Connections in Plans

Andy Hugelier Updated by Andy Hugelier

Connections in Plans

When teams work across plans, it helps to see how their work connects. Connections let you link a plan or block to other work it supports — like a campaign block on the Marketing plan that supports a launch milestone on the Product plan — without leaving the block details.

This article covers how admins set up which types can connect, and how your team uses connections day to day.

Set up which types connect in the Admin

Connections work best when admins curate which types of work can connect to which. That way, when someone on your team opens the Supports field on a block, they see the most relevant options first.

To configure connections:

  1. Click on Opal Options
  2. Hover over Configure Workspace
  3. Click on Types
  4. Open the type you want to configure
  5. Under Connections, use the Supports dropdown to select which other types this one can support

Setting up a connection in the admin

For example: if your Marketing type should support Product Launch and Brand Campaign types, select those here. Now anyone working on a Marketing block will see Product Launch and Brand Campaign plans suggested first when they add a connection.

You can also see all your type connections at a glance in the new Connections column on the type list.

Note: Moment-paired block types can't be selected as connection targets.

Connect your work to what it supports

Once your admin has things set up, you'll find a Supports field on the block details panel — between Description and Swimlane, marked with a small link icon.

To make a connection:

  1. Open the block (either in the slide-out drawer or the full block view)
  2. Click the Supports field
  3. Select a plan, or a specific block within a plan, to connect to

The connection is created instantly. To remove one, just deselect it from the same dropdown.

What a connection actually does

A connection is more than a link or a tag — when you connect your block to another plan or block, your block becomes part of that parent's plan. Here's what to expect:

  • Custom fields are shared. Your block inherits the custom fields the parent expects to see filled in, and values entered on the parent side show up on your block where applicable.
  • Your timeline is bounded by the parent's. Your block's start and end dates can't extend past the parent's window. If the parent's dates change, your available range shifts with it.
  • Your block surfaces in the parent's plan. It becomes eligible to appear in the parent plan's smart swimlane, so the team that owns the parent can see your work without anyone adding it manually.
  • The connection is visible from both sides. Your block lists the parent in its Supports field, and the parent's plan can surface your block in its swimlane.
  • Removing the connection unwinds all of this. Deselecting from the Supports field removes the inherited fields, releases the timeline constraint, and pulls your block from the parent's swimlane. Your block itself isn't deleted — only the connection.

Don't see the plan you're looking for?

By default, the Supports menu shows only plans and blocks whose type your admin has set up to connect with yours. To connect to something outside that list — say, a one-off cross-team project — toggle Show All at the top of the menu (the eye icon) to browse every plan and block in your workspace.

The note is placed at the end of the admin section so it doesn't interrupt the main setup flow but is still visible when an admin is configuring a type and wonders why a particular option isn't there. Let me know if you'd like it positioned differently or anything else adjusted.

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