Agenda
The agenda is your session's remote control. Break your session into sections, attach the boards and tools each one needs, and start a section to move everyone to the right board, open the right tool, and start the clock.
Quick links: Build your agenda | Run your session | Agenda templates | What participants see
Open the Agenda
Click the Agenda button (the checklist icon) in the top bar, next to your space's name. The agenda panel slides in from the left.
The panel has three tabs:
| Tab | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Agenda | Your sections, in order. This is where you plan and run the session. |
| Library | Every board and tool in the space, with a note of which sections use each one |
| Templates | Agenda templates, plus board templates and interactives you can add to the space |
Only facilitators and hosts see the Library and Templates tabs.
Build Your Agenda
Add a Section
A section is one block of your session, like "Welcome" or "Brainstorm."
- Click + Add section at the bottom of the list
- Type a title
- Optionally, enter a duration in minutes (from 1 to 480)
- Press Enter to save, or Esc to cancel
Drag sections to reorder them.
Edit a Section
- Rename it: Click the pencil icon next to the title
- Set a duration: Click the clock icon next to a section that doesn't have one yet
- Change a duration: Double-click the time shown on the section
When you're editing, press Enter to save or Esc to cancel. Clear a duration to remove the section's timer.
The section's ⋮ menu also has Delete, and an Emoji Reactions choice (Extended, Focused, or Off) that sets which reactions people can send while that section is live. The space-wide Emojis setting takes priority over this choice. See Reactions.
Attach Boards and Tools
Each section can hold any mix of boards and tools. Click a section to expand it, then:
- Click + Add item
- Search, or filter by All, Boards, or Tools
- Click an item to attach it
Items already in this section show an Added badge, and each item lists the other sections it's in. You can attach the same board or tool to several sections.
Need something new? Click Add board (opens the template library) or Add tool (opens the new tool form) at the bottom of the dialog. Whatever you create is attached to the section automatically.
Drag items within a section to reorder them.
Choose What Opens Automatically
A starred item opens on its own when the section starts. It shows a tooltip: "Auto-opens when section starts."
- Boards: The first board you attach is starred automatically
- Tools: Nothing is starred by default. Click the star next to a tool (or choose Set as default from its ⋮ menu) to have it open when the section starts.
Manage Attached Items
Each attached item has a ⋮ menu:
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Preview (boards) | Opens a private preview of the board. More on previews |
| Settings | Opens the board or tool settings |
| Set as default | Stars the item so it opens when the section starts |
| Duplicate (boards) | Makes a copy of the board |
| Save as template (boards) | Saves the board as a board template |
| Export CSV (boards) | Exports the board's content as a CSV file |
| Remove from section | Detaches the item. The board or tool stays in your space. |
| Delete board (boards) | Deletes the board from the space |
Tip: Open the Library tab and switch on Unassigned to see which boards and tools aren't in any section yet.
Run Your Session
Start a Section
Click the play button on a section (tooltip: Start section). Everyone moves together:
- The whole room switches to the section's starred board
- Any tool that's open closes, and the section's starred tool opens (if you've starred one)
- If the section has a duration, its timer starts
The active section expands and shows a progress bar and the time remaining. You can also start a section from its ⋮ menu.
Note: A section with nothing attached just starts its timer. The board and open tools stay as they are.
Switch Boards and Tools Mid-Section
Click any board attached to the live section to move everyone to it. Click a tool to open it, and click it again to close it.
If the room is showing something that isn't part of the live section, a Showing: line appears under it telling you what's up and which section (or the Library) it came from.
Pause, Resume, and Stop
| Action | How |
|---|---|
| Pause the timer | Tap the pause button on the live section |
| Resume the timer | Click the play button (Resume timer) |
| Stop the section | Press and hold the pause button, or choose Stop section from the ⋮ menu |
Pausing only freezes the clock. Everyone stays where they are.
Note: Stopping a section closes every tool open in the space, including a running breakout.
When Time Runs Out
Nothing moves on by itself. The section stays live and its timer counts into overtime (shown as negative time, like -1:30) until you start the next section or stop this one.
Note: If you change the duration of the live section, its timer restarts from the new full length. It doesn't add or remove time from what's left.
Preview a Board
Want to check a board before you bring everyone there? Choose Preview from the board's ⋮ menu, in a section or in the Library tab.
The preview only shows on your screen, so the room doesn't move. From the preview you can:
- Click Settings to adjust the board
- Click Activate Now to move everyone to it
- Click Close to go back
Keep the Agenda in View
By default, the agenda panel closes when you click somewhere else. Two buttons at the top of the panel change that:
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Pin sidebar open (pin icon) | Keeps the panel open while you work on the canvas. Kolab remembers this for the space in your browser. |
| Pop agenda into a window | Moves the agenda into its own browser window, which is handy on a second monitor. Click Dock agenda back, or just close the window, to bring it back. |
Tip: If nothing happens when you pop out the agenda, your browser may be blocking pop-ups. Allow pop-ups for Kolab and try again.
Multiple Agendas in One Space
A space can hold several agendas, like "Day 1" and "Day 2," or a full version and a short version of the same session. Only one agenda is live at a time, and it's the one everyone sees.
Click the agenda's name at the top of the Agenda tab to open the agenda menu:
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Agendas in this space | Lists every agenda. A check marks the live one. Click another to switch everyone to it. |
| Rename agenda | Gives the live agenda a new name, so you can tell them apart in the list |
| New agenda | Creates a blank agenda called "Agenda" and switches everyone to it |
| Save as template | Saves the live agenda as a reusable template. More on templates |
Note: New agenda takes over as soon as you create it. Your other agendas stay in the list, so you can switch back anytime.
Agenda Templates
Run the same kind of session often? Save your agenda as a template and reuse the whole run-of-show in any space.
Save an Agenda as a Template
- Open the agenda menu (click the agenda's name at the top of the Agenda tab)
- Choose Save as template. This option shows up once the agenda has at least one section.
- Give it a name you'll recognize
- Click Save template
You'll see "Saved to your Templates." New templates start out visible only to you.
What a Template Includes
| Included | Not included |
|---|---|
| Sections, in order, with titles and durations | Anything happening live, like which section or tool is open |
| Attached boards, saved as they look when you save the template | An interactive's live state, or where a card deck or slideshow was up to |
| Attached tools, like timers, prompts, card decks, embeds, and breakouts (with their room setup) | Each section's emoji reaction setting |
| Interactives, as a frozen copy | |
| Which tool is starred to open automatically |
When you use a template, Kolab creates fresh copies of its boards and tools in your space. Tools start closed, and card decks start from the first card.
Use a Template in a Space
- Open the Templates tab in the agenda panel
- Under Agendas, click Use next to the template
The template is added to your space as a new agenda. Your current agenda keeps running, and you'll see "Added to this space." When you're ready, pick the new agenda from the agenda menu.
Tip: You can also start from the dashboard. Go to Templates, click a card under Agendas, and pick the space to add it to.
Share, Rename, or Delete a Template
On the dashboard, open Templates and hover over one of your agenda templates. Click the pencil icon to open Manage agenda template, where you can:
- Change the title
- Choose Who can use it: Personal, Team, or Community
- Delete the template
To change the sections themselves, use the template in a space, edit the agenda there, and save it as a template again.
Note: Only facilitators and hosts can save or use agenda templates in a space.
Let Kola Draft It
Don't want to start from a blank list? Kola, Kolab's AI assistant, can draft an agenda from a description of your session. See AI Agenda Builder.
Agendas in Breakout Rooms
Breakout rooms can each run their own copy of an agenda, separate from the main one. You give a room its agenda from Design this room in the breakout controls. Inside the room, participants can start and pause sections at their own pace, but they can't edit the agenda.
See Using Breakout Rooms for how breakouts work.
What Participants See
Participants can open the agenda too. They see a read-only version:
- Agenda tab only. They don't see the Library or Templates tabs, or the agenda menu.
- Section titles and progress. The live section is highlighted. Durations, attached items, and controls are hidden.
- Top bar. While a section is live, the top bar shows its title and planned length. Only facilitators and hosts see the live countdown, which turns red in overtime.
If the space has no sections yet, participants see "No agenda yet."
Troubleshooting
"Starting a section didn't change the board"
The room only moves if the section has a board attached. Expand the section and check that a board is attached and starred.
"My tool closed when I started a section"
That's expected: starting a section with attached items closes whatever tool is open, then opens the section's starred tool. Star a tool in the new section if you want one open there.
"The timer restarted"
Changing the duration of the live section restarts its timer from the new length. If a section just needs a few more minutes, let it run into overtime and start the next section when you're ready.
"The pop-out window didn't open"
Your browser blocked the pop-up. Allow pop-ups for Kolab and click Pop agenda into a window again.
Related Guides
- AI Agenda Builder - Let Kola draft your agenda
- Timer Tool - Standalone timers for any activity
- Board Templates - Reusable boards for your sections
- Tools vs Elements - What counts as a tool
- Using Breakout Rooms - Small-group work
- Your First Session - Facilitation fundamentals