Meet the new BigPicture navigation
A faster, smarter, and more intuitive way to work is here. We’ve redesigned BigPicture navigation to give you a smoother experience and better access to what matters most.
→ Discover what’s new, explore key improvements, and review feature name updates on the New navigation page.
→ The rollout will happen gradually, and the previous navigation will be retired in September 2026.
Edit box details (name, start/end dates)
Edit box details (old navigation)
The box Edit option lets you change the following box details:
name
start date
end date
Each detail field is required—you will not be able to Save your changes if the box name or start/end dates are empty.
Permissions
The box edit action requires one of the following security roles:
Jira Admin
App Admin
Box Admin
Box Editor
Edit box details in the Overview module
Edit option on the context menu
In the Overview module, you can edit a box in all three view modes (Hierarchy, Timeline, and Kanban board) using the options menu. This box edit method applies to Home, portfolio, program, and project boxes.
The interactive presentation below walks you through the box editing in all Overview view modes.
Overview module: Hierarchy mode
Go to the Overview module and open the Home box.
Right-click the box (anywhere within its swimlane but the name link).
Alternatively: Click More actions (…) next to the box you want to edit.
Select Edit from the dropdown.
On the Edit details screen, change the box details.
Save to finish the process.
Overview module (Timeline mode)
Go to the Overview module and open the Home box.
Right-click the box on the box hierarchy side (anywhere within its swimlane but the name link).
Alternatively: Right-click the box bar on the timeline side.
Select Edit from the dropdown.
On the Edit details screen, change the box details.
Save to finish the process.
Overview module (Kanban board mode)
Go to the Overview module and open the Home box.
Right-click the box card (anywhere but the box name link)
Alternatively: Click More actions (…) at the bottom of the box card.
Edit box details inline
You can inline edit the box name and its period (start and end dates) directly in the Overview module (Hierarchy mode only).
Click the Name field and change the box name.
Click the box Start date field and select a new date from the date picker.
Click the box End date field and select a new date from the date picker.
Edit box details on the box configuration page
The access to the box configuration page requires one of the following security roles:
Jira Admin
App Admin
Box Admin
You can also change the box name and period on the box configuration page.
Open the box configuration page:
Select the Configure option from the context menu in the Overview module (all view modes) as described in the previous section.
or
Open a box you want to edit and click the module switcher > Configuration.
On the General > Basic page, rename the box and edit its period.
Validate box period change
Changes in the box start/end date(s) trigger a validation check. The box’s duration is affected by its box type settings.
Sequentiality
Sequentiality settings affect box types on the same level.
Overlapping allowed - periods set for boxes of the same type can overlap. The rule applies to the same-level boxes in the box hierarchy.
Sequential - periods set for boxes of the same type cannot overlap. The rule applies to the same-level boxes in the box hierarchy.
Boxes in the Auto bottom-up scheduling mode and Auto scope-based modes can never have sequential periods, meaning they can always overlap.
Boxes in the Manual and auto top-down modes can have their period sequential or overlapping. If they are set to Sequential, the same-level sequential boxes cannot overlap.
This validation check is also triggered when you create a new box whose start/end dates could conflict with the period of other boxes.
Period mode
Box type period mode determines whether a new child box can be created with the specified start and dates.
Manual - the period of a box is always set manually (no auto-scheduling adjustment).
Auto top-down - the period of a box is set manually and restricts the periods of its sub-boxes.
Auto bottom-up - the period of a box changes based on the period of its sub-boxes.
Auto scope-based - the period of a box changes to encompass tasks in its scope.
Period of a box vs. period mode of its sub-boxes
Boxes in an Auto bottom-up period mode are affected by their children's periods, regardless of the child (sub-box) period mode.
Period of a box vs. period mode of its parent
An Auto top-down parent:
limits the period of Auto top-down sub-boxes
does not affect sub-boxes in the Manual or Auto scope-based period mode
have its period mode overridden by the sub-box in the Auto bottom-up mode
Effects of the parent box period mode on a child box period are outlined in the table below.
Parent box → | box period |
|---|---|
auto bottom-up | unaffected (regardless of the child box period mode) |
auto scope-based | unaffected (regardless of the child box period mode) |
auto top-down | an "auto top-down" parent limits the period of an "auto top-down" child Period of an "auto bottom-up" child unaffected ("auto bottom-up" child has priority over an auto "top-down parent") Periods of "manual" and "auto scope-based" boxes unaffected |
manual | unaffected (regardless of child period mode) |
Limitations
Closed box
Closed boxes cannot be edited. The box configuration page cannot be accessed, either.
Home box
Scheduling settings are not available for the Home (root) box. But you can rename it.
The start/end dates of the Home (root) box cannot be changed. That is because they are based on the duration of the boxes in the box hierarchy:
start date = the earliest start date of a child box
end date = the latest end date of a child box
Edit box details (new navigation)
The box Edit option lets you change the following box details:
name
start date
end date
Each detail field is required—you will not be able to Save your changes if the box name or start/end dates are empty.
Permissions
The box edit action requires one of the following security roles:
Jira Admin
App Admin
Box Admin
Box Editor
Edit box details in the Overview module
Edit option on the context menu
In the Overview module, you can edit a box in all three view modes (Hierarchy, Timeline, and Kanban board) using the options menu.
The interactive presentation below walks you through the box editing in all Overview view modes.
Overview module: Hierarchy mode
Open the Main box in the Overview module.
In the box hierarchy, right-click the box you want to edit (anywhere within its swimlane, except the name link).
Alternatively, click More actions (…) next to the box you want to edit.
Select Edit from the dropdown.
On the Edit details screen, change the box details.
Save to finish the process.
Overview module (Timeline mode)
Open the Main box in the Overview module.
In the box hierarchy, right-click the box you want to edit (anywhere within its swimlane, except the name link).
Alternatively: Right-click the box bar on the timeline side.
Select Edit from the dropdown.
On the Edit details screen, change the box details.
Save to finish the process.
Overview module (Kanban board mode)
Open the Main box in the Overview module.
Right-click the box card (anywhere but the box name link)
Alternatively: Click More actions (…) at the bottom of the box card.
Edit box details inline
You can inline edit the box name and its period (start and end dates) directly in the Overview module (Hierarchy mode only).
Click the Name field and change the box name.
Click the box Start date field and select a new date from the date picker.
Click the box End date field and select a new date from the date picker.
Edit box details on the box configuration page
Access to the box configuration page requires one of the following security roles:
Jira Admin
App Admin
Box Admin
You can also change the box name and period on the box configuration page.
Open the box configuration page:
Select the Configure option from the context menu in the Overview module (all view modes) as described in the previous section.
or
Open a box you want to edit and click the module switcher > Configuration.
On the General > Basic page, rename the box and edit its period.
Validate the box period change
Changes in the box start/end date(s) trigger a validation check. The box’s duration is affected by its box type settings.
Sequentiality
Sequentiality settings affect box types on the same level.
Overlapping allowed - periods set for boxes of the same type can overlap. The rule applies to boxes at the same level in the box hierarchy.
Sequential - periods set for boxes of the same type cannot overlap. The rule applies to boxes at the same level in the box hierarchy.
Boxes in the Auto bottom-up scheduling mode and Auto scope-based modes can never have sequential periods, meaning they can always overlap.
Boxes in the Manual and auto top-down modes can have their period sequential or overlapping. If they are set to Sequential, the same-level sequential boxes cannot overlap.
This validation check is also triggered when you create a new box whose start/end dates could conflict with the period of other boxes.
Period mode
Box type period mode determines whether a new child box can be created with the specified start and end dates.
Manual - the period of a box is always set manually (no auto-scheduling adjustment).
Auto top-down - the period of a box is set manually and restricts the periods of its sub-boxes.
Auto bottom-up - the period of a box changes based on the period of its sub-boxes.
Auto scope-based - the period of a box changes to encompass tasks in its scope.
Period of a box vs. period mode of its sub-boxes
Boxes in an Auto bottom-up period mode are affected by their children's periods, regardless of the child (sub-box) period mode.
Period of a box vs. period mode of its parent
An Auto top-down parent:
limits the period of Auto top-down sub-boxes
does not affect sub-boxes in the Manual or Auto scope-based period mode
have its period mode overridden by the sub-box in the Auto bottom-up mode
The effects of the parent box period mode on the child box period are outlined in the table below.
Parent Box → | New Box (child) |
|---|---|
Auto bottom-up | Unaffected (regardless of the child's period mode) |
Auto scope-based | Unaffected (regardless of the child’s period mode) |
Auto top-down |
|
Manual | Unaffected (regardless of child period mode) |
Limitations
Closed box
Closed boxes cannot be edited. The box configuration page cannot be accessed, either.
Home box
Scheduling settings are not available for the Main box. But you can rename it.
The start/end dates of the Main box cannot be changed. That is because they are based on the duration of the boxes in the box hierarchy:
start date = the earliest start date of a child box
end date = the latest end date of a child box