# Roadmap example

> Shortcuts are written for the Mac. On Windows and Linux, use Ctrl where it says Cmd, unless the text names another key.

This example builds a roadmap: a collection where each page is a project. Every project gets a Status, the Quarter it's planned for, a Responsible person and an Effort. At the end you have three views of the same projects: a table, a board by status and a board by quarter. It takes about fifteen minutes on a computer, and every step works the same for any collection you build later.

*The finished roadmap as a table.*

## 1. Create the collection

1. Hover the **Collections** heading in the sidebar and click the **+** next to it.
2. The new collection opens with its title ready for typing. Type **Roadmap** and press Enter.

Escape at this point removes the new collection again.

## 2. Name its pages

1. Click the gear next to **Collection** at the top of the panel, or choose **Collection Settings...** in the collection's menu in the sidebar. The settings open next to the collection.
2. On the **General** tab, pick an icon with the button in front of the name.
3. Under **What do you call a page in this collection?**, type **Project**.

From now on the buttons say **New Project**, and new pages start as "Untitled Project".

## 3. Add the properties

On the **Properties** tab, click **Add Property** once for each property below. Type its name first, then pick its type from the list, for example `Create "Status" as Choice`.

| Name | Type | Settings |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Status | Choice | The choices Planned, Doing, Completed and Maybe |
| Quarter | Date & Time | None |
| Responsible | User | None |
| Effort | Choice | The choices High, Medium and Low |

For a Choice, type each option in **Add a choice...** and press Enter. The order of the choices is the order of the board's columns later; drag the grip in front of a choice to move it. Thymer gives each choice a color, and the square in front of it changes the color. Click **Done** when a property is complete.

## 4. Set up the views

A new collection has one view, **List**. Turn it into the table, then add the two boards. Views are on the **Views** tab: click one to edit it.

**The table**

1. Click **List**. Change the **View name** to **All projects** and set **View as** to **Table**.
2. Under **Properties**, turn on Status, Quarter, Responsible and Effort with the switch in each row. A view you make after adding properties shows only the title until you do.
3. Set **Sort by** to **Quarter**, and pick **Ascending** in the direction menu beside it, so the earliest quarter comes first.

**The board by status**

1. Click **Add View** and pick **Board**. Name it **By status**.
2. Check that **Board columns** is set to **Status**.
3. Under **Properties**, turn on Quarter and Responsible, so each card shows them.

**The board by quarter**

1. Click **Add View** and pick **Board** again. Name it **By quarter**.
2. Set **Board columns** to **Quarter**. A setting called **One column per** appears below it: choose **Quarter**.
3. Under **Properties**, turn on Status and Responsible.

Click **Save**. To change the order of the view buttons, drag the views in the list on the **Views** tab before saving.

## 5. Add the projects

1. Open **By status** and click **New Project** at the bottom of the **Planned** column. A card appears with its Status already set to Planned. Type the name of the project.
2. Add a few more, in whichever column fits.
3. Fill in the other values in **All projects**. Click a cell and click it again, or press Enter, to change it:
   - **Quarter**: type `Q3 2026` and press Enter. The table shows it as Q3 2026.
   - **Responsible**: pick a person from the list.
   - **Effort**: pick High, Medium or Low.

You can also set them on a project's own page, where the properties sit at the top. On a new page they start hidden: click **Add property...** to fill one in.

*The board by status: a column for each choice, in the order of the choices.*

## 6. Use it

- On **By status**, drag a card to another column to change its status.
- **By quarter** has a column for each quarter that has projects, in date order, and a **None** column for projects without a quarter. Drag a card to another quarter to plan it there: its Quarter becomes that whole quarter.
- Open a card to write the project's brief, notes and tasks. Every card is a full page. Cmd-click it to open it next to the board.
- In the table, click a column header and choose **Sort ascending** or **Sort descending**. Such a sort is temporary: choose **Update view defaults** in the view's menu to make it the view's order for everyone.

*The board by quarter: one column per quarter that has projects.*

## 7. Run it every week

Write each project's brief in its page: what done looks like, the relevant links, decisions as they are made, and the next steps as tasks, mentioning the person who does each. The Status tracks the project as a whole, and the tasks its steps.

Once a week, open **By status** together. Move cards, look at what is stuck and on whom, and update Responsible and Quarter. Open a card aside when a question needs the brief. Afterwards, everyone drags their next tasks onto their Journal, which shows when they plan to do them.

## Good to know

- A quarter gets a column once a project is planned in it. Empty quarters don't show.
- A board shows its **None** column only while some project has no value for its property.
- Board columns follow the order of the choices. To reorder them, drag the choices in the property's settings. Click a column's header on the board to rename that choice, or the **+** after the last column to add one.
- Cards in a column are sorted by when they were last changed. To drag cards into your own order, set the board's **Sort by** to **Custom Order**.
- There are quicker ways to the same result: the **+** at the end of a table's header adds a property, and the **+** next to the view buttons adds a view.

## Where to go from here

- Give a view a filter, such as `@Roadmap.Status!="Completed"` to hide finished projects, or `@Roadmap.Responsible=@me` to show each person their own. See [Views](views.md).
- Add a **Calendar** view on Quarter, or a **Page Link** property to connect projects to customers or issues. See [Properties](properties.md).
- Keep issues in their own collection, with a Page Link from each issue to its project, and show both on one board with a [dynamic collection](dynamic-collections.md).
- Link meeting notes and design documents to the project they concern; its backlinks then collect the discussion.