# Sections: group and organize items

> Use sections to group items on a MockFlow board, move them together, line them up with stacking and give each group its own theme.

Source: https://mockflow.com/docs/sections

A section is a titled area on the board that holds the items placed inside it. Use sections to give a board structure: one section for each week of a course, each stage of a customer journey, each column of a retrospective or each channel of a campaign. When you move a section, everything inside it moves too.

![A course plan board with three sections, Week 1: Foundations, Week 2: Research methods and Week 3: Final project, each holding four sticky notes](https://assets.mockflow.com/docs/media/c217d840b28f4017b98e23c7bb2304f7.webp)

## What a section is

A section is a container with a title bar. It holds any item you place completely inside it: sticky notes, text, images, components and even other sections.

- **Items move with it:** drag the section and its contents come along, keeping their places.
- **It has a title:** name each section after the group it holds, such as _Week 1_, _Ideas_ or _Next steps_.
- **It can arrange its contents:** with stacking turned on, the section lines up its items in a row or a column for you.
- **It has its own look:** themes, layouts, icons and borders tell groups apart at a glance.

## Add a section to your board

The quickest way to add a section is the **Stationery** menu in the tool bar.

![The Stationery menu open above the tool bar, with the Stationery button and the Section tile marked](https://assets.mockflow.com/docs/media/3776372b2dda44f9aa2610e9723d9b58.webp)

1. Click **Stationery** (1) in the tool bar, or press Ctrl+6 (⌘+6 on Mac).
2. Click **Section** (2). The section appears in the middle of your view. You can also press S on the canvas.
3. Double-click the title and type a name for the section.
4. Drag the edges of the section to make it the size you need.

There are two more ways to add one:

- **From Frames:** click **Frames** in the tool bar and choose **Section** under **Brainstorm frames**.
- **Around items already on the board:** select the items, then right-click and choose **Wrap in Section**, or click **Wrap inside section** in the toolbar above them. MockFlow draws a section around the selected items and places it behind them, so they belong to it straight away.

![Selecting four sticky notes with a selection box, right-clicking them and choosing Wrap in Section, which draws a new section around the notes](https://assets.mockflow.com/docs/media/afff52f80c664aa2a07e15157a299fd4.webp)

> **Tip** To group items that are already on the board, use **Wrap in Section** instead of drawing a new section over them. A new section added on top of existing items would cover them.

## Put items in a section and move them together

An item belongs to a section when it sits completely inside the section's edges. Drag a sticky note, an image or any other item into the section to add it. Drag it out to take it out of the group.

When you drag the section by its title bar, every item inside moves with it. Items outside the section stay where they are.

![Dragging the Week 1: Foundations section down the board while its four sticky notes move with it and the Week 2 section stays in place](https://assets.mockflow.com/docs/media/9e25070a6b8645e8971efb7c789984a4.webp)

To add a new item straight into a section, select the section and click **Add inside section** (2 in the toolbar below). Choose a **Sticky note**, **Sticky tag**, **Text**, **Image** or **Note stack**, and it is placed inside the section.

## The section toolbar

Click a section's title bar to select it. A toolbar appears with every section option.

![A selected section with its toolbar, each button numbered from 1 to 12](https://assets.mockflow.com/docs/media/0a34dcc6123b412abceeac49784a99dd.webp)

1. **Generate with AI:** fill the section with sticky notes from a prompt.
2. **Add inside section:** add a sticky note, sticky tag, text, image or note stack inside the section.
3. **Section component stacking:** line up the items inside in a row or a column.
4. **Layout style:** choose how the section is drawn.
5. **Set Icon:** show an icon beside the title.
6. **Theme:** a color theme for the title bar, background and border.
7. **Toggle background:** show or hide the section's background.
8. **Border:** the border style, color, corner radius and opacity.
9. **Text:** the font and color of the title.
10. **Export Section:** save the section and everything in it as an image.
11. **Toggle advanced settings:** more options, such as locking the section.
12. **Section edit menu:** copy, paste, layer order and delete options for the section on its own.

## Line up items automatically with stacking

Stacking keeps the items in a section in a neat row or column. Each time you drop an item into a stacked section, it slides into line next to the others. Stacking suits agendas, reading lists, ranked ideas and any group whose items should stay evenly spaced.

![The stacking menu open under the toolbar, with No stacking, Vertical stacking and Horizontal stacking marked](https://assets.mockflow.com/docs/media/44e3c2e406d94354b98c3336bb116b39.webp)

1. Select the section and click **Section component stacking** (3 in the toolbar).
2. Choose **No stacking** (1), **Vertical stacking** (2) for a column, or **Horizontal stacking** (3) for a row.
3. To change the space between items, type a number in **Stack gap**, the field that appears beside the stacking button.

![Dragging the Field study guide sticky note into the Reading list section, where it snaps into the row beside the other two notes](https://assets.mockflow.com/docs/media/41ebee93dba54870a8723e6245473203.webp)

## Change how a section looks

A theme colors the title bar, background and border of a section together, so groups stay easy to tell apart.

![The Theme menu open under a selected section, with the Theme button marked and the themes White, Ash, Ink, MockFlow, Teal, Mint, Sunny, Citrus, Cherry, Blossom, Orchid and Sand](https://assets.mockflow.com/docs/media/cc977b2adb03486bb8752ffa1c5ceaa5.webp)

1. Select the section and click **Theme** (1).
2. Pick a theme, such as **MockFlow**, **Mint** or **Orchid**.
3. To fine tune it, choose a color under **Accent**.

**Layout style** (4 in the toolbar) changes how the section is drawn. Each layout keeps the colors of the theme you picked:

![Four sections with the MockFlow theme, one in each layout style: Default, Minimal, Tab and Appear](https://assets.mockflow.com/docs/media/a27ae3d1340b42d8aaf1a01e46b1a05c.webp)

| Layout | How the section looks |
| --- | --- |
| Default | A card with a colored title bar and a border |
| Minimal | The title stands on the canvas above a plain block of color |
| Tab | The title sits in a colored tab above the outlined section |
| Appear | A soft block of color with the title inside it and no title bar |

You can also add an icon beside the title with **Set Icon** (5), hide the background with **Toggle background** (7), and set the border and title font with **Border** (8) and **Text** (9).

## Fill a section with sticky notes using AI

A section can write its own content. Describe what you need, and AI adds sticky notes inside the section, which grows to fit them.

![The Generate with AI prompt box open under the Week 1: Foundations section, with the prompt field and the Generate button marked](https://assets.mockflow.com/docs/media/d1e86a9b6c534cdeb98fdc9c52429654.webp)

1. Select the section and click **Generate with AI** (1 in the toolbar). A prompt box opens in place of the toolbar.
2. Type what the notes should cover in **Prompt to generate sticky notes** (1), for example _icebreaker questions for a first lesson_ or _risks for the product launch_.
3. Click **Generate** (2). The new sticky notes appear inside the section, ready to edit and move.

## Export a section as an image

Click **Export Section** (10 in the toolbar) to save the section and everything inside it as an image. Use it to share one part of a board, such as a single week of a plan or one stage of a journey, in a document, a slide or a message.

## Delete a section but keep its contents

> **Warning** Deleting a section with the Delete key also deletes every item inside it. To remove only the section, use **Delete Section Only**.

![The Section edit menu open for the Week 1: Foundations section, with the Section edit menu button and Delete Section Only marked](https://assets.mockflow.com/docs/media/df4653f7ed8345039b97e408ab128150.webp)

1. Select the section.
2. Click **Section edit menu** (1), the last button in the toolbar.
3. Choose **Delete Section Only** (2). The section is removed and its items stay on the board where they were.

You can also use the keyboard:

**Windows**

Select the section and press `Ctrl Backspace` to delete the section and keep its contents.

**Mac**

Select the section and press `⌘ Backspace` to delete the section and keep its contents.

The **Section edit menu** has more options that act on the section without its contents:

- **Duplicate Section Only**, **Copy Section Only** and **Section Paste:** reuse an empty copy of the section, with its size and style.
- **Copy Style** and **Paste Style:** give another section the same look.
- **Section Send Forward**, **Section Send Backward**, **Section Send Front** and **Section Send Back:** change which sections sit on top when they overlap.
- **Add Internal Link:** turn the section into a link that takes people to another item on the board.

## Sections and frames

Sections are also listed in the **Frames** menu, because both hold other items. The difference is purpose: a section is a general container for any group, while each frame is a ready area for one kind of work.

|  | Section | Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Made for | Grouping any items | One kind of work, such as a diagram, a wireframe, a moodboard or a floor plan |
| Holds | Any items placed inside it | The content of its kind of work |
| Arranges items | Optional stacking in a row or a column | In its own way, depending on the frame |
| AI | Generates sticky notes | Generates content of its kind, such as a diagram or a design |
| Best for | Weeks, stages, columns, themes and topics | Building a specific diagram, screen, design or plan |

Use sections to organize a board, and frames to build a specific piece of work inside it. A section can hold frames too, so one section can gather the diagram, the notes and the images for one topic.