Custom views let you add or remove information displayed in a record's profile tab.

Custom views may be used to replace default columns on the following Profile tabs in Slate:

• Schools

• Scores

• Jobs

• Interests

• Sports

• Gifts

• Pledges

• Planned Giving

• Query

Customize a Personal View

You can create personal views that are only visible to and selectable by the user who configures them. This will modify the exports, filters, and sorts for the affiliated tab on all records. To create a personal view with custom columns:

1. Select the Profile tab from any Person record.

2. Select the appropriate tab from the right-hand menu.

3. Click the Customize View icon at the bottom of the table.
   

4. Click the Copy Preset icon to the right of the view list. A browser pop-up appears.
   
   Note: The default view can be modified by skipping this step and the next.

5. Enter a name for the new Custom View. Click OK and select your new custom view from the list.

6. Select the desired Exports for the view's column headers. Edit the exports for further refinement (for example, to control the format mask for dates).

7. Click the Save Preset icon to the right of the view list.

8. Click Update.
   

Why can't anyone else see my views?

Personal views are user-specific. Other Slate users in your institution will not be able to see personal views you created. To have other Slate users see a view you created, configure a Shared View (discussed in the next section).

Adjust a view's column widths

A custom column width may be set by entering the desired number of pixels or percentage. Within a view, double-click an export or click edit. In the Edit Part window, you'll see a field called Display Width. Enter a width in pixels or percent, then click Save.

Filter a View

Your view might contain more data than you need to see at the moment. Add filters to narrow the number of export rows to what's relevant to you. To filter a view:

1. Select the Profile tab from any Person record.

2. Select the appropriate tab from the right-hand menu.

3. Select the Customize View icon at the bottom of the table.

4. Select Filter to add one or more direct or extended filters to the view.

5. Save your filter(s).

6. Select Update.

🤝 Advancement Example: Filtering gifts

For example, an alumni record's Giving tab might display 40 years of their giving history with your institution.

In this case, it might be prudent to filter for only those gifts made in the past five years.

Unfiltered view

Displays all 40 year’s worth of donor gifts.

Filter configurations

Filters out gifts made before January 1, 2015.

Result

We see only the past five years of giving history on the record.

Link out from a view with HTML output

🏔️ Summit 2024 Feature

Create complexly-formatted links to external systems using HTML output in custom views.

For example, in your record lookup view, you could create a link that opens your SIS in a new tab already searching for that record.

How it works

In any customizable view, you can create a subquery export for HTML output.

This output is the product of a concatenation of three exports within the subquery:

• a prefix literal, like <a href="/manage/deliver/dataset?mailing=

• an ID associated with the record, like a message mailing GUID,

• and a suffix literal, like " target="_blank">List</a>.

The result—stitched together from these three parts—is a complete HTML <a> tag:

<a href="/manage/deliver/dataset?mailing=YOUR-MAILING-GUID-HERE" target="_blank">List</a>

This <a> tag renders as a link in each row. When you click a link on a given row (in this case, a row represents a mailing), Slate opens a new tab displaying the mailing’s recipient lists.

Creating HTML output in a view

1. Click the Customize View icon.
   

2. Depending on your location, a list may appear. If so, select Customize View.

3. Click the Copy Preset icon to the right of the view list. A browser pop-up appears.
   
   Note: Modify the default view by skipping this step and the next.

4. Enter a name for the new Custom View. Click OK and select your new custom view from the list.

5. Select Subquery Export.

6. Configure the following settings:

   • Name: Enter a name that appears at the head of the column.

   • Type: Dependent Subquery

   • Output: Concatenate

7. Add three exports to the subquery: a prefix literal, an ID unique to the record, and a suffix literal. See example above for more information about the content of these exports.

8. Select Save to save the subquery export.

9. Select Update to update the view.

Using the Formula output

You can also use the Formula subquery output create a link to a URL that includes information unique to the record in a view.

For example, to create an SIS lookup based on a given person record, you could enter this formula (broken onto multiple lines for clarity):

concat(
    '<a href="https://slate.edu/lookup?sisid=', 
    @Person-SIS-ID, 
    '" target="_blank" style="color:goldenrod !important;">SIS Lookup</a>'
    )

This formula concatenates:

• An HTML <a> tag, the href of which is modified by a query parameter for your SIS ?sisid=

• The Slate value for SIS ID, @Person-SIS-ID

• And the remainder of the <a> tag, which specifies where the link should open (a new tab)

The result is a link that opens your SIS lookup pre-populated with the record’s ID.

📖 Further reading: Using Formulas in Queries

Shared Views

Shared views let other users in your database see the same view, with all the same exports, filters, and sorts, for a tab.

They can be configured by users with the Manage Shared Views permission, with which they can access all shared views in your database for all view types, including Deliver Mailings, Sources, Addresses, and Jobs.

You can also add shared views by clicking the Customize View icon at the bottom of a table, then clicking Edit Shared Views, which opens a new tab on the Shared Views screen for that table's base (in this example, Relationships).

Any shared views for each base will be listed on this page. Query details are listed at left, Access Permissions (if any) on the right.

Some tabs (Decision Release, Giving, Opportunities, and Materials) have sub-contexts (circled in image opposite). The sub-contexts for a given tab exist on the same query base.

Inactivate a shared Shared View by double-clicking or clicking the pencil icon, then setting Status to Inactive. Inactive shared views appear at the bottom of the page in faded text.

Create a New Shared View

To create a new shared view:

1. Under the table for which you want to create a shared view, click the Customize View icon.
   

2. Click Edit Shared Views.

   Alternatively, start from Database > Shared Views and select the view type you'd like to work on.

3. Click Create View. The Library default view appears.

4. Add a name and modify the view's exports, filters, and sorts as needed.
   Note: The view's name will be visible to other users.

5. Click Save. The new view appears both in the Shared Views tool, and as an option in the views dropdown for that table under Shared.

Clone an Existing Shared View

To create a copy of an existing shared view:

1. While editing a shared view, click the Copy View icon.
   

2. Add or delete any exports, filters, sorts, and rename the new view.

3. Click Copy.

   

You can copy views to a different sub-context on the same base. For example, copying a shared view from Release Decision: Confirm to Release Decision: Release.

Shared Views and Permissions

Only users with the Manage Shared Views permission can add new Shared Views. Users that have been granted the permissions Access View or Modify View on a given shared view can access and modify that view, respectively.

If a user is granted Modify View for one or more shared view, they must also have the Manage Shared Views permission.

Expand Access to a View

Access Permissions allow you to further restrict who can modify and access the Shared View. If there are Access Permissions, users must meet one of the listed criteria for accessing the view. Add Access Permissions to a view by clicking the Edit icon, then selecting the Access Permissions tab. Then, choose to add grantees by user, role, or permission, and select the permissions they should receive.

If no access permissions are set for a shared view, then any user with the Manage Shared Views permission can modify it.

Accessing Shared Views as a User

Active shared views are available for access to all users of all permission types if there are no access permissions set for that view.

Shared views without access permissions can be added as editable personal views for any user by clicking Update on the shared view. The users can modify the exports, filters, and sorts that they (and they alone) see displayed for all records on that table.

Troubleshooting Views

Why can't a user see a shared view I configured?

• Confirm that the shared view you want to use is set to Active.

• Confirm that the user is accessing that view from the same table you built it on.

  • For example, if the shared view exists on the Relationships tab on a record, they'll need to navigate to that tab to see it in action.

• If the shared view has access permissions, confirm that users who you want to see and use that view are granted access as a user, permission or role.

Why can't I see Access Permissions?

A Shared View must exist (and be saved) for you to add Access Permissions

If I add a Shared View for Schools, for instance, will other users in my database see that view?

No. They will only see a Shared View if they select it as a custom view.