Connected Blocks
Connected Blocks
Connected Blocks let teams connect supporting work from one plan to related work in another plan, without changing where anyone works.
Connected Blocks are especially useful when teams need to work in their own planning views while still showing how their work supports campaigns, phases, initiatives, or other strategic blocks.
With Connected Blocks, the strategic planners get full visibility and the team executing on their work doesn't have to change their process. Here's a quick demo of Connected Blocks 👇
This article covers how admins configure which block types can connect, how teams create connections, and how connected work appears in receiving plans.
How to Set Up Connected Blocks
In order to leverage Connected Blocks, you set up which block types can connect.
To configure supporting block types:
- Go to Admin settings
- Select Types
- Open the block type you want to configure
- Set which block types it can support
- Optionally rename the connection label users will see
- Repeat for each supporting block type
- Save your changes
By default, the connection field is labeled Supports, but admins can rename it to match the language your organization uses. For example, your workspace might call this field In Support Of, Connected To, or Rolls Up To.
If supporting block types have not been configured, connections still work. Users will see all blocks in the selected plan instead of a filtered list of eligible block types.
Note: We recommend having an admin configure Connected Blocks. This keeps the connection menu focused, so users see the most relevant eligible blocks instead of browsing through every block in a plan.
How to Connect a Block to the Supported Work
Once supporting block types are configured, users can connect their block to another block from the block details panel.
To connect a block:
- Open the block you want to connect
- Select Edit Details
- Go to the Supports section, or whatever label your admin has configured
- Click to add a connection
- Search for the block by name, or browse by plan
- Select the block you want to connect to
- Save your changes
When browsing by plan, only root-level plans appear in the picker. After you select a root plan, you can choose a specific eligible block from that plan.
A few things to know about the picker:
- Blocks with dates that overlap your block’s timeline appear higher in the list
- One block can connect to multiple parent blocks
- Blocks without start and end dates do not appear in the picker
- If no eligible blocks are configured for the selected plan, you can use Show All to browse all blocks in that plan
For example, a single Instagram post could support both a product launch and a seasonal campaign. In that case, you can connect the post to both parent blocks.
How to Show Connected Blocks in a Plan
Connected blocks do not automatically appear directly on the receiving plan’s timeline or table view.
Instead, they need to be surfaced through Smart Swimlanes, which gives the receiving plan owner control over how supporting work is organized.
To show connected blocks in a receiving plan:
- Open the receiving block, such as the campaign
- Edit or add a Smart Swimlane
- Set the source to This Plan
- Choose the custom field that should organize the supporting work, such as Channel, Region, or Team
- Set the block type filter to the supporting block type you want to show
- Refresh the plan
The connected blocks appear in the appropriate Smart Swimlanes based on the selected grouping.
When you connect one block to another, the connected block can inherit custom field values from its parent. The custom field values become visible to users who need access to the supporting work. This helps teams keep campaign-level naming conventions - such as Region or Audience - consistent without manually entering the same information multiple times.
If a block is connected to multiple parents, it can inherit a union of values from all parents. For example, if a tactic supports both a US campaign and an EU campaign, it can inherit both regions on the Region custom field.
Inherited values are visually distinguished from manually entered values in the block detail view.
Permissions
When you connect a child block to a parent block, users with access to the parent can gain access to the connected child block. This lets the parent block owner see the supporting work without needing a separate sharing step.
Privacy note: If your block is in a private plan, connecting it automatically grants the parent block’s owner access.
You can view current connections from the source block’s detail view, in the configured connection section. By default, this section is called Supports, but your workspace may use a different label.
Connections can be removed at any time. When you remove a connection:
- Inherited custom field values from that parent are removed from the child block
- Users who gained access only through that connection lose access to the block
- The block no longer appears in the parent plan’s Smart Swimlanes
If a parent block is deleted, the child block remains in its home plan. However, it loses any custom field values it was inheriting from that parent.
Important: Disconnecting blocks can affect both data inheritance and access. Double-check before removing connections in bulk.
Connected Blocks Use Cases
Connected Blocks are useful when teams need to keep their own planning structure while giving other teams visibility into supporting work.
Common examples include:
- Channel teams planning email, social, retail, or other functional work in their own continuous timelines
- A single tactic supporting multiple campaigns or initiatives
- Campaign owners using Smart Swimlanes to see execution work by channel, region, or team
- Teams connecting tactics to both a campaign and a phase for more detailed drill-down
- Reporting workflows that rely on consistent campaign taxonomy across supporting blocks
By using Connected Blocks, teams can keep working in the plans that make sense for them while giving strategic plans a clearer view of the work that supports them.
