Grouping Rows into Swimlanes for Version 7.0

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Overview

This article covers manual swimlane groupings, as opposed to the automatic, data-driven swimlanes that appear by default in OnePager charts. For more information on automatic swimlane groupings, please see the article at: Creating, Formatting, and Sorting Swimlanes Levels

In order to group rows into swimlanes, at least two rows must be selected in the chart and at least one swimlane level must be defined for the chart. If only one row is selected, OnePager disables the Group rows into a swimlane command in the text column right-click context menu. Two or more rows may be grouped into swimlanes when one or more (all) swimlane levels are hidden. If these conditions are not met, when the text column right-click context menu is accessed, the Group rows into a swimlane command is disabled as shown here:

P70-12 16 1-(2A)-07282020.png

Since you can configure OnePager charts with up to three swimlane levels, how rows are grouped into a swimlane depends on the membership of the row in the swimlane levels defined in the chart.

This article discusses the various possible configurations for selected rows and how the Group rows into a swimlane command produces a consistent result in terms of the configuration of the new grouped swimlane, its resulting position in the chart, and the labels assigned to the new grouped swimlane levels cells.

Depending on the original configuration of the chart, the number of swimlane levels defined and showing, the results of applying the Group rows into a swimlane command follows a consistent pattern discussed in this article.

As an example, we can start by illustrating the results from grouping two rows from the same Left#3 swimlane level in the sequence shown below.

1) Start by selecting the top two rows in the illustration below where these selected two rows are members of all three defined and shown swimlane levels.
2) The text column right-click context menu is accessed, and the Group rows into a swimlane command is enabled as shown here:
P70-12 18 1-(2)-07302020.png
3) When the Group rows into swimlane command is clicked the results are shown in the chart here:
P70-12 18 1-(3-1)-08042020.png

The end result in the illustration above is the creation of a new Left#3 swimlane positioned below the original Left#3 swimlane with the new grouped swimlane having the label of the original Left#3 swimlane.

Rows are grouped into a swimlane at the lowest swimlane level. In the illustration above, the lowest swimlane level is Left#3. When there are two or more rows in the lowest swimlane level are selected and are member of higher level swimlane, as shown in the above chart, the result of grouping rows into a swimlane applies only to the lowest level swimlane. As shown in the illustration above, these higher level swimlanes are not altered by the action taken to group rows into a swimlane at the lowest level swimlane. When these conditions are not met, OnePager disables the Group rows into a swimlane command in the text column right-click context menu.

Multiple rows in different Left#3 swimlane level cells can be selected and the Group rows into a swimlane command used to create a new grouping.

Grouping Rows into a Swimlane – One Swimlane Level Chart

To better illustrate how the Group rows into a swimlane command operates in the multiple swimlane level environment we start with the situation where one swimlane level is defined and showing in the chart. In the sub-sections that follow, we start with the Left#1 swimlane level defined and showing as the simplest case and proceed step-wise to demonstrated OnePager’s Group rows into a swimlane when there are two and three swimlane levels defined and showing in the chart.

Grouping Rows into a Swimlane from the Same Left#1 Swimlane Level Cell

Grouping rows into a swimlane can be illustrated in the one swimlane level chart shown here as our starting point:

P70-12 18 1-(4)-07312020.png

Suppose you’d like to take the four rows in the Startup swimlane and group them so that there are two Startup Left#1 swimlane level cells in the chart. To do this, select the two top rows in the Startup swimlane using the CTL+Left-Click method, right-click in one of the selected text column cells to access the text column right-click context menu, and prepare to click the Group rows into a swimlane command as shown below:

P70-12 18 1-(5-1)-08042020.png

When the Group rows into a swimlane command is clicked, the two selected rows become a new Left#1 swimlane with Startup as its Left#1 swimlane level cell label positioned below the original Left#1 swimlane level cell label as shown here:

P70-12 18 1-(5)-07312020.png

When selected rows are grouped into a swimlane within an existing swimlane level cell, OnePager places the new grouped swimlane below the original swimlane level cell to draw attention to the new grouping. OnePager assumes that the reason for grouping rows into a swimlane is that, in most schedule presentation situations, the new grouped rows (now a swimlane on its own) will be re-positioned elsewhere in the chart and potentially the new grouped swimlane level cell label will be edited. As a result, you have the option to retain the new grouped rows in the OnePager designated position or move the new grouped swimlane using the drag and drop method to a different position in the chart.

For more information on moving swimlanes, please see the article at: Moving Swimlanes

Once the new swimlane is created containing the two selected rows shown above, the new swimlane can be edited the same as any other swimlane in the chart. Edits can include changing the label in the Left#1 swimlane level cell, dragging and dropping the new swimlane to another position in the chart, or changing its background color in some fashion.

For more information on editing rows and swimlanes please see the two articles at: Editing Row Properties and Editing Swimlane Properties

Grouping Rows into a Swimlane from Different Left#1 Swimlane Level Cells

To illustrate what happens when rows are selected from different Left#1 swimlane level cells, we again start with the original chart configuration shown below:

P70-12 18 1-(4)-07312020.png

For this example, lets select one row in the Startup Left#1 swimlane and three rows in the Phase III Left#1 swimlane as shown here:

P70-12 18 1-(7)-08032020.png

When the Group rows into a swimlane command is clicked, the four selected rows become a new Left#1 swimlane with Phase III as its Left#1 swimlane level cell label positioned below the bottom Left#1 swimlane level cell label as shown here:

P70-12 18 1-(8)-08032020.png

Comparing the original with the resulting chart after grouping the four selected rows into a swimlane, shown above, illustrates how OnePager handles one swimlane level case where rows are selected from different swimlanes.

  • The new grouped rows are placed together in sequence from top to bottom order.
  • The new grouped swimlane is placed at the bottom of the chart.
  • The new grouped Left#1 swimlane cell’s label is taken as the modal value from the origin swimlane labels associated with the original selected rows.
  • In this case, one selected row came from the Startup Left#1 swimlane and three rows came from the Phase III Left#1 swimlane.
  • As Phase III is the modal swimlane cell label, the new grouped Left#1 swimlane takes the Phase III swimlane cell label.

Grouping Rows into a Swimlane – Two Swimlane Level Chart

In the sub-sections that follow, we add the Left#2 swimlane level to the already present Left#1 swimlane level. Adding the Left#2 swimlane level to the original chart gives us a chart with this configuration:

P70-12 18 1-(9)-08032020.png

Grouping Rows into a Swimlane from the Same Left#2 and Left#1 Swimlane Level Cells

Selecting multiple rows from the same Left#2 and Left#1 swimlane level cell is the same as the example above for grouping rows into a swimlane from the same Left#1 swimlane level cell when there is no Left#2 swimlane level configured in the chart.

Because the results are the same, please refer back to the example at: Grouping Rows into a Swimlane from the Same Left#1 Swimlane Level Cell

Grouping Rows into a Swimlane from Different Left#2 and Left#1 Swimlane Level Cells

There are two situations here to explore: (1) The first is where the Left#1 swimlane levels are the same but the Left#2 swimlane levels are different for the selected rows and (2) where the Left#1 swimlane levels may be the same or different and the selected rows are in different Left#2 swimlane levels. We’ll take each in turn.

Rows Selected from the Same Left#1 Swimlane Levels but Different Left#2 Swimlane Levels

To illustrate this first situation, consider the five selected rows shown in the chart below:

P70-12 18 1-(10)-08032020.png

When the Group rows into a swimlane command is clicked, the chart is reconfigured as shown below:

P70-12 18 1-(11)-08032020.png

Comparing the original with the resulting chart after grouping the five selected rows into a swimlane, shown above, illustrates how OnePager handles the two swimlane level case where rows are selected from different Left#2 swimlanes residing in the same Left#1 swimlane.

  • The new grouped rows are placed together in sequence from top to bottom order.
  • The new grouped swimlane is placed at the bottom of the involved Left#1 swimlane (Phase III), usually the bottom of the chart.
  • The new grouped Left#2 swimlane cell’s label is taken as the modal value from the origin Left#2 swimlane cell label associated with the original selected rows.
  • In this case, two selected row came from the Integration & Testing Left#2 swimlane and three rows came from the Refactoring & Deployment Left#2 swimlane.
  • As Refactoring & Deployment is the modal Left#2 swimlane cell’s label, the new grouped Left#2 swimlane takes the Refactoring & Deployment swimlane cell label.

Rows Selected from Different Left#1 Swimlane Levels and Different Left#2 Swimlane Levels

To consider this illustration carefully, let’s take a fresh look back at the original chart shown here:

P70-12 18 1-(9)-08032020.png

To illustrate the second situation, three rows are selected from the same Left#1 and Left#2 swimlanes and two rows are selected from different Left#1 and Left#2 swimlanes from the three rows selected at the top of the chart as shown below:

P70-12 18 1-(12)-08032020.png

The illustration remains valid even if the three rows selected at the top of the chart were selected from different Left#1 and Left#2 swimlanes. The illustration is meant to show the results from selecting rows in different Left#1 and Left#2 swimlanes.

When the Group rows into a swimlane command is clicked, the chart is reconfigured as shown below:

P70-12 18 1-(13)-08032020.png

Again, comparing the original with the resulting chart after grouping the five selected rows into a swimlane, shown above, illustrates how OnePager handles the two swimlane level case where rows are selected from different Left#1 and Left#2 swimlanes.

  • The new grouped rows are placed together in sequence from top to bottom order.
  • The new grouped swimlane is placed at the bottom of the chart.
  • The new grouped Left#2 swimlane cell’s label is taken as the modal value from the origin Left#2 swimlane cell label associated with the original three selected rows.
  • The new grouped Left#1 swimlane cell’s label is taken as the modal value from the origin Left#1 swimlane cell label associated with the original three selected rows.
  • In this case, three selected row came from the Startup Left#1 swimlane and Planning Left#2 swimlane.

Grouping Rows into a Swimlane – Three Swimlane Level Chart

In the sub-sections that follow, we add the Left#3 swimlane level to the already defined and showing Left#1 and Left#2 swimlane levels. Adding the Left#3 swimlane level to the original chart produces a chart with this configuration:

P70-12 18 1-(14)-08032020.png

If you’ve followed along through the discussions involving configurations of one and two swimlane levels in the chart, you can rightly suspect that the various combinations involving three swimlane levels with selected rows from the same or different swimlane levels follows a recurring pattern. Your suspicions are correct. So to reduce the number of possible examples, we’ll eliminate coverage of the situation where selected rows come from the same Left#1, Left#2, and Left#3 swimlanes.

In this sub-section we’ll cover only the case where three rows are selected from different Left#1, Left#2, and Left#3 swimlanes. In a chart with three swimlane levels, the examples in the previous sub-sections (where we discussed selecting rows in a single swimlane level chart and a two swimlane level chart) applies to the three swimlane level chart where rows are selected from a single swimlane level or two different swimlane levels.

Rows Selected from Different Left#1, Left#2, and Left#3 Swimlane Levels

To illustrate the three swimlane level chart configuration, three rows are selected from the different Left#1, Left#2, and Left#3 swimlane levels as shown below:

P70-12 18 1-(15)-08032020.png

Please note that in the above chart there are no modal swimlane level cell labels. That is, there are an equal number of rows selected for each of the three different swimlane levels.

After clicking the Group rows into a swimlane command, the chart looks like this:

P70-12 18 1-(16-1)-08042020.png

For the example in this sub-section, comparing the original with the resulting chart after grouping the three selected rows into a swimlane, shown above, illustrates how OnePager handles the three swimlane level case where rows are selected from different Left#1, Left#2 and Left#3 swimlane levels.

  • The new grouped rows are placed together in sequence from top to bottom order.
  • The new grouped swimlane is placed at the bottom of the chart.
  • Since only one row was selected in each combination of swimlane levels, there are no modal Left#1, Left#2, and Left#3 swimlane level cell labels in the new grouping of three selected rows.
  • Under this condition, OnePager selects the labels for new grouped swimlane level cells at random for the three rows.
  • OnePager uses just the random selection of resulting swimlane level cell label in anticipation that you will most likely edit the three grouped level swimlane cell labels to meet your specific schedule presentation needs.

Regardless of the number of rows selected and used with the Group rows into a swimlane command, OnePager uses the random selection of grouped swimlane level cell’s labels to populate the corresponding new grouped swimlane level cell labels. In the illustration above, the random selection happened to be the three bottom most Left#1, Left#2, and Left#3 swimlane level cell labels.

Related Links

Manual Editing Task/Milestone Shapes and Text Labels (Portal)

Creating and Editing Rows and Swimlanes (Portal)

About OnePager's Rows and Swimlanes

Collecting, Formatting, and Sorting Task/Milestones into Rows

Creating, Formatting, and Sorting Swimlanes Levels

Creating and Formatting Text Columns

Row and Swimlane Borders

Editing Text Columns or Swimlane Labels

Manually Hiding and Unhiding Swimlane Levels

Resizing the Width of Text Columns and Swimlanes

Resizing the Height of Rows

Hiding and Unhiding Rows and Swimlanes

Adding a Row or Swimlane

Merging Swimlanes

Editing Row Properties

Editing Swimlane Properties

Zebra Striping for Rows and Swimlanes for OnePager Pro

Zebra Striping for Rows and Swimlanes for OnePager Express

Editing with the Chart Properties form (Portal)

Managing Templates (Portal)

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