Subitems provide your board with a deeper structure by letting you add an extra layer of information within the items on your board! You can use them to better support your workflow or enable more complex workflows on a single board.
Utilizing subitems will give you the low-level item detail that you are looking for when breaking down your work for a more granular view. 🙌
How to create subitems
To create a subitem, simply click on the arrow located on the left of your item, as shown below:
Subitems can have their own column structure, separate from the parent items on the board. All the subitems on the board will have the same column structure, though.
How do I copy columns from parent items to subitems?
Copying parent columns lets you add the same column types from a parent item to your subitems.
Steps: Copy parent columns to subitems
- Open a subitem on your board.
- Click the plus sign to the right of your final subitem column.
- Select Copy parent columns.
Next, follow these steps:
- Select the columns you want to copy to your subitems.
- Click Copy columns.
How do I expand or collapse subitems?
You can expand or collapse subitems from the parent item row on your board.
Steps: Expand or collapse subitems
- Click the small arrow to the left of the item name.
- Click the number that shows how many subitems are in the item.
Steps: Expand or collapse all subitems
- Click the three-dot menu beside the name of any item in your board.
- Select Collapse all items.
- Select Expand all items.
How do I duplicate subitems or create standardized subitems?
You can duplicate a subitem manually, or use automations to create the same set of subitems repeatedly.
Steps: Duplicate a subitem
- Select the subitem on the left side.
- Click Duplicate in the menu at the bottom of the screen.
When you duplicate an item, a group, or a board of items that contains subitems, the subitems will also duplicate.
Additionally, if you're looking to create a standardized workflow where the same set of subitems is duplicated or created over and over again, there are a few options to go about this! You can:
Use an automation to instantly create new subitems on your board. For example, if you'd like to have three of the same subitems created every time an item is added to your board, you can use the recipe "When an item is created, then create a subitem, and then create a subitem, and then create a subitem". The linked automation article explains how automations work on monday.com and how to set up automation recipes on your boards.
- Alternatively, you can also manually select the necessary subitems, duplicate them, and then move them to the desired item.
How do I pre-fill new subitems with parent item data?
When you create a new subitem via an automation, you can configure the automation to inherit values from its parent item at the moment the subitem is created.
Steps: Pre-fill a new subitem with parent item data (automation)
- Open the Automations center from your board.
- Build a recipe using an item-level trigger (for example, "When status changes").
- Select Create a subitem as the action.
- Map the parent item's fields to the corresponding subitem columns.
Parent values are copied into the subitem only at the moment of creation. Once the subitem exists, there is no ongoing link between the parent and subitem fields. Changes to the parent item after it is created will not automatically update the subitem.
How do I delete subitems?
You can delete a subitem from your board using the bottom menu bar.
Steps: Delete a subitem
- Select the subitem using the checkbox to the left of the subitem.
- Click Delete in the menu bar at the bottom of your screen.
How do I move subitems between items?
You can move a subitem to a different parent item on the same board.
Steps: Move subitems between items
- Hover over the left side of the subitem.
- Select the subitem.
- Click Move to in the menu at the bottom of the screen.
- Select the item you want to move the subitem to.
Steps: Move multiple subitems from different parent items
- Select the subitems from underneath the various parent items.
- Click Move to from the menu bar.
- Choose the new parent item to move the subitems to.
How do I move items with subitems to another board?
You can move items (including their subitems) to a different board.
Steps: Move items with subitems to another board
- Select the item(s) you want to move.
- Click Move to board.
- Select the destination board.
From there, you'll see the following screen pop up, where you can "map out" the parent and subitem columns according to those on the destination board. Keep in mind, if there is no matching subitem column on the destination board (as shown in the "File" column in the GIF below), that column's data will not transfer over, unless you choose to "Add as a new column".
After you click the blue button to move the information, you can choose to go back to the column mapping or move items anyway if any columns do not match the destination board.
How do I convert a subitem to an item (or an item to a subitem)?
You can convert subitems into parent items, and you can also convert items into subitems.
- Convert subitem to item
Steps: Convert a subitem to an item
- Select the subitem from the left side.
- Click Convert in the bottom pane.
- Optionally, open the subitem menu and click Convert.
From there, you'll be able to "map out" the column values according to the parent items on your board. If your parent items have more than one of the same column (as we have multiple Status Columns in the example below), you can choose which one it will be converted to.
Convert item to subitem
Steps: Convert an item to a subitem
- Select the item on the left side.
- Click Convert at the bottom of the screen.
- Optionally, open the item menu and click Convert.
- Choose the parent item that the converted subitem will fall under.
After selecting the parent item to which the converted subitem will belong, you can map out the column values according to the subitem column types on your board.
How do I show a summary of subitem data on the parent item?
You can show a summary of subitem data on the parent item using the "rollup" feature.
Steps: Show Summary on Parent Item
- In the subitems, open the settings for the column you want to reflect on the parent item.
- Select Show Summary on Parent Item.
You can summarize many different subitem columns on the parent item, such as the Tags Column, Time Tracking, Date, Numbers, and more, to get a clear overview of your subitems in one place:
How do I view the subitems activity log?
You can use the subitems activity log to track actions performed on a specific subitem.
Steps: Open the subitems Activity Log
- Click a subitem to open it.
- Select Activity Log.
You’ll see a list of actions performed on that subitem.
Which Dashboard widgets support subitems?
Some Dashboard widgets can display subitem information.
In terms of viewing subitem information on the Dashboards, the Gantt, Timeline, Workload, Battery, Number & Calendar widgets, as well as the files from subitems in the Files View, support subitems. The linked article explains what Dashboards are and how to set them up.
If you have any questions, please reach out to our team right here. We’re available 24/7 and happy to help.