> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.saphion.co.uk/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Boards, tables and views
> Find, filter, sort, group and arrange the records in any list, create your own boards, and understand what a view does and does not change.
Most places in Saphion show records in a **board**: a table of Actions, Projects, Files, Contacts, Companies and so on. Every board works the same way, so once you know one you know them all. You can also make boards of your own for any kind of record.
> [!NOTE]
>
> Everyone with access to a board can search, filter, sort and group it for themselves.
A board in table view
## The record holds the work
A record, such as an Action or a Company, holds the details and the history. A board shows a set of records, and a **view** chooses how they are presented: which records, in what order, grouped how and with which columns. Showing a record in two views does not copy it. Changing a record in one view changes it in every other.
```mermaid theme={null}
flowchart LR
R[("Records
one copy of each")] --- T["Table"]
R --- K["Kanban"]
R --- C["Calendar"]
R --- TL["Timeline"]
R --- P["Pivot"]
R --- D["Dashboard"]
```
## Find the records you need
The tools along the top work on every table.
| Tool | What it does |
| - | - |
| **Search** | Finds records by their name and other text. |
| **Filter** | Narrows the records by any field. Press F to open it. It also holds the switches that bring back hidden records. |
| **Sort** | Orders the rows by one or more columns. |
| **Group** | Groups rows under headings with a count and a total. |
| **Columns** | Chooses which columns show. |
| **Colour** | Colours records by a field, on views that can show colour. |
**1. Filter**
Choose **Filter**, then pick a field under **Add filter**. Each condition reads **Where** a field **is** or **is not** a value, and you can combine several. The conditions you apply appear as chips under the toolbar. **Clear all** removes them.
**2. Show hidden records**
Completed records and archived records are hidden until you ask for them. In the filter menu turn on **Show completed and not required** or **Show archived**. A board only offers the switches that make sense for its records.
**3. Sort and group**
**Sort** orders the rows. **Group** offers **No grouping**, **Section** (on a board that has sections), or any field, with an optional second level under **Then by**. **Show empty groups**, **Collapse all** and **Expand all** control the headings.
**4. Choose columns**
**Columns** shows or hides a column. A column you hide is hidden only in your view of it. To hide one from a column heading, open its menu and choose **Hide column**.
Filtering a board
## Work in a table
* **Open a record.** Select a row to open its [record panel](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/work/record-panel-and-attachments.md).
* **Edit in place.** Select a cell to change its value. A value you may not change says why when you select it.
* **Row menu.** Right-click a row for **Open**, **Edit**, **Copy link**, **Duplicate**, **Archive** (or **Restore**, on an archived record) and **Delete record**. Delete moves the record to the Bin and offers **Undo**.
* **Tick several rows** to act on them together from the bar that appears.
* **Column menu.** Open a column's menu for **Settings**, **Filter**, **Group by**, **Summary**, **Hide column**, **Duplicate column**, **Add column to the right**, **Change column type**, **Rename** and **Delete field**. See [Fields](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/work/fields.md).
* **Summary.** A column's **Summary** adds a total, count or other figure for the group or the whole board where its type allows one.
## Add a view
Views are the tabs along the top of the board. Choose **+** at the end of the row, and **Add view** offers the layouts the board's records can draw.
| View | What it shows |
| - | - |
| **Table** | Rows and columns. Every board has one that cannot be taken off. |
| **Kanban** | Cards in lanes, grouped by a status field. Drag a card to change its status where you may. |
| **Calendar** | Records placed on a date field, by month. Where the records are Actions, week and day layouts show your own time too. |
| **Timeline** | Records as bars from a start to a finish, by weeks or months. |
| **Dashboard** | A saved dashboard over the board's records. See [Dashboards](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/work/dashboards.md). |
| **Form** | A form that takes records in. Only boards whose job is taking records in offer it. |
| **Pivot** | Counts of records across a row field and a column field. |
A view that the board's records cannot draw yet stays in the menu, greyed, and says why. Some views need you to choose a field, such as the date a Calendar uses. Choose it when the view asks.
### Manage a view
Choose the tab you are already on, or right-click any tab, for its menu:
* **Share** the view, **Make default view**, **Rename view**, **View settings**, **Duplicate view** and **Delete view**, each only where you may.
* Drag a tab to reorder it, or press Alt with an arrow key.
* When you add a view you choose its **Access**: only you, or shared with the board's own audience, where you may share. Sharing a layout never grants access to its records.
Your changes to a view's filters, sorting, grouping and columns are yours alone. Another person who opens the same view still sees it as it was saved.
## Create a board
**1. Start from Creations**
Choose **Creations**, then **New > Board**. A Project's **Creations** tab offers the same choice.
**2. Set it up**
The **Create Board** dialog asks for a **Board name**, an **Item type** (choose **New blank board**, or a kind of record your Organisation already has) and its **Home**. **Private** keeps it yours. Choosing a Project files it there, where the Project's people can open it.
A blank board starts with a **Name** field only. Under it, the dialog offers **Status**, **Owner** and **Due date**: tick any you want and they are added with the board.
**3. Build it**
Open the board, add fields from a column's menu with **Add column to the right**, and add records with **New**. See [Fields](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/work/fields.md).
The board's header has its people, **Share**, **New**, and a **Page options** menu with **Import from Excel or CSV**, **Import from template**, **Export to Excel** and **Export to CSV**. See [Import and export](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/work/import-and-export.md).
## If a record is missing
A record that does not show in a view has not been deleted.
**1. Check the tab**
Make sure you are on the view you expect, and the right Project or person if the board is narrowed to one.
**2. Check Filter and Search**
Clear the search box and look for an applied filter. Turn on **Show completed and not required** or **Show archived** if the record may be one of those.
**3. Check your access**
You only see records you can open. See [Sharing and access](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/work/sharing-and-access.md).
**4. Open the record to confirm**
Open it from another place, such as a Project's Actions tab, and check its details.
An empty board says "No records yet", and one that you have narrowed says there are no results and offers to clear the filter.
## How it works
* **Who can do what.** Working in a board's records, renaming it and changing its shared views need Editor access to the board. Changing how it is built, such as its fields, and archiving or deleting it need Manager access. On a Project's boards those roles come from the [Project's people](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/work/sharing-and-access.md#project-roles).
* **A view changes presentation, not access.** A view does not make shared records private, and sharing a record does not depend on any view. To change who can open or edit something, use its **Share** door.
* **Removing a view removes only how records were shown.** The records stay.
* **Roles on a board.** A Viewer reads. An Editor works in the records, renames the board and changes its shared views. A Manager changes how the board is built, including its fields, and archives or deletes it.
* **Sections.** A board with sections shows each section as a group with its count, sorted within each. Choose **Group > Section** or another grouping to change how it reads. To add, rename, move or remove sections, see [Groups and sections](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/work/fields.md#groups-and-sections).
* **Protected boards.** Some boards, such as the Actions board's first view, are Saphion's own and cannot be changed for everyone. Save a personal or additional shared view instead.
## Ask Beacon
* "Add a Status field to the Site visits board and group it by status."
* "Show me the records on this board with no owner."
* "Add a section called Snagging to the Site visits board."
See [Chat with Beacon](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/beacon/chat.md).
## FAQ
> **Why can I not add a field or a shared view?**
>
> Changing how a board is built needs Manager access to it. Ask someone who manages the board, or make a personal view instead.
> **Where did my column go?**
>
> It is probably hidden. Open **Columns** and turn it back on. A hidden column only affects your own view.
> **Can two people have different filters on the same view?**
>
> Yes. Your filter, sort, grouping and columns are personal to you until the view itself is changed by a person who may.
> **Does deleting a view delete its records?**
>
> No. It only removes that way of looking at them.
## Related
* [Fields](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/work/fields.md): Add, change and delete the columns of a board.
* [Import and export](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/work/import-and-export.md): Bring records in from a spreadsheet, or take them out.
* [Templates](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/work/templates.md): Standard rows to bring into a Project.
* [Sharing and access](https://docs.saphion.co.uk/work/sharing-and-access.md): Decide who can open and edit a board.
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