Salesforce · Lightning Experience

Creating a List View

A list view is a saved, filtered slice of one object — the same records everyone already has, narrowed to the ones a person actually works. Building one takes about a minute. Understanding what the visibility setting does, and does not, control is the part worth slowing down for.

1 · Open the object tab

Accounts, Opportunities, Cases — anything with a tab in the app

2 · List View Controls → New

The gear icon at the top right of the list, not the setup gear

Who can see this list view — pick one
Only Me
All Users
Groups

↓ this walkthrough uses All Users

3 · Set the filters

Filter by Owner first, then add field-level conditions

4 · Choose the columns

Gear → Select Fields to Display, then order them

Make it your default?
NO JUST SAVE IT YES CLICK THE PIN

Saved

Lives in the list view dropdown

Pinned

Opens here every time — just for you

The click path

Every label below is the exact text on screen, so you can follow along in a live org.

  1. Open the object from the app nav — Accounts, for example.
  2. Click the list view controls gear at the top right of the list, then New.
  3. Type a List Name. The List API Name fills itself in — leave it alone unless something else references it.
  4. Pick who sees it, then Save. The filter panel opens on the right automatically.
  5. Set Filter by Owner — usually All accounts or My accounts.
  6. Click Add Filter, choose a field, an operator, and a value. Done.
  7. Click Save to close the panel.
  8. Gear → Select Fields to Display. Move fields across, drag to reorder, Save.
  9. Click any column header to sort. The sort saves with the view.
  10. Optional: click the pin icon to make it your landing view for that object.

Field notes

Visibility is not access

This trips up nearly everyone. All users can see this list view shares the view — the filter and the column layout. It does not share the records. Everyone opening it sees only the records your sharing model already lets them see, so the same list view can show 900 rows to a manager and 12 to a rep. That is correct behaviour, not a broken filter.

When someone reports a list view is "empty" or "missing records," check sharing before you touch the filter. The filter is almost never the culprit.

Pinning is personal

The pin sets your own default view for that object. It does not set a default for the team, and you cannot pin a view on someone else's behalf. If everyone should land on the same list, that is a conversation about app and profile configuration, not a pin.

Clone beats build

Most new list views are a small variation on one that already exists. Open the closest match and use gear → Clone, then adjust. You inherit the columns and the sort, which is most of the work — building from scratch means re-picking every field.

Edit without leaving the list

Hover a cell and a small pencil appears on editable fields — change it inline and save without opening the record. Select several rows first and the edit applies to all of them, which turns a list view into a genuine bulk-update tool rather than just a way to look at things.

Fields stay locked if they are read-only for your profile, controlled by a validation rule, or driven by an automation. A greyed cell is telling you something.

Name it for the person, not the query

My Open Renewals — This Quarter gets used. Account List 3 and Test View Copy 2 get abandoned and clutter the dropdown for everyone else who can see them. If the view is shared, the name is part of someone else's workspace.