Mask Levels for Enhanced Screen Design Management

Sergi Fernández

This proposal aims to improve the management of screen designs in Board by introducing a mask levels/priority feature, which would streamline the development process and reduce redundancy.

Currently, many developers face the challenge of creating screens that share a similar design while needing to accommodate specific variations. This often leads to duplicating a base mask and manually modifying certain settings or adding/removing objects, which can be time-consuming and prone to errors.

By implementing a priority system for masks—similar to the way Board applies formats to data views (base > block format > template)—users would be able to define a base mask that sets core design elements, such as aspect ratio, background, menu, logo, and other common features.

From this base mask, developers could then create additional masks that inherit these settings, allowing them to introduce new elements or make adjustments without starting from scratch. For example, a developer could have a base mask for a project’s main dashboard and then create a child mask for a specific report that retains the general layout but adds new objects or modifies certain attributes.

This hierarchical approach to mask management would not only enhance consistency across screens but also save developers considerable time and effort. It would simplify the design process by minimizing the need for duplicate work and ensuring that updates to the base mask automatically propagate to all inherited masks.