Board card elements (issue key, title, assignee) no longer individually clickable

Yogesh Moradiya_vfhx9b

Hi,

I've noticed a recent change on Jira boards where the issue key, summary title, and assignee avatar on board cards are no longer individually clickable links. Previously:

• Clicking the issue key would open the issue in a new tab or navigate directly to it
• Clicking the title would take you to the full issue page
• Clicking the assignee avatar would navigate to the user's profile

Now, clicking anywhere on the card opens the issue in a side panel or modal. To actually open the issue in a full page or new tab, I now need to either right-click → "Open in new tab" or open the panel first and then navigate from there.

Why this is a problem:

This adds unnecessary extra clicks to what was previously a single-click action. As someone who works on a board daily managing sprint items, I frequently need to open issues in full view or quickly check an assignee's profile. The previous behavior was faster and more intuitive — each element on the card had a clear, predictable action.

The side panel/modal view doesn't replace the need to open the full issue page, especially when I need to see full descriptions, linked issues, or edit multiple fields.

Request:

Could we get the previous behavior back, or at minimum have an option/setting to restore per-element clickability on board cards? Even a simple middle-click or Ctrl+click on the issue key to open in a new tab would be an improvement over the current behavior.

Is anyone else experiencing this? Would appreciate knowing if this is an intentional change or a regression.

Thanks.

Alexandre Pezzini

The behavior you're seeing is part of a recent Jira Cloud UI update that replaces individual element links on board cards with a single "card-level" click action. This change is intended to streamline the interface by opening the Preview Panel (side panel) or a modal for any click on the card, rather than having multiple small hit targets.

However, as you've noted, this has removed the ability to directly open an issue in a new tab or navigate to an assignee's profile with a single click.

1. Why this change was made

Atlassian is moving toward a "Preview First" navigation model across Jira (including List views and Boards). The goal is to keep users in the context of the board while they perform quick edits. By making the entire card a single button, it reduces "mis-clicks" on small elements, but it does add steps for power users who need the full issue view.

2. Current Workarounds

While there isn't currently a toggle to revert to the "per-element" link behavior, you can use these shortcuts to speed up your workflow:

• Open in New Tab (Directly from Board): Use Ctrl + Click (Windows) or Cmd + Click (Mac) anywhere on the card. This will bypass the side panel and open the full issue in a new browser tab.

• Middle-Click: If your mouse has a scroll wheel, clicking it anywhere on the card will also open the issue in a new tab.

• Expand from Panel: If the side panel is already open, you can click the "Open in full screen" icon (the diagonal arrow) in the top-right of the panel to jump to the full page.

3. Providing Feedback

This change has been a significant topic of discussion in the community. Atlassian has recently introduced a "View Settings" option in some views (like the List view) to choose between a Modal or a Preview Panel, and they are working on making these preferences persist across sessions.

I recommend sharing your specific use case (the need for quick assignee profile checks and full-page edits) directly through the "Give Feedback" button in Jira (found under the Help (?) menu). This feedback goes directly to the product teams managing the Board UI.

Reference Documentation:

• Customize cards | Jira Cloud | Atlassian Support

• Preview Panels will soon replace the detail view in Jira’s Global Search and List views