Views combine your preferred layout with filters and fields, which allows you to organize your data and quickly find what you need.
Furthermore, sharing views with your team improves collaboration and keeps everyone on the same page.
You can use and save views on Tasks, Projects, Deals, Budgets, Contacts, Invoices, Company Time, Docs, and Resourcing.
Note on Project Layout
Your project layout might look a bit different from the one shown here.
That’s because we’re gradually introducing an updated project navigation layout with customizable tabs.
Saving Views
Outside of projects, saving custom views is available only on Professional and Ultimate plans.
On other plans, you can still add and change fields, use filters, and sort data—but you can’t save views for later use.
Inside projects, however, any user can create and save an unlimited number of views (tabs), regardless of subscription plan. Each tab within a project represents a saved view with its own layout, filters, and fields.
Creating a View
To create a view (private or public) from scratch, follow these steps:
1) Select the Add a view option from the views dropdown menu.
You’ll find this option in most modules—such as Tasks, Budgets, Invoices, Expenses, Employees, or Contacts. In short, anywhere there's a views dropdown, you can add a view.
2) Name your view, and decide accessibility:
Public – visible to everyone with permission to see that data.
Private – visible only to you.
📌 Different modules offer different layout types. If you're creating a view from Project Management > Tasks, choose an initial layout like list, board, or table (you can modify it later).
4) Click Create view.
5) Tweak your view with filters, group the displayed data by certain parameters, and
when you're done, be sure to save your new view.
Default Views
Each module in Productive comes with a set of default views that are preloaded to help you get started.
Examples include My Open Tasks or My Overdue Tasks in Project Management > Tasks, and All Open Budgets, Client Budgets, Internal Budgets, My Open Budgets, and Needs Invoicing in Financials > Budgets.
📌 You can edit these default views and save them under a new name, but the delete option is disabled until you make and save a change to them.
Views in Projects: Tabs
Projects have a new tab-based system where each tab functions as a saved view.
This change allows you to tailor the project layout to your workflow and permissions.
Who can manage tabs
Project Managers and users with Add, edit, and delete projects permission can:
Add, pin, unpin, rename, duplicate, and delete tabs.
Change visibility (public/private).
Staff and Coordinators can:
Create private tabs visible only to themselves.
Use public tabs shared by others but can’t modify or delete them.
How it works
Click All tabs at the end of the tab bar and select + New tab.
Choose a tab type (Tasks, Docs, Budgets, etc.). The tabs you can see and add here depend on your permission level.
Name your tab, adjust filters, fields, layout, and visibility—just like with any other view.
Save your changes.
If the view is public, the tab will automatically be pinned so it appears in the project tab bar for everyone.
Private views will appear in the project tab bar, but will remain invisible to the rest of the team.
Example
A Project Manager sets up a project with Tasks, Docs, and Budgets tabs.
They pin Tasks and Docs for everyone, but a Staff user adds a private tab filtered to only their assigned tasks—visible only to them.
Summary of Key Differences
Area | Saving Custom Views | Access Control | New Layout |
Projects | Unlimited views/tabs for all plans | Role-based (Project Manager vs Staff) | ✅ Yes (customizable tabs) |
All other modules | Limited by subscription plan | Same as before | ❌ No change |
Managing and Editing Views
Open the views dropdown (or the project tab bar menu, if inside a project) to see all your available views. For each view, you can:
Add it to your favorites
Edit its name, make it private or share it with your team
Get an iCal link for calendar integration (where applicable)
Pin it to appear at the top of the views dropdown
Duplicate or delete it
📌 Default views can only be deleted after you make and save a change to them.
Save and Save As
Whenever you make changes to a view—such as adding or removing fields, adjusting filters, or changing the layout—a save modal appears in the bottom-right corner.
Save changes updates the currently selected view with your new filters, layout, or field settings.
Save as creates a new view from an existing one.
📌 When you dismiss the Save / Save as modal in the bottom-right corner, the option moves to the main Save button at the top of the screen.
In Projects, the following rules apply:
Staff and Coordinators can use Save as only when modifying a pinned tab created by someone else.
The new tab created this way will always be private.
Users with Add, edit, and delete projects permission can use Save as or Save changes, and they can choose whether the view is private or public.
Saving changes on a public tab updates it for everyone.
View Visibility
If a view (or tab) is public, teammates with permission can access it.
If it’s private, only you can see it.
You can change visibility anytime via the Edit view options.
Additional "Me" Filters
When viewing tasks, click the Me preset filter in the upper-right corner of the screen to show tasks owned or assigned to you.
Use the dynamic Me filter to display data assigned to you only.
When the dynamic Me filter is used in a public view or tab, each viewer sees only their own data.
For example, a shared Budgets view filtered by "Budget Owner = Me (dynamic)" shows each user only the budgets they own.
Use Case: My Active Tasks
Create a shared "My Active Tasks" view for your team:
Add the Me (dynamic) filter (to show only each user’s assigned tasks).
Apply any other filters you need (e.g., Status Category = Started and Not Started).
Group the tasks by status or task list, and sort them by creation or due date.
Name the view clearly.
Make sure you make it public (visible to everyone).
When users select this view, they’ll only see their own active tasks within a project.
