How are you using Grid Layout? (formerly known as Assisted Layout)

I’m happy to get the ball rolling here! I’ll answer the prompt 

🌎 “I prefer using assisted layout over manual alignment specifically when I am working on..." [mention a specific activity where auto-alignment provides more value than manual tweaking]

I find myself using assisted layout almost always over manual alignment when I’m transitioning between “phases” or “functions” of a working session in a board and I need to keep working on/improve upon some existing content on the board. For example, if I’ve been brainstorming on a prompt with my team and we have a big scattered collection of sticky notes, I usually don’t end there and need to either:

1. put those into a visual activity for more sorting or prioritization
2. get them into a more cohesive, readable format to share with others

Assisted Layout does exactly what I need to make the stickies cleaner and more readable. I don’t think I’d ever even consider manually arranging them now 😂

I’ll share one more thought, too 😁

I almost always prefer the look and function of “clustered” stickies over “tidied up” stickies. I don’t know that I’ve ever had a use for the even spacing paired with what often feels like “random” placement of the stickies. (I know it’s based on the original placement before tidying, but it doesn’t feel right to me after.)

It’s also possible that I don’t know the intention for “tidying” stickies - if you have a use case or recommendation to share, I’m definitely all ears! I’ve just not found it myself yet. 

I am not using it much so far. It often assists in ways that I have to undo and do by hand for complex network diagrams. It wants to help, based on only what I have built so far, and not the space or layout I will need for the rest of the diagram (which I understand … of course, it cannot/should not know what is in my head and not in the diagram yet). 

It may be more helpful when I am starting a new project, and there is more greenfield on the layout. 

One contributing factor may be that I often work on canvases that are constrained to a hard 11x17 tabloid printable template. 

I prefer using assisted layout over manual alignment specifically when I am working on the final stage of a process diagram or flowchart before getting approval. I find myself turning assisted layout off when I need to add a lot of detail because of working on a clever, creative artistic project that does not use symmetry or parallel parts.

Thanks for the feedback ​@rsnyderpsu!  I’d love to know more about your network diagramming use case.  would you mind if I reached out to hear more?

​@aparrish I totally understand how a more creative workflow would benefit from a free-form layout!  

I prefer using assisted layout over manual alignment specifically when I am working on the final stage of a process diagram or flowchart before getting approval.

What assisted layout features are most important or beneficial for you in those final diagramming stages?

​@jimmy happy to help. If you want to schedule time to talk I happy to coordinate. 

I love using the assisted layout when I start from scratch, and THANK YOU for making it available in the swim lanes, it works great!!! 😍

I do find if I need to move the big chunk of the flow across the swim lanes (if I need to add a missing step or two), it does not allow me to do it and I have to fix it one swim lane at a time.

Another point when I need to restrict the size to a particular page size (because it has to be printable), assisted layout can’t contain it properly (or I might not know how to fix it).

Furthermore, if I had created a complicated flow and then I tried to tidy it up, sometimes it re-arranged the flow (not using the swim lanes for this one). But I love how I can select a partial section of the flow and tidy it up, kudos for allowing it.

And I agree with ​@aparrish that I do need to turn it off from time to time to allow manual adjustment for specific section only because I don’t want to make the diagram too big.

Thank you !!

Catherine

My biggest frustration with assisted layout right now is the inability to span nested frames across cells. So nested layout with frames and objects end up having big spacing issues.

Example: