Groups
Article Content
A group is a container on the canvas that bundles related elements into one section. On mobile, the elements inside a group show up together as a single collapsible block so staff can fold them away once they're done.
What a group is
A group holds one or more elements as children. You can also nest groups inside other groups. Use groups when a few elements belong together as one logical step — for example, three checks that all relate to "opening the kitchen", or two photos and a signature that all confirm "delivery accepted".
Poppi nodes (briefings, decisions, actions) are not children of a group. They attach to individual elements as left or right satellites, so they cannot sit inside a group.
Add a group to the canvas
- Open the workflow template you want to edit.
- On the left toolbar, find the Group button. It's the top icon, shown as a dashed square.
- Tap it. An empty group appears on the canvas.
You can also add a group from the plus menu below any existing node. Tap Parallel or Sequential, then pick the Group icon from the picker that opens.
Fill an empty group
When a group has no children yet, it shows an Add first step button in the middle.
- Tap Add first step.
- The element picker pops up. It shows every element type, grouped by category (inputs, choices, media, guidance).
- Pick the element you want. It drops in as the group's first child.
If an element shows a small lock icon, your plan doesn't include it. Hover the icon to see which plan you'd need.
What you can put inside
- Any input element — text, number, photo, file, date and time, location, signature, voice note, sketch pad, annotated photo, stepper.
- Any choice element — checklist, single choice, multi choice, rating scale, cascading select.
- Any guidance element — written, photo, video.
- Other groups — groups can be nested.
You cannot put Poppi briefings, decisions, or actions inside a group. Those live as satellites on the right or left side of a specific element.
The group header
Every group has a faint header strip across the top:
- "Group" label on the left — also acts as the drag handle, so you can move the whole group by grabbing this strip.
- Preview button (play icon) — opens the test preview for just this group, so you can see how it'll look to staff on mobile without running the whole workflow. Hidden when you're previewing a public template.
- Delete button (red trash icon) — removes the group from the canvas.
How groups render on mobile
On the mobile preview (and on staff phones), a group becomes a collapsible section. Staff see the group's children stacked underneath one another. Once they've worked through them, they can fold the section away and move on.
Delete a group
Tap the red trash icon in the group header.
Heads up: a group that still has children won't delete. You'll need to either:
- Delete each child element first, or
- Drag the children out of the group onto the main canvas, then delete the empty group.
Tips
- Use groups for sections of a workflow that belong together logically — for example, opening checks, mid-shift checks, closing checks. Staff find a long flat list of 20 elements much harder to scan than three groups of 6-7 elements.
- Nesting groups inside groups works, but try not to go more than one level deep. Staff get lost in deeply nested sections on a small screen.
- The Preview this group button is the fastest way to sense-check a group's flow without running the full workflow.
- If you can't delete a group, check it isn't still holding children — drag them out or remove them first.