GravityBoard Checklist Templates

Checklist Templates allow you to automatically add predefined checklist items to new entries in your GravityBoard. This feature streamlines workflow setup and ensures consistency across cards.

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Setting Up Checklist Templates
• How Templates Work
• Template Application Rules
• Multiple Board Templates
• Template Format
• Common Use Cases

Overview

Checklist Templates provide a way to automatically populate new entries with predefined checklist items. This is particularly useful for:

• Standard workflows: Ensuring all steps are included in repetitive processes
• Quality control: Making sure important checks aren't forgotten
• Team consistency: Providing the same starting checklist for all team members
• Onboarding: Creating standardized task lists for new projects or clients

Setting Up Checklist Templates

1. Enable Checklists for Your Board

Before using templates, ensure checklists are enabled:

1. Edit your board feed or create a new one
2. In Configure Board, go to the Checklists section
3. Toggle "Enable Checklists" to ON
4. Go to the Advanced tab
5. Find the "Checklist Template" field
6. Enter your checklist items, one per line
7. Click Save Settings

Example Template

Review project requirements
Create initial mockup
Get client approval
Implement design
Internal review
Deploy to staging
Client review
Deploy to production

How Templates Work

Automatic Application

Templates are automatically applied to new entries created through:

• GravityBoard interface: When creating cards directly in the board view
• Form submissions: When entries are created via Gravity Forms
• API creation: When entries are created programmatically
• Import operations: When entries are imported into the form

Template Processing

1. Entry Creation: When a new entry is created, GravityBoard checks for active board feeds
2. Conditional Logic: Each feed's conditional logic is evaluated against the entry
3. Template Application: If conditions are met and a template exists, items are added
4. Merging: Multiple templates are merged if multiple feeds apply (see below)
5. Storage: The complete checklist is saved with the entry

Template Application Rules

Conditional Logic

Templates respect your board feed's conditional logic:

• Templates are only applied if the feed's conditions are met
• This allows different templates for different scenarios
• Example: Different checklists for different product types or priority levels

Timing

Templates are applied:

• Immediately upon entry creation
• Before any manual checklist modifications
• Once only - templates aren't reapplied to existing entries

Permissions

• Template application happens automatically regardless of user permissions
• Users still need appropriate permissions to view or edit the resulting checklists

Multiple Board Templates

When multiple board feeds are active for a form, their templates can be combined:

Merging Behavior

1. Sequential Processing: Feeds are processed in order of activation
2. Cumulative Addition: Each template's items are added to the checklist
3. Flattening: All items are combined into a single checklist
4. No Duplicates: Items maintain their original order without deduplication

Example Scenario

Feed 1 Template (General Tasks):

Initial setup
Documentation
Testing

Feed 2 Template (Client-Specific):

Client briefing
Brand guidelines review
Stakeholder approval

Resulting Checklist:

☐ Initial setup
☐ Documentation
☐ Testing
☐ Client briefing
☐ Brand guidelines review
☐ Stakeholder approval

Integration with Existing Checklists

When cards are created with both: - Programmatically added checklist items - Template items

The items are merged together, with template items added after any existing items.

Template Format

Basic Format

• One item per line: Each line becomes a separate checklist item
• Plain text only: No HTML or Markdown formatting
• Empty lines ignored: Blank lines are automatically skipped
• Automatic trimming: Leading/trailing whitespace is removed

Special Characters

Templates support standard text including: - Numbers and bullets (though they're treated as part of the text) - Special characters (©, ™, etc.) - Emojis (📋, ✓, etc.) - International characters

What's NOT Supported

• Nested checklists: All items are at the same level
• Pre-checked items: All items start unchecked
• Rich formatting: Bold, italic, links are not supported
• Categories/Groups: Items cannot be grouped into sections

Common Use Cases

Project Management

Define project scope
Create project timeline
Assign team members
Set up project repository
Configure CI/CD pipeline
Create documentation structure
Schedule kickoff meeting
Define success metrics

Content Creation

Research topic
Create outline
Write first draft
Internal review
Edit and revise
Add images/media
SEO optimization
Final proofread
Schedule publication
Promote on social media

Customer Onboarding

Send welcome email
Schedule onboarding call
Create customer account
Configure initial settings
Provide training materials
Set up first project
Establish communication channels
Schedule follow-up check-in

Quality Assurance

Review requirements
Create test plan
Execute test cases
Log identified issues
Verify fixes
Regression testing
Performance testing
Security review
User acceptance testing
Sign-off for release

Summary

Checklist Templates in GravityBoard provide a powerful way to standardize workflows and ensure consistency across your boards. By automatically adding predefined items to new entries, they save time and reduce the chance of missing important steps. With support for conditional logic and multiple templates, you can create sophisticated, context-aware checklists that adapt to your specific needs.