> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://support.affinity.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Tutorial 1: Your First List — Create, Populate, and Organize
> Create your first list, add entries, understand column colors, filter, and switch to Board view.
***
## Immediate Value
After this tutorial, you'll have a working list with real entries, understand the column color system, and know how to filter and visualize your data in multiple views.
## Prerequisites
None — this is your starting point.
## Quick-Start Roadmap
1. Create your first list (from template or scratch)
2. Add your first entry
3. Understand the column color system
4. Filter your list to surface what matters
5. Switch to Board view for pipeline visualization
6. Add a custom column/field
7. Plan which lists you actually need
**Two versions of Lists.** This tutorial covers the standard Lists experience (default for most accounts). If you've opted into **"Try improved Lists"** (Sheets 3 Beta), some buttons may be in different locations — but all concepts and outcomes are the same.
***
## Why Lists Matter
Lists organize your deals, contacts, and opportunities. Every record in Affinity belongs to one or more lists, and every workflow — pipeline reviews, portfolio monitoring, fundraising tracking — starts by deciding which list a record belongs to.
> See [Getting started with lists](/s/article/Lists) for an overview of how lists fit into the rest of Affinity.
***
## Task 1: Create Your First List
### Context
Lists organize your deals, contacts, and opportunities. Templates are fastest if your workflow matches a common pattern; build from scratch if you have specific fields in mind.
### 🎬 Watch
### Action
1. In the left sidebar, click the **"Add New"** button at the top.
2. Select **"New List"** from the menu (it appears in the menu's list-creation section).
3. The new-list dialog opens with built-in templates shown by default. Either:
* **Pick a template** that fits your workflow → name your list → **Create**.
* Or click **"Build from scratch"** → choose type (**Organization** / **People** / **Opportunity**) → name → **Create**.
Templates cover common workflows like Deal Pipeline, Portfolio Tracking, and LP Management. If a template is close to what you need, start there and adjust.
**List type is permanent.** Organization, People, and Opportunity lists have different field structures and cannot be converted. Choose carefully.
### Expected Outcome
Your new list appears in the left sidebar under **Lists**. It's empty and ready for entries.
### 📚 Help Center
* [How to create a new list in Affinity](/s/article/How-to-create-a-new-list-in-Affinity)
* [Types of lists in Affinity](/s/article/Types-of-lists-in-Affinity)
* [How to copy a list template](/s/article/How-to-copy-a-list-template)
***
## Task 2: Add Your First Entry
### Context
Most contacts already exist in Affinity from email sync. Adding them to a list is a search-and-add, not a re-entry.
### Action
1. Open your list.
2. Click the **"+"** button in the row-header to start a new entry.
3. Type a person's or company's name.
4. **If a match appears:** click to add it to the list.
5. **If no match:** click **"Create"** → enter the required fields (Name; Email for a person) → **Create**.
### Expected Outcome
Your list shows one entry. Email, meeting history, and enriched data populate automatically from email sync and integrations.
### 📚 Help Center
* [How to manually create a new entity in Affinity](/s/article/How-to-manually-create-a-new-entity-in-Affinity)
* [How to import data into Affinity](/s/article/How-to-import-your-data-into-Affinity)
***
## Task 3: Understand Column Colors
### Context
Affinity color-codes columns to signal scope and source. The color tells you whether an edit is local to this list, visible across all lists, or stops auto-updates from an enrichment source.
### Action
Look at the column headers in your list:
| **Color** | **Meaning** | **Edit impact** |
| ------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| 🔵 BLUE | Global field — your team's shared data | Edits appear in every list that contains this entity |
| ⚫ BLACK | List-specific field — exists only in this list | Edits are scoped to this list only |
| 🟢 GREEN | Auto-filled from Crunchbase/Dealroom enrichment | Editing stops auto-updates for that field on that entity |
| Find one of each color in your list. | | |
**Editing a 🟢 green field stops auto-updates permanently for that field on that entity.** Example: if you change "Employees" from 500 to 600 and Crunchbase later updates to 700, your value stays at 600. Only edit green fields when the enrichment data is verifiably wrong; there's no self-serve reset (contact support if you need to revert).
### Expected Outcome
You can identify blue, black, and green columns in your list and know which are safe to edit.
### 📚 Help Center
* [Enriched Global and List-specific Fields](/s/article/Enriched-Global-and-List-specific-Fields)
* [Crunchbase data in Affinity](/s/article/Crunchbase-data-in-Affinity)
* [Dealroom data in Affinity](/s/article/Dealroom-co-data-in-Affinity)
***
## Task 4: Filter Your List
### Context
Filters narrow a list down to the rows you want to act on — active deals, a specific industry, entries missing data.
### Action
### Method 1 (from a column header)
1. Click the **dropdown arrow** in any column header.
2. Select the column-specific filter option.
3. Check the values you want → **Apply**.
### Method 2 (full filter bar)
1. Click **"Filters"** above the column headers, or press **Cmd+Shift+F** (Mac) / **Ctrl+Shift+F** (Windows).
2. Select a column → choose values → **Apply**.
Combine filters across columns for AND logic. Example: Industry = "SaaS" AND Stage = "Active" returns only active SaaS deals.
### Expected Outcome
Your list shows a filtered subset and a filter indicator above the columns shows the active filters.
### 📚 Help Center
* [How to filter and sort columns within a list](/s/article/How-to-filter-sort-columns-within-a-list)
* [How to filter by empty cells](/s/article/How-to-filter-by-empty-cells)
***
## Task 5: Try Board View
### Context
Board view shows list entries as cards organized by a Status column. Useful for pipeline reviews where you want to drag entries between stages.
### Action
1. In your list, find the **Views** header row (just above the column headers).
2. Click the **"+"** icon at the right end of the views row.
3. Select **"New Board View"** and give it a name.
4. Your entries appear as cards in columns grouped by Status. Drag a card to a different column to update its Status.
If a board view already exists on this list, you can click it directly in the Views row instead of creating a new one.
**If "Board" is grayed out** or Affinity prompts you to create a Status field: your list doesn't have a Status field with defined stages yet. Tutorial 9 covers adding Status fields.
### Expected Outcome
You see your list entries as cards in columns. Dragging a card updates its Status automatically.
### 📚 Help Center
* [How to use board views in Affinity](/s/article/Lists)
***
## Task 6: Add a Custom Column/Field
### Context
Custom fields let you track data points specific to your firm's workflow — deal size, sector focus, investment thesis, anything you need that isn't in the default fields.
### Action
1. Scroll to the far right of your list to find the **"+ New Column"** header (or click **"+"** at the end of the column headers).
2. Choose **"Create a new field"** to build from scratch, or **"Add an existing field"** to reuse a global field.
3. Select the field type (Dropdown, Number, Date, Text, etc.).
4. Name the field and configure options.
5. Click **"Create"**.
Use Dropdown fields for anything you'll filter by (Stage, Sector, Lead Source). Use Number for amounts. Use Date for deadlines.
### Expected Outcome
A new column appears in your list, ready to populate.
### 📚 Help Center
* [How to create a new column field in a list](/s/article/How-to-create-a-new-column-field-in-a-list)
* [Which list-specific fields are provided by Affinity](/s/article/Which-list-specific-fields-are-provided-by-Affinity)
***
## Task 7: Plan Which Lists You Actually Need
### Context
Before creating more lists, sketch out what you need. Each list type maps to a workflow your team runs.
### Action
Consider which lists your team needs based on the workflows you run:
| **List type** | **Common use cases** | **Who uses it** |
| ---------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- | --------------- |
| Organization — Deal Pipeline | Track companies through sourcing → diligence → close | Deal team |
| Organization — Portfolio | Monitor portfolio company activity and engagement | Portfolio team |
| People — Network | Track key contacts, co-investors, advisors | Everyone |
| Opportunity — Fundraising | Manage LP commitments and fundraising pipeline | IR / Partners |
### Expected Outcome
You have a plan for which lists to create and who on your team will use each one.
***
## Common Questions
No. Organization, People, and Opportunity list types are permanent. Create a new list if you need a different type.
A **profile** is the global record for a person or company (visible across all lists). A **list entry** is that profile's presence in a specific list, with list-specific fields (⚫ black columns). One profile can appear in many lists.
Click **"Import"** in your list toolbar, then upload a CSV. Affinity maps columns to fields. See the [import guide](/s/article/How-to-import-your-data-into-Affinity) for field mapping details.
Yes. Blue (global) fields are shared across all lists. Changing "Industry" on a company in your deal pipeline will also change it in your portfolio list and everywhere else that company appears.
***
## See It In Action
***
## Where to Go Next
* **Next tutorial:** Tutorial 2: Navigating Profiles and Understanding Your Data
* **Learning Paths:** This tutorial is Step 1 in all five learning paths