button and the sidebar panel itself are only rendered for licensed users. Unlicensed users see neither the button nor the sidebar.

Item Display and Grouping

Items in the sidebar are grouped by parent hierarchy. The updateSidebarHeader function applies all active filters, sorts items by parent, groups them into parent-hierarchy dividers, and updates the item count indicator.

Item Counter

A counter at the bottom of the sidebar displays the number of currently visible items relative to the total:

X out of Y work items

The counter updates in real time as filters are applied or cleared.

Parent Hierarchy Grouping

Items are organized under collapsible parent-group dividers. The depth of parent levels loaded is controlled by the PARAMETER_US_DEPTH widget parameter (see Work Items Parameters). The link role used to determine parent-child relationships is set by PARAMETER_PARENTS_LINK_ROLE (see Work Items Parameters).

Widget Parameter	Purpose	Default
`PARAMETER_US_DEPTH`	Number of parent levels loaded in sidebar hierarchy	See application
`PARAMETER_PARENTS_LINK_ROLE`	Link role defining parent-child relationships for hierarchy	See application

Deep parent hierarchies (high PARAMETER_US_DEPTH values) increase data load time. Keep depth to the minimum required for your planning workflow.

Filters

The sidebar supports multiple filter modes. Some filter modes are mutually exclusive — enabling one clears the other.

Filter Controls

Control	Element	Description
Funnel icon	Filter button	Opens the filter panel to select resource or query filters
Filter Verified WIs button	Upper-right button	Toggles whether resolved/verified work items appear in the sidebar
Filter columns option	Filter panel option	Hides verified work items that are already planned on the board
Search field	Text input	Real-time text search across item content and parent names
Clear filter	Clear action	Removes all active resource and query filters

Unplanned sidebar showing the funnel filter icon, search field, Filter columns button, and 137 work items listed

Filter: Resolved / Verified Items (`toggleFilterResolved`)

Toggles whether resolved (verified) work items appear in the sidebar.

When active: resolved items are hidden from the sidebar.
When inactive: resolved items are shown alongside unresolved items.
Items with the Verified status that have already been placed on the board cannot be moved or unplanned.

Once a card with Verified status is placed on the board, it cannot be moved or returned to the sidebar via drag and drop.

Filter: Column Filtering (`toggleFilterColumns`)

Unplanned sidebar after Filter columns is applied, showing 1 out of 8 work items remaining visible

Hides verified work items that are already planned (already placed in a Plan column on the board).

Differs from the resolved toggle: this filter targets items that appear on the board in a plan column, regardless of their resolved status.
Use this to keep the sidebar clean by removing items that have already been scheduled.

Filter: Resource Filter (`filterSidebarByResource`)

Filters sidebar items to show only those assigned to a specific resource (person or team).

Accessed via the funnel icon filter panel.
Mutually exclusive with query filtering — enabling a resource filter clears any active query filter.
To remove: use the clear filter action (clearSidebarFiler).

Filter: Query Filter (`filterSidebarByQuery`)

Filters sidebar items to show only those matching a specific Polarion query.

Predefined queries must be configured via widget parameters (see Work Items Parameters).
Accessed via the funnel icon filter panel under the Queries section.
Mutually exclusive with resource filtering — enabling a query filter clears any active resource filter.

Filter: Search (`searchSidebar`)

Performs real-time text search across sidebar items.

Attribute	Behavior
Scope	Searches both item content and parent names
Case sensitivity	Case-insensitive
Interaction with other filters	Combines with active resource/query filters (search narrows the already-filtered set)
Clearing search	Clearing the search text restores the previously filtered set — it does not clear resource or query filters

Clearing Filters (`clearSidebarFiler`)

The clear filter action removes all active resource and query filters and shows all unplanned items (subject to the resolved toggle state).

Clearing filters does not reset the search text field or the resolved/verified toggle. Those must be cleared independently.

Filter Precedence and Combination

Filter precedence flow: Resolved Toggle then Column Filter, then mutually exclusive Resource Filter or Query Filter, merging into Search Text, producing the Displayed Items X of Y counter

Resource filter and query filter are mutually exclusive — enabling one clears the other.
Search combines with whichever of the above filters are active.
The resolved toggle and column filter apply independently before resource/query filtering.

Drag and Drop

The primary interaction with the sidebar is drag and drop: drag a card from the sidebar onto a board cell (Plan column × swimlane row) to schedule it.

Aspect	Behavior
Source	Unplanned sidebar items
Target	Board cells (Plan column × swimlane intersection)
Effect on drop	Work item is assigned to the Plan and resource/swimlane; removed from sidebar
Drag blocked in prioritize mode	Drag is disabled when Prioritization mode is active
Drag blocked for unlicensed users	Unlicensed users cannot drag cards; changes are not persisted

Alt+Drag to Duplicate

Holding Alt while dragging creates a duplicate assignment to another resource instead of moving the item:

Creates a multi-resource assignment (comma-separated resource list on the work item).
Cannot duplicate to the Not Assigned/Other swimlane.
When duplicating from Not Assigned/Other, the Not Assigned/Other assignment is automatically removed.

Click to Open Work Item Properties

Clicking a card in the sidebar opens the Work Item Properties sidebar, where fields of the selected work item can be reviewed and modified.

Fields displayed in the properties sidebar are configured via the PARAMETER_SIDEBAR_FIELDS widget parameter.
Default fields: title, status, plannedIn.
Users can personalize displayed fields using the Select Fields (gear icon) button in the sidebar. These additions are per-user and apply to all work items of the same type.
After saving changes in the properties sidebar, the board preserves your swimlane and scroll position — the board does not jump back to the top.

Work Item Properties sidebar open on the right while the board stays in position, showing personalized field additions that apply per user across all work items of the same type

Widget Parameter	Type	Default	Description
`PARAMETER_SIDEBAR_FIELDS`	Array of field IDs	`title`, `status`, `plannedIn`	Work item fields shown in the properties sidebar when a card is opened

See Work Items Parameters for the full field reference.

Height Management (`modSchedHeight`)

The sidebar and board area heights are automatically managed to fit the browser window or Polarion iframe. No manual height configuration is required.

Height adjusts dynamically when the browser window is resized.
Behavior differs slightly when embedded in a Polarion LiveDoc or Wiki page (iframe) versus standalone.

Unplanning Items from the Board

Items can be returned from the board to the sidebar using the Unplan card quick action (visible on hover). See Card Quick Actions for details. The Unplan action:

Moves the card from its current Plan/swimlane cell back into the Unplanned Sidebar.
Clears the work item’s date and resource assignment.
Makes the item available for re-planning.

Cards with Verified status cannot be unplanned — the action is blocked for verified items.

Configuration Reference

Parameter	Where Configured	Description	Reference
`PARAMETER_SIDEBAR_FIELDS`	Widget Parameters	Fields shown in the Work Item Properties panel	Work Items Parameters
`PARAMETER_US_DEPTH`	Widget Parameters	Parent hierarchy depth loaded in the sidebar	Work Items Parameters
`PARAMETER_PARENTS_LINK_ROLE`	Widget Parameters	Link role used to build parent-child hierarchy	Work Items Parameters

Sidebar Behavior Summary

Feature	Behavior	Notes
Sidebar visibility	Toggle via Show Unplanned toolbar button	Licensed users only
Item grouping	Grouped by parent hierarchy	Depth set by `PARAMETER_US_DEPTH`
Item counter	Shows `X of Y work items`	Updates with each filter change
Resource filter	Filter by assignee or team	Mutually exclusive with query filter
Query filter	Filter by predefined Polarion query	Mutually exclusive with resource filter
Search	Real-time, case-insensitive, combined with active filters	Does not clear resource/query filters
Resolved toggle	Show/hide verified items	Does not affect already-placed verified items
Column filter	Hide already-planned verified items	Independent of resolved toggle
Clear filter	Clears resource and query filters only	Search text and resolved toggle unaffected
Drag and drop	Drag to board cell to schedule	Blocked in prioritize mode and for unlicensed users
Alt+drag	Create duplicate multi-resource assignment	Cannot target the Not Assigned/Other swimlane
Click card	Open Work Item Properties panel	Fields configured via `PARAMETER_SIDEBAR_FIELDS`
Scroll preservation	Board position preserved after saving properties	No jump to top on save
Height	Automatic, fits browser/iframe	No manual configuration

Toolbar Controls — the Show Unplanned toggle button lives in the toolbar
Card Quick Actions — the Unplan action that returns items to the sidebar
Swimlane Controls — swimlane behavior that interacts with sidebar assignments
Work Items Parameters — PARAMETER_SIDEBAR_FIELDS, PARAMETER_US_DEPTH, PARAMETER_PARENTS_LINK_ROLE
UI and Display Parameters — additional display configuration
License Panel — license enforcement that controls sidebar access

Sources

KB Articles

Planningboard interface & basic interactions

Source Code

unplanned_sidebar.js
planningboard.js
PlanningBoardWidgetRenderer.java
PlanningBoardWidget.java
widget.vm

Overview

Visibility Toggle