Views help you see your data in the way that works for you. Unlike spreadsheets, you can have multiple views at once, set up for yourself or different teams - so everyone can quickly see the data that matters.

In Beacon there are two kinds of view:

List views are the most common kind of view in Beacon. When you view any kind of records list, the default list will show all of your records in a list format:

Change the order of records in your list by clicking the name of the column you'd like to sort by. Click again to reverse the order:

You can choose which columns to show by clicking the columns icon in the top right of the list, next to the search icon:

It's also possible to customise the order that columns show in by dragging columns to where you'd like them:

Pipeline views help you view your data in a set of columns, based on a dropdown field. This is particularly useful for managing data where records move through a series of steps - the progress of grants, high value donations, or volunteer onboarding.

You can easily move records along a pipeline by click and dragging them to the new stage:

You can also re-order the columns by click and dragging them. (If you're an admin)

One of the most useful features of views is the ability to assign filters to them. This lets you see the data that matters to you in the view - and no more.

A common use case for this might be to only show volunteers in the list, so you can move the volunteers through the onboarding flow without seeing any of the non-volunteer contacts.

You can save filters to a view or create a new view by clicking the Save View button at the bottom of the filter drawer:

So, you've set up your view - but what happens if you're not entirely happy with it at the moment? Rather than setting up an entire new view, is there a way to give the created view a little tweak? Absolutely! Let's jump into it.

To edit the filter on a view, you'll need to make sure you are viewing the view (nice sentence) and you'll be able to edit any filter criteria on the right hand side of the page, by selecting the filter option.
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From there, you'll be able to set your filter as desired, and save to confirm the changes made.

Easy peasy! Simply select the button next to the filters, and choose the columns you want active. Taking an example, let's add the Created Date column:
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From there, you won't even need to save - Your view will have all columns (as well as the Created date column) from the get go!

You'll be able to do this by clicking on the views banner on the record list, and then clicking on the pencil option on the dropdown, next to the view you want to give some love to.
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From there, you'll be able to edit and save all changes that you want to implement, like changing the format of the view from a list to a pipeline, or sharing access to the view across your team. Remember to save your changes, so that next time you access the view, you'll be all set up instantly.

Editing just isn't enough? It's not you - it's the view. Let's get rid of it.
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What you would need to do here is follow the steps on editing above, and making sure to click the Delete option, and clicking the final delete confirmation button to wipe it entirely.

When you delete a view, you're deleting the perspective from which you were viewing your records - not the records themselves. Rest assured the records will stay within your database, untouched and free for other data purposes!
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If you're wanting to delete the records based on a view, then bulk deleting will do the trick here!

If you haven't deleted your view, it is always good to check other record types for the view you're looking for - as these will not travel across records 👀