List Views Complete Guide

List views are a great way to sort, prioritise, and analyse the records that are most important to you. Let’s briefly have a look at the different options you have for creating, editing, and consuming your data from lists. This will be followed by other subsections that will provide more elaborate explanations of the possibilities within list views. 

1. Click on the List View dropdown menu (1)  to access your list views. 

2. Click on the pin list icon (2)  to pin a list view. A pinned list is the default list view for that object. A icon indicates a pinned list. To pin a different list, select a different list view and pin it instead. 

3. Click on the List View Controls (3)  to access list view actions, including creating, renaming, cloning, and sharing them. You can also choose which fields to show in a list and editing filters that you’ve applied. 

4. Click on the layouts icon (4) to toggle between displaying lists in the standard table view () or the Kanban view (). The icon changes to match the selected view. Kanban is a workflow visualisation tool. We talk about Kanban in a bit. When working with task lists, you can also use split view () to see all of your tasks on the left side of the page, plus the details for a selected task on the right. 

5. Click on the refresh icon (5)   to get a fresh view of a list more quickly than doing a full page reload. 

6. Click on the edit icon (6)  to update fields in your list. You move to the first editable field in the list. Edited fields are highlighted in yellow to remind you to save your changes. 

7. Click on the charts icon (7)  to transform list data into simple and easy-to-understand pictures that show things like percentages, totals per account, ratios, and other useful information. 

8. Click on the filter icon (8)  to narrow or expand the records that appear in a list view by adding, modifying, or removing filters.
   

Note

• Unless you pin a different list view, every time you navigate to an object’s home page, you see a summary of your recently viewed records.

• You can quickly find any record in the list using your browser’s Find on this Page option.

Create a New List View

Let’s say you want to see all the Accounts that are Ventures that operate in the Software market segment. Note that the same list view logic applies to other objects like Investment Opportunities or Tasks as well. 

1. On the Accounts tab, from the list view controls (), select New.

2. Name the list: Software_Ventures.

3. Depending on your preferences, select who is able to view your list.

4. Click Save.

So far, the list view is showing us all the accounts, regardless of their type or location. Also, the Filters panel is now available.

Let’s set up some filters. First, we want to include all accounts that are Ventures. 

5. Click Add Filter.

6. From the Field dropdown menu, select Account Record Type.

7. Select the equals operator.

8. For Value, select Venture, then click Done and Save.

Great! The list has been pared down to only include Ventures.

But let’s say you not only want to see ventures, but also only those operating in a specific market segment (Software). 

9. Add another filter where Market Segment equals Software.
   That filtered the list down to only a few items. The new view appears in the list view dropdown list so you can access it later.

10. To add logic that further refines which records appear in your list view, click Filter Logic. To reference filters in your logic statement, use the number assigned to each filter.

Note

You can collapse and expand the filter pane by clicking . You can change who can see the list view by clicking  and selecting Sharing Settings. 

Clone a List

In the previous example we made a list to show all ventures operating in the software market segment. Let’s say you already have a list showing all ventures, this can be done faster by cloning (i.e., making a copy of) an existing list. 

1. From the list view controls (), select Clone.

2. Follow on from step 9 in the previous example. 

Customise a List View

You’ve created a custom list view and added filters, but there’s even more you can do. Let’s say you don’t want to see certain columns and want to add others. Let’s start there.

1. From the list view controls (), select Select Fields to Display.

2. Move Type and Market Segment out of the Visible Fields area and add Account Record Type and Annual Revenue instead.

3. Click Save.

Additional Resources: 

• Salesforce Trailhead: https://trailhead.salesforce.com/en/content/learn/modules/lex_customization/lex_customization_list

• Salesforce Help: https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=sf.basics_understanding_list_views_lex.htm&type=5

Sort Records 

See the little arrow in the Account Name column header? That indicates which direction the contents of that column are sorted. Click the header to sort that column. The arrow indicates how the list is sorted: from the column’s first record () (alphanumerically) or its last ().

Edit Records

You can edit all of a record’s details from list views. Find the Edit option in a record’s action menu. 

You can edit record fields directly from within a list view. Editable cells display a pencil icon () when you hover over the cell, while non-editable cells display a lock icon (). Note that inline editing is not possible if you have more than one record type in a list (e.g. Ventures and Investors). 

Additional Resources: 

• Salesforce Help: https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=customviews_edit_inline_listview_lex_considerations.htm&type=0

Create a List View Chart

List view charts help you visualise your list view data. Let’s say you want to see which investment opportunities represent the highest estimated investment size. For this, you can add a chart to the All Investment Opportunities list view. Follow along. 

1. On the Investment Opportunities tab, click on the All Investment Opportunities list view.

2. Click .

3. In the Charts panel that appears, click  and select New Chart.

4. Name the chart Estimated Investment Size and give it these parameters:

   • Chart Type: Donut Chart

   • Aggregate Type: Sum

   • Aggregate Field: Estimated Investment Size 

   • Grouping Field: Account 
     The aggregate type specifies how the field data is calculated: by sum, count, or average. The aggregate field specifies the type of data to calculate. The grouping field labels the chart segments.

5. Click Save.

Note: When you create a list view chart for an object, such as Investment Opportunities, the chart is associated with the object. The chart is available for any list view that you have permission to see for that object, except the Recently Viewed list.

Set Up a Kanban View 

Let’s say you want to visualise your data more clearly. In this case, you can arrange a Kanban view to show a graphical view of records in a list view. Each Kanban view is based on a list view, and Kanban view settings are applied separately for each list view.

1. Select the list you want to view. 

2. Click on, and then select Kanban. 

3. Kanban settings control the amount or number total in each column heading (1) and the column groupings (2).

4. Summarize each column by a key number or amount, such as the valuation or, in this case, the expected investment size. 

In Summarize By, select a numeric or currency field, or omit column summaries by selecting None.

5. Group your records into columns representing the progress you want to track.

In Group By, select a field such as Opportunity Source or, in this case, the Status. Do note that Kanban views don’t show records without a value in the selected Group By field.

6. Click Save.

7. If you want to change the column headings or groupings, simply click  in the kanban view, and then select Kanban Settings. You will see the same pop-out window. 

Additional Resources: 

• Salesforce Trailhead: https://trailhead.salesforce.com/en/content/learn/modules/leads_opportunities_lightning_experience/visualize-success-with-path-and-kanban
  
  

• Salesforce Trailhead: 

https://trailhead.salesforce.com/content/learn/modules/lightning-experience-for-salesforce-classic-users/work-with-list-views

Set Up a Split View 

Split View is ideal for multi-tasking. You can work faster and more efficiently with Split View, which keeps a List View open in one pane. This makes it ideal for staying in context while working through a list of leads, follow-ups, or calls.

It is a type of list view used to display information with the list on the left, and record detail on the right.

1. Select the list you want to view. 

2. Click on, and then select Split View. 

See the Split View image below. You can see how the Split View is now sorted by “Account Name” (left side) and on the right side of the screen are the details of the record selected. You can edit the record without leaving the Split View.

Note

• Split View displays the first 4 fields of the Table View for each record in the list. 

• You can only Sort fields in Table View, not the Split View.

• You can only Filter fields in Table View, not the Split View. 

Additional Resources: 

• Salesforce Ben: https://www.salesforceben.com/your-complete-guide-to-salesforce-split-view/