Manage columns in a work item list in Azure Boards

Azure DevOps Services | Azure DevOps Server 2022 - Azure DevOps Server 2019

Visual Studio 2019 | Visual Studio 2022

Each column corresponds to a work item field. You can add and remove columns within work item lists to show the fields of interest to you. Or, you can drag a column to a new position. Your settings persist for each page you customize and are only valid for your views.

Specifically, you can do the following actions from the following list views:

Action

Backlogs

Sprint backlogs

Queries

Work items

Add or remove a column field

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Add or remove the Parent field

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Add or remove a rollup column

Yes

No

No

No

Sort on a column

No

No

Yes

Yes

Padoms

Unlike a query result, you can't sort a backlog by a column. However, you can use the Create Query link on each backlog to create a query that you can sort on any field column you choose from the Sorting tab of the Column options dialog. While you may be able to add a field to sort on, not all fields are supported. For example, selection of the Parent, History, Description, or other rich-text field results in the display of an error message as you can't sort on these fields.

You can add most fields listed in the Work item field index. All fields defined within the project collection or organization are available for selection, even those fields that aren't used for your particular project. You can view the list of fields defined for your collection from Organization Settings>Process>Fields

About persistence of column options

Once you set the column options for a specific view, your settings persist until you change them. The following notes apply to specific views.

• Column options you set for a backlog apply only to the active team and backlog. Options you set for the product backlog differ from the options you set for a portfolio backlog.
• Column options you set for a Sprint backlog persist for all sprints you select until you change them.
• Column options you set for a query persist when you save the query.
• Column options you set for one of the supported Work items views persists for a specific view only, such as Assigned to me, Following, Mentioned, and so on.

Piezīme

You can't set column options for other members of your team, nor can you set default column options.

Prerequisites

Category	Requirements
Project access	Project member.
Permissions	- Member of the Contributors or Project Administrators security group. - To view or modify work items: View work items in this node and Edit work items in this node permissions set to Allow. By default, the Contributors group has this permission set to Allow. For more information, see Set work tracking permissions.
Access levels	To add or modify work items: At least Basic access. Users with Stakeholder access for public projects have full access to backlog and board features, like users with Basic access. For more information, see Stakeholder access quick reference.
Defined iterations	To use the Planning pane: Ensure your team administrator defined iteration (sprint) paths and configure team iterations.

Open the Column options dialog

Start by opening the Column Options dialog. If you don't see the option, choose the … and choose from the options provided.

Add or remove columns

Browser

In the Column options dialog, choose Add a column to add a field that isn't shown. To change the order of the fields, drag-and-drop the field where you want it within the set of selected fields. And, to remove a field, choose the .

Visual Studio

Svarīgi

We strongly recommend that everyone use the default view instead of this legacy view. It is designed for you to quickly access a list of work items based on your assignment, following, mentioned, or recent updates. The legacy view is no longer being enhanced and we expect to remove it in a future release of Visual Studio.

You can only change column options for queries in Visual Studio. To open, choose Column Options.

Add or remove fields to add or remove columns

In the Column Options dialog, to add a field, choose the field from Available columns and choose the > Add selected columns. To add multiple fields, use SHIFT+click to select the fields. Fields are added to the bottom of the Selected columns area.

To change the field order, choose the field and choose the up or down arrows.

Change the column's sort order

To change the fields use to sort the query results, choose the Sorting tab. Add or remove a column field same as before. Use the up and down arrows to specify the order of fields to use to sort. Choose the up or down arrows to choose whether it sorts in ascending or descending order. To reverse the sort order for a field, select it and then choose Sort ascending or Sort descending.

Add or remove rollup columns

Rollup columns can display progress bars or the sum of numeric fields of child items. You can add them to any product or portfolio backlog. For more information, see Display rollup progress or totals.

Sort on a column

You can sort query results and Work items views. From the Column options dialog, choose Sorting. Add or remove a column field and drag and drop it into the order you want. Choose the up or down arrows to choose whether it sorts in ascending or descending order.

Use keyboard shortcuts to change the column order, column width, or sort options

You can change the column order, column size, or sort options by using the following keyboard commands:

• To change the column order, choose the field and drag it to a new location
• To resize a column, choose the column divider to the right of the field and drag to a new location
• For query results:
  • Add the field as a column to sort by that field
  • To sort by a column, hold down the SHIFT key and select on the field
  • To reverse the sort order, SHIFT+click on the field
  • To sort by multiple columns, SHIFT+click on each column in the order you want to sort

For other keyboard shortcuts, enter ? to display available shortcuts based on the page you're on.

Related articles

• Display rollup progress or totals
• Interactively filter backlogs, boards, queries, and plans
• Work item field index
• View, run, or email a work item query
• Create managed queries
• Customize a sprint Taskboard