Canvas and Excalidraw Property Value Pool

Property Value Pool finds reusable values to apply to existing task cards on Canvas and Excalidraw. Use it when several tasks need a status, priority, tag, or another supported property. Task Pool adds existing tasks to the board; Property Value Pool changes their properties.

Open the pool

Open the pool from the active surface's controls, or use its command:

Surface Command
Canvas Operon: Open Canvas Property Value Pool
Excalidraw Operon: Open Excalidraw Property Pool

The corresponding view must be active. The panel opens on its first visible shortcut. In Excalidraw, it follows the drawing's light or dark appearance. Both surfaces share favorites, shortcut preferences, and panel size settings.

Search and favorite values

Choose All values, Favorites, or a property shortcut. All values searches supported fields together; a property shortcut narrows the search. To search within a property using the keyboard:

  1. Choose All values and type at least two characters of the property's name, for example st for Status. Matching property suggestions appear before value results. Names follow your key mappings.
  2. Use Up or Down to select the property suggestion, then press Enter. This opens that property's search scope and clears the query. Typing two characters alone does not switch scopes.
  3. Type the value you want to find within that property.

Among value results, matching favorites come first. In All values and Favorites, properties follow your configured shortcut order, including hidden shortcuts; unassigned properties follow the standard order. Dates gives date fields a shared position, with the first occurrence winning when individual date shortcuts also exist. Unavailable favorites follow usable results and can still be removed.

Use a row's star to add or remove a favorite. Favorites are shared across Canvas and Excalidraw in the vault. Switching shortcuts preserves your query; Clear returns to the first visible shortcut.

Apply a value to a task

Drag a value onto an Operon task card and inspect the change preview before releasing. On a tablet, press and hold the row before dragging; an ordinary swipe scrolls results.

Single-value properties replace the existing value. List properties append missing items without duplicates:

Priority: C → A
Tags: planning → planning; launch

MEDIA-DOCS-145-1: Dragging the launch tag from Canvas Property Value Pool onto a task card, with the preview showing it added to the existing planning tag.

MEDIA-DOCS-145-1 - Canvas Property Value Pool task update preview

Drops update the source task, so its other cards and views reflect the change. Changing a File Task's status follows its configured pipeline folder rules. Editing an unrelated field does not by itself relocate a manually placed File Task to a pipeline folder.

Undo and task changes

On Canvas, Undo/Redo includes related changes recorded with the drop, including supported pipeline folder moves. Later task changes may prevent replay.

Excalidraw Undo affects the drawing scene, not the source task fields changed by Property Value Pool. To change a value back, apply the previous value or use Task Editor.

Use values with Canvas groups

Supported values can also create Canvas groups or extend a matching list group's rule. Changing that rule does not bulk-update the tasks inside the group. See Operon Groups in Canvas.

Dates, reminders, and media

Dates offers relative choices such as Tomorrow. A favorite retains the relative rule, and the displayed date updates as time passes. Scheduled changes follow existing Daily and Weekly Notes parent rules when applicable.

Reminder rules append to the task with a reminder-time preview. Missing reference dates or reminders that would already be past prevent the drop. Links, task images, and gallery items reuse existing references; gallery additions preserve their order.

The pool reuses configured or existing values and supported date/reminder choices; it does not create arbitrary values.

Use the keyboard and arrange the panel

While the search box has focus, use Up and Down to select results. To move through the property shortcuts above it:

  1. Move to the first result, then press Up again to focus the active shortcut above the search box.
  2. Use Left and Right to switch between available shortcuts. The results change with the selected shortcut, and your search text is preserved.
  3. Press Down to return to the search box and continue typing. Enter or Space on a shortcut also selects it and returns to search.

With an empty search box, Left and Right switch shortcuts directly without moving focus out of search. Enter on a selected value toggles its favorite; on a property suggestion it opens that property's scope. Escape closes the panel.

In the separate Create group context, Enter creates the group instead of changing favorites.

Drag the header to move the panel. Pin it to keep it open when clicking elsewhere; an unpinned panel closes on an outside click. Interacting with Task Pool or Property Value Pool brings that panel forward.

Tips

Keep frequent values close while planning

Favorite the statuses, priorities, and tags you use most, then pin the pool beside your board or drawing. You can apply them to task cards without repeating the same searches.

FAQ

Why does Enter not change the task? In normal pool use it manages favorites. Drag a value onto the task to apply it.

Why is a drop unavailable? Check the preview, write access to the board or drawing, the target card, and whether the value still exists. In Excalidraw, the target card must also be unlocked and unobstructed by another element. Some changes need additional task workflows; when the preview asks you to use Task Editor, complete the change there.

Are searches limited to visible rows? No. Search covers matching values; scrolling loads more results.

Settings

Open Settings → Operon → Views → Task Cards. Three separate sections control this pool: Canvas and Excalidraw Property Pool for size, Property Pool Shortcuts for shortcut visibility and order, and Property Pool Favorites for managing saved values.

Property Pool Shortcuts provides nine slots with visibility and ordering controls. Initially all are enabled: All values, Favorites, Status, Dates, ReminderRules, Contexts, Tags, Assignees, and Type. Property shortcuts retain their canonical identities but display your mapped property names; a context mapping named Up appears as Up.

Under Canvas and Excalidraw Property Pool, Panel width offers 240, 280, 320, 360, or 400 px, constrained by available space. Visible rows offers 5, 7, 11, or 13. Defaults are 320 px and 5 rows.

Property Pool Favorites lists saved property values and lets you remove them from favorites. These are shared across Canvas and Excalidraw in the vault; removing a favorite does not remove that value from tasks.