This tutorial covers the standard Lists experience. 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.
Immediate Value
After this tutorial, you’ll sort and filter lists, favorite frequently-used lists, share lists with teammates, customize saved views, and use multi-condition filters.Prerequisites
- Tutorial 1: Your First List
- Tutorial 5: Pipeline Basics (for saved views context)
Quick-Start Roadmap
- Sort your list to surface what matters
- Filter by empty cells to find data gaps
- Use multi-condition filters for complex queries
- Favorite frequently-used lists
- Share your list with team members
- Customize and save views
- See your list as a dashboard
Task 1: Sort Your List
Context
Sorting reorders entries by a column value — for example, by Last Contact to find stale relationships, by Deal Amount, or by Date Added.Action
Quick method (from column header):- Click the dropdown arrow in any column header
- Select “Sort [column name]”
- Choose ascending or descending Full method:
- Click “Sort” above the columns (or press Cmd+Shift+S on Mac / Ctrl+Shift+S on Windows)
- Select the column to sort by
- Choose sort direction
Expected Outcome
Your list is reordered by the selected column. A sort indicator appears in the column header.📚 Help Center
Task 2: Filter by Empty Cells
Context
Empty cells indicate missing data. Filtering for them surfaces entries that need attention — deals without a stage, contacts without an owner, companies without an industry.Action
- Click “Filter” above the columns (or press Cmd+Shift+F on Mac / Ctrl+Shift+F on Windows)
- Select the column you want to check
- Choose “is empty” as the filter condition
- Click “Apply”
Expected Outcome
Your list shows only entries with empty values in the selected column.📚 Help Center
Task 3: Multi-Condition Filters
Context
Real questions require multiple filters. “Show me active SaaS deals over $5M owned by my team” needs 4 conditions working together.Action
- Click “Filter” above the columns
- Add your first filter condition
- Click “Add Filter” to add more conditions
- All conditions in a group use AND logic (entries must match every filter)
- Click “Apply” Example multi-filter:
- Status = “Active”
- Industry = “SaaS”
- Deal Amount > $5,000,000
- Owner = “Your Name”
Expected Outcome
Your list shows only entries matching all filter conditions simultaneously.Task 4: Favorite Frequently-Used Lists
Context
Favoriting pins lists to the top of your sidebar for quick access.Action
- Hover over any list name in the left sidebar
- Click the star icon that appears (tooltip: “Add to Favorites”)
- The list moves to the “Favorites” section at the top of your sidebar
- To remove: click the filled star again (tooltip: “Remove from Favorites”) to unfavorite
Expected Outcome
Your most-used lists appear in the Favorites section at the top of the sidebar.Task 5: Share Your List
Context
Sharing a list gives teammates access to view or edit entries.Action
- Open the list you want to share
- Click the “Share” button (top-right area of the list)
- Search for teammates by name or email
- Set permission level:
- Viewer — can see but not edit
- Editor — can add, edit, and remove entries
- Click “Share”
Expected Outcome
Your teammates can access the list from their sidebar.📚 Help Center
Task 6: Customize and Save Views
Context
Saved views preserve your filter, sort, and column configurations so you don’t have to reconfigure them each time.Action
- Apply the filters, sorts, and column visibility you want.
- Open the sheet view’s toolbar menu and click “Save as new sheet view”.
- Name your view descriptively (e.g., “Active Deals - This Quarter”) in the modal and confirm.
- The saved view now appears in the Views header row. To start a fresh view from scratch later, click the ”+” icon at the right end of the Views row. View ideas by role:
- Partner: “High-Value Deals” (Amount > $10M, sorted by close date)
- Associate: “My Pipeline” (Owner = me, sorted by last contact)
- IR: “LP Engagement” (sorted by last contact, oldest first)
Expected Outcome
Multiple saved views appear in your Views dropdown, each tailored to a different workflow.Task 7: Dashboard View
Context
Dashboard view shows summary analytics — pipeline value, deal counts, stage distribution — as visual widgets.Action
- Click “Views” → Select “Dashboard”
- See summary widgets: pipeline health, active deals, monthly stats
- Widgets update automatically as list data changes
Expected Outcome
You see a visual summary of your list data with charts and metrics.📚 Help Center
Common Questions
Can I combine sort and filter?
Can I combine sort and filter?
Yes. Apply filters first to narrow the dataset, then sort to order the filtered results. Save both together as a view.
Do saved views affect what my teammates see?
Do saved views affect what my teammates see?
By default, saved views are private. Only you see them. Tutorial 15 covers sharing and locking views for team use.
What's the difference between Sheet, Board, and Dashboard views?
What's the difference between Sheet, Board, and Dashboard views?
Sheet = spreadsheet rows (best for editing). Board = Kanban cards by status (best for pipeline review, requires a Status field with defined stages). Dashboard = summary analytics (best for oversight). All show the same data, just differently.
See It In Action
Where to Go Next
- Next tutorial: Tutorial 8: Keyboard Shortcuts and Power Navigation
- 🎓 Deep Dive: Managing Data Privacy in Affinity (~30-60 min)
- 🗺️ Learning Paths: Deal Sourcing (Step 4), Deal Management (Step 3)