Today we are releasing the largest user experience upgrade ever across DevStride. This release modernizes interaction patterns, improves performance and accessibility, and delivers a dramatically more fluid experience—while preserving all existing data, workflows, and configurations.
This release rewrites the DevStride user interface and addresses virtually every UI suggestion submitted by customers and partners over the last four years. Most users will feel the impact immediately through less friction, fewer clicks, and faster navigation, even if they never explore individual features in detail.
If you would like live training on the new release, you can email phil@devstride.com directly to set up a time.
If you encounter a bug, please let us know using the new Support button in the app.
| Improvement | What Users Will Notice |
|---|---|
| Animated Login Page | Polished first impression |
| Auto Dark Mode | OS preference respected |
| Public Pages Dark Mode | Forms and public views adapt automatically |
| Theme Persistence | Theme remembered across sessions via local storage |
| Improved Autofill | Password fields remain readable |
| Improvement | What Users Will Notice |
|---|---|
| Draggable Modals | Drag any modal by its header |
| Auto-Focus on Open | Start typing immediately |
| Loading Feedback | “Saving…” overlays with spinners |
| Validation Feedback | Instant feedback with red borders |
| Focus Recovery | Focus returns to the trigger element |
| Escape Stacking | Only the top modal closes |
| Ctrl/Cmd + Enter | Save and close |
| Esc Key | Close without saving |
| Up / Down Keys | Navigate lists |
/ Key | Search |
a Key | Toggle archived (where applicable) |
c Key | Clear modal inputs (where applicable) |
Note: Every modal in the system was redesigned—resulting in hundreds of individual improvements.
| Improvement | What Users Will Notice |
|---|---|
| Excel-Like Navigation | Arrow key navigation with Enter to edit |
| Subtask Navigation | Seamless arrow-key movement into subtasks |
| Shift + Resize Columns | Resize multiple columns or reset width |
| Persistent Focus | Cursor position remembered and restored |
| Disabled Fields | Clear visual treatment for read-only fields |
| Full Title on Hover | Complete item and subtask titles visible |
| Line Wrap / Truncate | Control long-text behavior |
| Faster Load Times | Progressive rendering prevents freezes |
| Smooth Scrolling | Only visible rows are rendered |
| Reduced Memory Usage | Load more items efficiently |
| Slide-In Panels | Filters, Sort, and Options use panels |
| New Display Options | Including Line Wrap |
| Consistent UX | Unified interaction for all field types |
| Keyboard Shortcuts | Arrow keys, Enter, Escape |
i Key | Quickly create an item |
| Improvement | What Users Will Notice |
|---|---|
| Drag-to-Pan | Scroll freely in any direction |
| Control Ribbon | New toolbar with expanded controls |
| Today Button | Always visible |
| Zoom Sliders | Smooth horizontal and vertical zoom |
| Precision Zoom | Enter exact px/day or row height |
| Click-to-Center | Center the timeline on any date |
| Visual Center Marker | See current focus instantly |
| Full Keyboard Navigation | Navigate the entire Gantt |
| Shift + Click Dates | Parent dates auto-calculate |
| Dependency Visualization | Animated dependency lines on hover |
| View Options | Toggle bounding boxes and dependency lines |
| Accurate Progress | Correct calculations by count, estimate, or time |
| Cycle Snapping | New cycle snap utility |
| Add to Gantt | Add items from Map or Items Table |
| Performance | ~70% faster load and render times |
| Resizable Data Grid | Expand grid to fill most of the screen |
| Improvement | What Users Will Notice |
|---|---|
| Row Checkboxes | Easy multi-select |
| Multi-Edit Button | Quick bulk actions |
| Collapse Empty Columns | More usable screen space |
| Focus Recovery | Selection preserved |
| Improved Navigation | Reliable arrow-key behavior |
| Smart Constraints | Sibling-only selection enforcement |
| Improvement | What Users Will Notice |
|---|---|
| Board Browser | Titles now line-wrap |
| Context Menus | Expanded edit options |
| Dependency Lines Enabled | On by default |
| Faster Totals | Board and group totals calculate faster |
| Improvement | What Users Will Notice |
|---|---|
| Show / Hide / Reorder | Admin-controlled field visibility |
| Completion Donut Chart | Visual progress with overrides |
| Watchers Button | Moved to top of the sidebar |
| Improved Defaults | Better initial field ordering |
| Focus Management | Consistent focus and disabled behavior |
| Improvement | What Users Will Notice |
|---|---|
| Dynamic Theme Chooser | Live previews |
| New Light Themes | Standard, Pastel, Lipstick, Bolder |
| New Dark Themes | Standard, Cooler, Desert, Forest |
| Theme Preview | Swatches before loading |
| Dynamic Updates | Live theme reloads (including Gantt) |
| Improvement | What Users Will Notice |
|---|---|
| AI Item Creation | Generate multiple structured items from text |
| Improved Prompts | Guided, reusable prompt templates |
| Targeting Controls | Specify item types to generate |
| Markdown Formatting | Rich descriptions supported |
| Upgraded AI Model | Higher-quality results |
| Improvement | What Users Will Notice |
|---|---|
| Infinite Canvas | Pan endlessly |
| Zoom Controls | Scroll, buttons, or exact values |
| Keyboard Shortcuts | + / -, R, E |
| Click-to-Center | Center and highlight items |
| Color Coding | Orange = dependencies, Purple = dependents |
| View Modes | Fit All or Center on Item |
| Center-On Dropdown | Jump instantly to any item |
| Improvement | What Users Will Notice |
|---|---|
| Actual Time Modal | Centralized time management |
| Smart Time Entry | “130” → “1:30” |
| HH:MM Label | Explicit format guidance |
| Real-Time Sync | Updates across sessions |
| Consistent UI | Same layout everywhere |
| Column Rename | “Date Ended” → “Date Started” |
| Keyboard Navigation | Arrow keys and Enter supported |
| Improvement | What Users Will Notice |
|---|---|
| Draggable Form | Footer moves with form |
| Auto Dark Mode | OS preference respected |
| Centered Layout | Clean presentation |
| Chevron Navigation | Hierarchy browsing |
| Save Feedback | Correct skeleton placement |
| Deleted Group Handling | Graceful fallbacks |
| Improvement | What Users Will Notice |
|---|---|
| Full Mobile Support | All screens optimized |
| Responsive Layouts | Seamless scaling |
| Touch-Friendly Controls | Proper sizing |
| Responsive Header Actions | Buttons resize correctly |
| Correct Table & Board Layouts | Proper rendering |
| Consistent Experience | Desktop parity on mobile |
| Improvement | What Users Will Notice |
|---|---|
| Learn Link | Opens new documentation site |
| Support Link | Native request form replaces Gleap |