Need help — my board layout changed on its own, lost category-as-columns view

[Shady Abdel-Atty]

Hi all,

My Business-type Space board layout suddenly changed and I can't get it back. Hoping someone here has seen the same thing or knows a fix.

Before (how it worked for months):

Board was grouped by Category. Each category was a vertical column running across the screen — one column per store project (London Vigo Street, Salt Lake City, Breuninger Nuremberg, Troy Somerset, etc.). Inside each column, I had the tasks for that project stacked underneath (Store Operations, Maintenance, HR, Logistics, etc.). It was clean — every project mapped out side by side, scrolling horizontally between them. The Group button was on the right side of the toolbar.

Now:

Same Space, same "Group: Category" setting. But:

• Categories are no longer columns. They're now horizontal sections stacked vertically down the page 
• Inside each section, the cards are forced into status columns (Open Tasks / In Progress / etc.) — even though I never used status grouping before.
• The Group button has also moved from the right side of the toolbar to the left side.
• I didn't change any settings. The change just appeared.

Screenshots attached (old layout vs new layout).

Thanks,

Shady

[John Funk]

Hi Shady - Welcome to the Atlassian Community!

Looks like Swimlanes have been added maybe and the swimlanes are based on the Category. 

Click the 3 dots to the right of the board name, then select Configure board (or the equivalent).

Then click the Layout option on the left. Things to look for - first, are there swimlanes added and what are they based on? And, how are the statuses mapped to the columnsf?

[Shady Abdel-Atty]

Hi John,

Thanks for checking and trying to support.

Unfortunately, i don't see any of the given options. Is it something related to the "Business Space"? I do believe its indeed related to the swimlanes, not sure if there is an other option to find it?

[John Funk]

Yes, that would be because it is a Business space board. I suggest creating a second board to see if that help you. Here are the instructions:

https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Agile-articles/Creating-a-Second-Agile-Board-for-Team-Managed-or-JIra-Work/ba-p/2115018