---
url: /concepts/views.md
description: >-
  How a view shows the same tasks in one of eleven shapes — List, Kanban, Table,
  Timeline, Calendar, Dashboard and more — without copying them, and where each
  view may draw its tasks from.
---

# Views as lenses on tasks

A **view** is a saved way of looking at tasks: it picks tasks from its sources in the
[folder tree](/concepts/hierarchy), [filters, sorts and groups](/guides/filter-sort-and-group-a-view)
them, and shows them in one of eleven [view types](#view-types-eleven-shapes-for-the-same-tasks), such
as Kanban.

> **A view owns no tasks: it only decides which tasks you see and in what shape.**

The same task can appear in a dozen views at once. Change it in any of them — drag a card, set
a date — and it changes everywhere, because there is only one task, in its list.

## View anatomy: sources in, a shape out

```mermaid
---
config:
  layout: elk
---
flowchart LR
  L["List"]
  F["Folder"]
  W["Workspace"]
  V["View"]
  S["Filter, sort and group"]
  M["View type, for example Kanban"]
  T["The task, in its list"]

  L -- "holds" --> T
  L -- "feeds tasks into" --> V
  F -- "feeds tasks into" --> V
  W -- "feeds tasks into" --> V
  V -- "keeps its own" --> S
  V -- "shows tasks as" --> M
  M -- "edits" --> T
```

## Sources: where a view looks

Where a view lives decides where it may look:

| View | Draws from | Can you change **Sources** later? |
|---|---|---|
| **A list's view** (every list has at least one) | its own list | no |
| **A workspace view in a folder** | that folder by default, or other lists and folders of the same workspace, so one Kanban can cover every list in a folder | yes |
| **A workspace view at the top of the workspace** | the whole workspace, or the folders and lists of it you pick when you create it | no |
| **A [personal](/concepts/personal-and-work) (User) view** under **User Views** | any workspace you belong to | yes |

A personal view can also open as your **Home page** — see
[Build your own Today view](/guides/build-a-today-view) and
[Personal and work tasks in one place](/concepts/personal-and-work).

::: warning Who can create shared views
Creating a shared view needs the view permissions, which the **List/Folder manager**, **Admin**
and **Super Admin** sets include. Creating one inside a folder or list also needs **Edit** access
to that parent ([Permissions and access](/reference/permissions-and-access)). A personal view
needs none of these shared-view permissions.
:::

::: danger Deleting a view
Deleting a view removes it for everyone who can open it, with its filter and settings. The
tasks stay in their lists. A list's default view can't be deleted.
:::

A view also chooses which tasks it shows:

| Setting | Shows |
|---|---|
| **Tasks** | top-level tasks only |
| **Tasks and subtasks** | both |
| **Subtasks only** | the [subtasks](/guides/break-down-with-subtasks) alone |

## View types: eleven shapes for the same tasks

A view shows one type at a time; switch it with the view-type button at the start of the view's
header. It shows the current type, for example **Kanban** (in a narrow header, only its icon),
and its tooltip reads **Kanban — Change mode**. Each type answers a
different question about the same tasks:

| View type | Answers | Shows the tasks as | More |
|---|---|---|---|
| **List** | What is there? | a structured list | [Filter, sort and group a view](/guides/filter-sort-and-group-a-view) |
| **Table** | What is there? | the task's fields as sortable columns | [Filter, sort and group a view](/guides/filter-sort-and-group-a-view) |
| **Kanban** | Where is each task in the process? | columns you drag cards between | [Views compared](/reference/views-compared) |
| **Timeline** | When? | a [Gantt chart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gantt_chart) | [Plan on the timeline and the calendar](/guides/plan-on-timeline-and-calendar) |
| **Calendar** | When? | days, weeks, months or a year | [Plan on the timeline and the calendar](/guides/plan-on-timeline-and-calendar) |
| **Dashboard** | How are we doing? | widgets over your numbers | [Build a dashboard](/guides/build-a-dashboard) |
| **Dashboard V2** | How many tasks are there by status, person or date? | task charts and number cards on a separate grid | [Build a dashboard](/guides/build-a-dashboard#task-charts-in-dashboard-v2) |
| **Feed** | How are we doing? | the task events you choose, newest first by default | [Views compared](/reference/views-compared) |
| **Relations** | How does the work connect? | a graph of tasks and their relations | [Task relations and the relations graph](/concepts/relations) |
| **GTD** | How do I work through them? | a queue you clarify one task at a time | [GTD in Hule](/concepts/gtd) |
| **Scrum Poker** | How big is each task? | cards the team estimates together and reveals at once | [Estimate with Scrum Poker](/guides/estimate-with-scrum-poker) |

Which type fits which job, side by side: [Views compared](/reference/views-compared).

## Filter, sort and group stay with the view

**Filter**, **Sort** and **Group** are saved with the view, so everyone who opens it sees the
same slice ([Filter, sort and group a view](/guides/filter-sort-and-group-a-view)). Every filter
field, sort key and grouping is in [View filters](/reference/view-filters),
[View sorting](/reference/view-sorting) and [View grouping](/reference/view-grouping).

The filter carries over when you change the view type. Sort and grouping are kept per view type:

* **List**, **Kanban**, **Table**, **Timeline** and **Calendar** each keep their own;
* **GTD** and **Scrum Poker** use the List's; Scrum Poker shows the two controls on its preview,
  before a session's setup opens and again after a session ends, and a session keeps its order;
* **Feed** has no header **Sort** or **Group**; its event order is set in **Feed settings**. **Relations** has neither control.
* **Dashboard V2** has no **Sort** or **Group**. Its **Sources** and **Filter** select tasks for every chart. A chart's **Widget filter** can narrow that selection further. **Dashboard V2** starts with an empty grid of its own; the view's **Dashboard** widgets stay where they were when you switch back.

Every status belongs to a **Stage** ([Statuses and status templates](/concepts/statuses)), so a
filter or grouping on **Stage** works across lists with different statuses. A shared view
filtered by **Assignee** **is** **Me (current user)** shows each reader only their own tasks.

::: info Changes reach every reader
Changing a shared view's filter, sort or grouping changes it for everyone who opens it. For a
slice only you need, make a personal view under **User Views**.
:::

A shared view also never shows more than a reader may see: each person gets only the tasks
from the lists they can open. See [Sharing along the hierarchy](/concepts/sharing).

## Example: three views of one list

A team runs its website work in one list, **Website**:

| View | View type | Settings | Who uses it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily | **Kanban** | grouped by **Status** | the team, every day |
| Plan | **Timeline** | filter: not in the **Done** stage | the lead, when planning |
| Numbers | **Dashboard** | widgets **Tasks by Assignee** and **Due date outlook** | the lead, weekly |

Moving a card on **Daily** changes the task's status, and **Plan** and **Numbers** show the
change too.

## Why views are separate from lists

Keeping tasks in one list and shapes in views means you never choose between a Kanban and a
Timeline, or copy tasks to see them another way. A list stays the one home that keeps a task's
status, assignee and history; views are cheap, so you make one for each question you ask
often, and keep a personal one for a slice only you need.

## Views in the Hule model

* Views attach to lists, folders, the workspace or you: see [The Hule model](/concepts/hule-model).
* A view's filter is the same builder automations use for their conditions: see
  [Automations](/concepts/automations).
* Kanban groups by status by default in a list's own view, and by stage in workspace and
  personal views, whose sources can mix lists with different statuses: see
  [Statuses and status templates](/concepts/statuses).

## View guides and recipes

* [Filter, sort and group a view](/guides/filter-sort-and-group-a-view): shape a view.
* [Plan on the timeline and the calendar](/guides/plan-on-timeline-and-calendar): plan in time.
* [Build a dashboard](/guides/build-a-dashboard): watch the numbers.
* [Estimate with Scrum Poker](/guides/estimate-with-scrum-poker): estimate as a team.
* [Build a lead's dashboard](/recipes/lead-dashboard): a whole setup for a team lead.
* [Views compared](/reference/views-compared): every view type side by side.