SharePoint List View: Create, Change & Delete a View

If you’ve ever opened a SharePoint list and felt overwhelmed by a wall of data, you’re not alone. That’s exactly where SharePoint List Views come to the rescue. Think of a view as a lens — it lets you look at the same list data but only shows you what you actually need to see at that moment.

In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through everything about SharePoint list views — what they are, how to create them, how to change them, and how to delete them when you don’t need them anymore. I’ll also cover some practical tips that most tutorials skip over.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• What is a SharePoint List View?
• The different view types available
• How to create a list view in SharePoint Online
• How to edit a current view
• How to create a new view based on an existing one
• How to change column visibility in a view
• How to set a default view
• How to delete a view
• How to create or edit a Gallery view with the Card Designer
• Bonus: Pro tips for building smarter views

What is a SharePoint List View?

A SharePoint List View is a customized way to display items from a list or library. It controls which columns you see, how the data is sorted, whether it’s filtered, and even the layout (list, calendar, board, etc.).

Here’s the key thing to understand: the underlying data in your list never changes when you switch views. A list view is just a different way of looking at the same data. You can create as many views as you want for the same list.

Every SharePoint list automatically gets at least one view when it’s created. For a list, it’s called All Items. For a document library, it’s called All Documents.

You can create two types of views:

• Personal View — visible only to you
• Public View — visible to everyone who has access to the list

View Types in SharePoint Online List

Before you create a SharePoint list view, it helps to know what types are available. When you click Create new view, you’ll see a “Show as” option. Here’s what each one does:

View Type	Best Used For
Standard (List)	General-purpose data display in a tabular format
Calendar	Date-based items like tasks, events, or deadlines
Gallery	Displaying items as visual cards with images
Board	Kanban-style tracking based on a choice column
Datasheet	Quick inline editing, similar to an Excel spreadsheet

The Standard view is what you’ll use most often. The Board view is great for tracking project status or approval stages. The Calendar view works best when your list has date columns like Start Date and Due Date.

The default view of the SharePoint list is List. Also, we can switch a list view to other layout options like Compact or Gallery.

The screenshot [1st image] below represents the view as a List view. When I selected a different view as Gallery, the SharePoint list layouts converted to a gallery layout.

To select a different view in the SharePoint list, expand the View options -> Choose the name of the view you want to use -> Select Gallery layout.

This is how to select a different view in a SharePoint Online list.

Check out SharePoint List View Filter by Current User (Using [Me]

How to Create a List View in SharePoint Online

There are two ways to create a view in SharePoint Online list. Let me show you both.

Method 1: From the View Options Menu

1. Open your SharePoint list.
2. Click on All Items (or the name of your current view) in the top-right corner of the list.
3. Select Create new view.

4. In the Create view panel, fill in the following:
   • View name — Give it a clear, descriptive name (e.g., “Open Tickets” or “My Department Items”)
   • Show as — Choose your view type (Standard, Calendar, Gallery, Board)
   • Visibility — Select Public if others should see it, or Private if it’s just for you
5. Click Create. Here is a screenshot for your reference.

The view gets created right away, and you’ll be switched to it automatically. Here is a screenshot that you can follow.

Method 2: From the Filters Pane (Save as a View)

This is my personal favorite method because you can visually filter data first and then save that filtered state as a named view.

1. Open your SharePoint list.
2. Click the Filter icon (funnel icon) in the top-right area to open the Filters pane.
3. Select any filter value — for example, filter by Status = “In Progress”.

4. The list updates to show only matching items.
5. Now click on the View option (All Items dropdown) → Save view as.

6. Give the view a name → toggle Make public if needed → click Save like in the screenshot below:

That’s it — your filtered view is now saved and ready to use anytime.

Now, the new view has been saved in the SharePoint View option. If you want to use this view, click on it, and the result will appear in the SharePoint list.

This is the other way to create a view in the SharePoint Online list.

Read Create a Board View in a SharePoint Online List

How to Edit a List View in SharePoint Online

Creating a view is just step one. The real power comes from editing the list view settings — like adding filters, sorts, and groupings.

1. Select the SharePoint Online list view you want to edit from the View dropdown.
2. Click on the view dropdown again → Edit current view.

3. On the Edit View page, you’ll see sections for:
   • Columns — Choose which columns appear (and in what order)
   • Sort — Sort by up to two columns, ascending or descending
   • Filter — Display only items that match specific conditions
   • Group By — Group items by a column (e.g., group by Department or Status)
   • Totals — Show count, sum, or average for columns
   • Style — Choose how rows are visually displayed (shaded, boxed, etc.)
   • Item Limit — Control how many items appear per page

Here is a screenshot for your reference:

4. Make your changes and click OK.

Quick example: Say you manage a task list and want a view that shows only tasks assigned to your team with status “Not Started”, sorted by due date. You’d set the filter to Assigned To equals [Your Team] AND Status equals Not Started, then sort by Due Date ascending.

Check out Create a Board View in a SharePoint Online List

Grouping, Sorting, and Filtering — Used Together

One thing that surprises a lot of SharePoint users: you can combine grouping, sorting, and filtering in the same view. Here’s a practical way to think about it:

• Filter first — narrow down the items you want to see
• Group next — organize those filtered items into logical buckets
• Sort inside groups — arrange items within each group in a meaningful order

For example, in a project tracker list: filter to show only “Active” items → group by “Priority” → sort by “Due Date” within each group. This gives users an incredibly clean, actionable view without them needing to do any manual work.

Pro tip: When you set a Group By, you don’t need to add the same column to your Sort section — it’s already ordered as part of the grouping. Apply sorting on a different column inside those groups.

Create Different Views in SharePoint List

You can see a Show as an option while creating a new view in the SharePoint list. That implies that the user must choose a specific choice, such as the view type. Here are a few view options:

1. List
2. Calendar
3. Gallery
4. Board

Let’s explore one by one.

1. List:

When creating the new list view, we have covered this option in the previous example [Create a List View in SharePoint Online].

2. Calendar:

While we will choose the Show as option as Calendar, then it will appear like the image below:

1. View name: Provide a name to the view
2. Show as: Select Calendar
3. Default layout: Select Month or Week
4. Start date on calendar: Select either Created or Modified
5. End date on calendar: Select either Created or Modified
6. Visibility: If you want to make the view public, then check on it
7. Title of items on calendar: Select any column

Click on Create.

• Once the new view has been created in the SharePoint list, it will look like the image below.

• If we choose the created calendar view as Week, the SharePoint list will appear as shown in the figure.

• Similarly, if you click on the Default layout as Week, it will ask you the Title of items and the Subheading.

3. Gallery:

• While creating the SharePoint list view, Provide a View name and select the Show as Gallery. Click on Create.

• Then, the SharePoint list will appear with the created gallery view, as shown below.

4. Board:

• While creating the SharePoint list view, Provide a View name and select the Show as Board.
• Select the Create new column to organize by from the dropdown menu.
• Click on Create.

• Once the SharePoint list Board view has been created, the SharePoint list records will appear with the board layout as shown in the image below.

These are the different view types in the SharePoint List.

Check out How to Create SharePoint List Views using Power Automate

Create a New SharePoint List View Based on an Existing One

If you’ve spent time setting up a great view and want to create a variation of it, you don’t have to start from scratch.

1. Switch to the list view you want to use as your starting point.
2. Click on the View dropdown → Save view as.

3. Type a new name for the view → click Save.

The new view is an exact copy of the current one. You can then edit it to make whatever adjustments you need — change the filter, tweak the columns, etc. This is a huge time-saver.

How to Change Columns Displayed in a List View

You don’t always need to see every column in a SharePoint list. Showing only the most relevant columns keeps the view clean and reduces horizontal scrolling (which nobody enjoys).

1. Go to the View dropdown → select the view you want to change → click Edit current view.
2. Under the Columns section, check the boxes for columns you want to show, and uncheck the ones you want to hide.
3. You can also set the Position number next to each column to control the order they appear (1 = leftmost column).
4. Click OK.

Read Create a New SharePoint List By Creating a Form

How to Set a Default View for a SharePoint List

The default view is what users see the moment they open the SharePoint list. By default, it’s “All Items” — but you can change this to any public view you’ve created.

1. Switch to the view you want to make the default.
2. Click the View dropdown → Edit current view.

3. On the Edit View page, scroll to the top and check the box that says Make this the default view.
4. Click OK. Here is a screenshot for your reference.

Now, every time someone opens the list, they’ll land on this view. This is especially useful when you’ve built a view tailored to your team’s daily workflow.

Note: Only public views can be set as the default. Personal views cannot.

How to Delete a List View in SharePoint Online

If a view is no longer needed, you can delete it. Just remember — you cannot delete the default view directly. You’ll need to set another list view as the default first.

1. Switch to the view you want to delete.
2. Click the View dropdown → Edit current view.

3. At the top of the Edit View page, click the Delete button.

4. Confirm by clicking OK.

The view is removed from the SharePoint list. The list data itself is completely untouched — only the view configuration is deleted.

Tips for Better SharePoint Views

Here are a few things that make a big difference in real-world SharePoint usage:

• Use the Filters Pane instead of adding too many columns. The Filters Pane lets users slice and dice the data on their own without you needing to create a view for every possible combination.
• Watch the 5,000 item threshold. If your list has more than 5,000 items, views that aren’t filtered by an indexed column may fail to load. Always index the columns you sort or filter by on large lists — at minimum: Title, Created, Modified, Created By, Modified By.
• Name your views clearly. “View 1” and “View 2” help no one. Use names like “My Open Tasks”, “This Month’s Submissions”, or “Pending Approvals” so users know exactly what they’re clicking on.
• Personal views for power users. If you frequently need a custom filter that’s specific to your role, create a personal view. It doesn’t clutter the public view list for other users.
• Board view for status tracking. If your list has a “Status” or “Stage” choice column, a Board view turns it into a visual Kanban board. You can drag cards between columns to update their status without opening the item form.
• Calendar view needs date columns. For a Calendar view to work, your list must have at least one Date/Time column. You’ll map that column as the start date. If you have both a start and end date, the Calendar view can show item duration across multiple days.

Conclusion

Working with SharePoint list views has honestly changed the way I look at list data. Instead of scrolling through hundreds of rows trying to find what I need, I simply switch to the right view and the relevant items are right there in front of me.

Once you get comfortable creating, editing, and deleting views, you’ll start building them for everything — a personal view for your own tasks, a board view for your team’s project status, a calendar view for upcoming deadlines. The possibilities are surprisingly flexible for something that takes just a few clicks to set up.

My advice? Don’t stick with the default “All Items” view forever. Take 10 minutes to build one custom view tailored to how your team actually works — I promise it’ll save everyone far more time than that in the long run.

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