Groups

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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

  1. Open the workflow template you want to edit.
  2. On the left toolbar, find the Group button. It's the top icon, shown as a dashed square.
  3. 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.

  1. Tap Add first step.
  2. The element picker pops up. It shows every element type, grouped by category (inputs, choices, media, guidance).
  3. 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.