3.3 Kanban, Split View, Favorites, Related Lists & the Recycle Bin
Key Takeaways
- Kanban View organizes records of a single object into visual columns based on a picklist field, enabling users to advance workflow statuses by dragging and dropping cards.
- Moving cards across Kanban columns automatically triggers underlying picklist updates, recalculates column summary metrics (such as total Opportunity amount), and surfaces validation error modals if required fields are missing.
- Split View offers a dual-pane workspace featuring a collapsible record list on the left and the active record detail page on the right, maximizing throughput for high-volume service and sales queues.
- Related lists show the child and associated records connected to a record, and the Recycle Bin (opened from the App Launcher) holds deleted records for 15 days so they can be restored.
- Favorites allow users to bookmark up to 200 high-frequency records, list views, reports, and dashboards via the Global Header star icon, while Recent Items track historical activity across search, lookups, and the App Launcher.
Visual Workflows: Kanban, Split View & Favorites
Quick Answer: Lightning Experience offers three distinct display formats for list views: Table View (standard tabular grid), Kanban View (card-based board grouped by a picklist field with drag-and-drop status changes and column summaries), and Split View (dual-pane layout showing the list alongside the active record). For rapid navigation across disparate items, users utilize Favorites (Global Header star icon) to bookmark up to 200 records, list views, and dashboards, complemented by automated Recent Items tracking throughout the interface.
Modern CRM productivity requires matching the interface density and visual structure to specific operational workflows. An account executive actively managing fifty quarterly deals needs a visual pipeline board; an inside sales rep or call center agent triaging incoming requests needs rapid dual-pane navigation; and a finance analyst requires multi-column tabular spreadsheets. This section analyzes Kanban views, Split views, Global Header Favorites, and Recent Items tracking.
The Kanban View: Visual Pipeline Management
The Kanban View transforms any standard or custom list view into an interactive, visual card board. Records are organized into vertical columns based on a selected picklist field, such as Opportunity Stage, Lead Status, Case Status, or Task Status.
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Opportunities > My Open Deals [Table v] [Display As: Kanban] |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Prospecting (3) | Qualification (2) | Proposal/Price Quote (4) | Negotiation (1) |
| Total: $145,000 | Total: $280,000 | Total: $720,000 | Total: $500,000 |
+------------------------+-------------------------+--------------------------+---------------------+
| [ Acme Software ] | [ Pacific Bio ] | [ Global Logistics ] | [ Summit Media ] |
| Amount: $45,000 | Amount: $180,000 | Amount: $350,000 | Amount: $500,000 |
| Close: 11/15/2026 | Close: 12/01/2026 | Close: 10/30/2026 (!) | Close: 11/30/2026 |
| Owner: rchen | Owner: rchen | Owner: rchen | Owner: rchen |
+------------------------+-------------------------+--------------------------+---------------------+
| [ Cloud Direct ] | [ Delta Dynamics ] | [ Omni Retail ] | |
| Amount: $60,000 | Amount: $100,000 | Amount: $220,000 | |
| Close: 12/15/2026 | Close: 11/20/2026 | Close: 12/10/2026 | |
+---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Core Capabilities of Kanban Views
- Drag-and-Drop Status Progression: Users can drag a record card from one column and drop it into another. Salesforce immediately updates the underlying picklist field on the record (e.g., moving an Opportunity from "Qualification" to "Proposal/Price Quote") without requiring the user to open the full edit page.
- Platform Business Logic and Validation Enforcement: Moving a card triggers all standard and custom validation rules, required fields, and Apex triggers. If moving an Opportunity to a advanced stage requires a "Close Date" or "Next Steps", an edit modal dialog immediately pops up, prompting the user to complete the required fields before finalizing the move.
- Dynamic Column Summaries: At the top of each column, Salesforce automatically calculates and displays the aggregate sum of a selected numeric or currency field (e.g., total deal value per stage). When a card is moved between columns, the header totals for both columns recalculate instantly.
- Kanban Settings Customization: Via the List View Controls gear icon under Kanban Settings, users can choose:
- Summarize By: Select which numerical or currency field to aggregate at the top of columns (e.g., Amount, Expected Revenue, Hours).
- Group By: Select which picklist field dictates the vertical columns (e.g., Stage, Lead Status, Type).
- Kanban Alert Badges: Cards display warning icons (red triangles) flagging records that require immediate attention, such as opportunities with past-due close dates, overdue tasks, or records lacking any scheduled future activities.
Comparing Display Modes: Table vs. Kanban vs. Split View
Lightning Experience allows users to toggle between three distinct display formats using the Display As button on any list view:
| Feature Dimension | Table View | Kanban View | Split View |
|---|---|---|---|
| Visual Structure | Standard spreadsheet-like rows and columns. | Vertical columns of cards organized by picklist status. | Dual-pane layout: collapsible list on the left, full record on the right. |
| Primary User Persona | Data administrators, finance auditors, sales ops analysts. | Sales representatives, pipeline managers, project leads. | Customer service agents, inside sales reps, queue dispatchers. |
| Best Use Cases | Mass data scanning, inline editing across multiple attributes, column sorting. | Managing deal progression, identifying pipeline bottlenecks, stage velocity. | High-velocity record processing, cycling through queues, rapid call logging. |
| Key Strengths | Displays many fields simultaneously; supports multi-row mass editing. | Drag-and-drop updates; automatic column metric summarization. | Eliminates back-and-forth page navigation; maintains list context while reviewing details. |
| Primary Limitations | Lacks immediate visual status progression and aggregate column totals. | Limited to grouping by picklists; displays fewer individual field attributes per card. | Consumes horizontal screen width; best suited for wide desktop displays. |
Split View: High-Velocity Workspace
Split View is a high-productivity interface layout that divides the screen into two active panes:
- Left Navigation Drawer: Displays a vertical list of records from the selected list view, including key fields such as record name, owner, and status.
- Right Main Canvas: Renders the complete, fully functional record page for the currently selected record, including the Highlights Panel, Path, record details, related lists, and Activity Timeline.
+-----------------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Cases: My Open (12) | Case 00041022: Unable to connect to VPN |
+-----------------------+ [ Highlights Panel: Priority: High | Status: Working | Contact: Jane Doe ]|
| > 00041022 [ACTIVE] +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Jane Doe - High | [ Feed ] [ Details ] [ Related ] |
| Unable to connect | Case Details: |
+-----------------------+ Subject: Unable to connect to VPN after software update |
| 00041023 | Description: User reports SSL handshake failure starting this morning. |
| Mark Smith - Med +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Billing inquiry | Activity: [ Log a Call ] [ New Task ] [ New Event ] |
+-----------------------+---------------------------------------------------------------------------+
Operational Advantages of Split View
- Zero Navigation Lag: Service agents resolving support queues or sales reps qualifying inbound leads can click consecutive records in the left drawer. The right canvas refreshes immediately without triggering full page reloads or forcing the user to press the browser's back button.
- Collapsible Workspace: Users can click the collapse button on the dividing border to hide the left record drawer when they need full-screen space for complex record layouts or multi-column page views.
- Console and Standard Apps: Split View is available in standard navigation apps, and Lightning console apps (such as the Service Console) offer a similar pinned list beside the workspace tabs, which is why high-volume service teams rely on it.
Favorites: Personal Bookmarking in the Global Header
Favorites allow individual users to create one-click bookmarks to their most critical Salesforce resources. Located in the Global Header, the Favorites control consists of a Star Icon and a companion Dropdown Menu.
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Global Header Favorites Menu |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| [*] Add Favorite (Click star to bookmark current view) |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Current Favorites (12 / 200) |
| [Acme Enterprise Account] - Account Record |
| [West Coast Hot Leads] - Custom List View |
| [Q4 Executive Pipeline Dashboard] - Dashboard |
| [Midwest Regional Sales Team] - Chatter Group |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| [ Edit Favorites ] |
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+
What Can Be Favorited?
Users can bookmark almost any distinct entity in Lightning Experience, including:
- Individual records (e.g., high-value Accounts, key Opportunities, critical Cases).
- Specific filtered List Views (e.g., "My Open Escalated Cases").
- Reports and Dashboards.
- Chatter Groups and custom object tabs.
Visual State and Management Rules
- Star States: An empty star outline indicates the current page is not bookmarked. Clicking the star turns it into a solid gold star, instantly saving the page to Favorites.
- Capacity Limit: Each individual user can save up to 200 favorites.
- The "Edit Favorites" Modal: Selecting Edit Favorites from the dropdown enables users to:
- Rename favorites with friendly, descriptive labels (e.g., renaming a complex dashboard URL to "Weekly Team KPI Board").
- Reorder favorites via drag-and-drop to place daily priorities at the top of the list.
- Delete stale or obsolete favorites.
Recent Items Tracking
Unlike Favorites (which require conscious manual bookmarking by the user), Recent Items tracking is an automated, continuous background service built into Salesforce. The platform monitors records the user touches across daily operations and surfaces them contextually:
- Global Search Dropdown: Displays recently accessed records the moment the user clicks into the search box before a single letter is typed.
- Lookup Field Dialogs: When associating a Contact with an Account or selecting an Opportunity on a Task, the lookup search dialog automatically presents the user's most recently viewed records for that object.
- Recent Items Utility: When added to an app's Utility Bar, it maintains a convenient clickable history of records viewed during the active browser session.
- App Launcher Shortcuts: Surfaces recently opened applications and items directly below the App Launcher search field for immediate resumption of work.
Related Lists: Finding Connected Records
A record page answers two questions: what is true about this record, and what is connected to it? Related lists answer the second question. Each related list shows the child or associated records linked to the record you are viewing, such as an Account's Contacts, Opportunities, and Cases.
- Where they appear: On a Lightning record page, related lists usually sit on the Related tab or in a column beside the record details. Some pages show related list quick links near the top, which open a full list without scrolling.
- What users can do: Click View All to open the complete list with sorting and filtering, or use the related list's New button to create a child record that is already linked to the parent. A new Contact created from an Account's Contacts related list is pre-filled with that Account.
- Who controls them: Administrators choose which related lists appear, their order, and their columns in the page layout. In Lightning App Builder, they can also place an individual list on a record page with the Related List - Single component.
- Why they exist: A lookup or master-detail relationship lets the parent object show its children in a related list. If users can't find a related list, an administrator has usually removed it from the layout; the related records still exist.
Related lists complete the anatomy of a Lightning record page:
| Record Page Area | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Highlights Panel | Key fields at the top of the page, driven by the object's compact layout |
| Path | Stage or status progress with key fields and guidance |
| Details | The record's field values, controlled by the page layout or Dynamic Forms |
| Activity | Tasks, events, calls, and emails logged against the record |
| Related | Related lists of connected child and associated records |
The Recycle Bin: Recovering Deleted Records
When a user deletes a record, Salesforce does not destroy it immediately. The record moves to the Recycle Bin, where it can be restored.
| Recycle Bin Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| How to open it | From the App Launcher, search for and select Recycle Bin (admins can also add it as a tab) |
| My Recycle Bin | Records you deleted; you can restore them if you have Read access to them |
| Org Recycle Bin | Records deleted by anyone; viewing and restoring other users' deletions requires the Modify All Data permission |
| Retention | Items stay for 15 days and are then permanently deleted (Salesforce Support can extend this to 30 days) |
| Permanent delete | Deleting items from the bin or clicking Empty Org Recycle Bin requires Modify All Data |
| Storage | Records in the Recycle Bin do not count against the org's storage usage |
Exam pattern: "A user deleted a record by mistake yesterday. How can they get it back?" Open the Recycle Bin from the App Launcher, select the record, and click Restore. Restoring a master record in a master-detail relationship also restores the detail records that were deleted with it. After the retention period ends, the record can no longer be restored from the Recycle Bin.
A sales representative attempts to drag an Opportunity card from 'Proposal/Price Quote' to 'Negotiation/Review' on a Kanban board, but an alert modal dialog immediately pops up requiring a 'Customer Decision Date'. Why did this modal appear?
A customer support representative needs to review and update twenty high-priority support cases consecutively without losing their place in the queue or repeatedly navigating back to the main case list. Which Lightning view format provides a two-pane layout that best supports this workflow?
A marketing manager frequently references a specific custom dashboard, a regional campaign list view, and three top client account records. What is the most efficient way for the manager to quickly access these diverse assets with a single click from anywhere in Lightning Experience?
A sales representative accidentally deleted an important Account record yesterday. What is the quickest way for the representative to recover it?