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Kanban View for Any Object

Swifty Team Feb 11, 2026 3 min read

Lists are efficient for data management. Boards are efficient for workflow management. Both views serve real purposes, and the right one depends on what you're trying to do.

A sales team reviewing their pipeline usually thinks in terms of stages — what's in prospecting, what's qualified, what's in negotiation, what's closed. A board view makes those stages visible simultaneously, with records sitting in the column that matches their current stage.

Kanban view gives any object type a board view, automatically.

Any Status Field Becomes a Board

If an object type has a field with options — a status, a stage, a priority category — that field can drive a kanban board. The columns are the option values; the cards are the records.

No special configuration is needed. Select "board view" from the view switcher on any list that has an appropriate field, and the board appears. The columns match the defined options; existing records sort into the right columns based on their current field value.

Drag to Change Status

Moving a record across columns changes its field value. Drag an order card from "Processing" to "Fulfilled" and the order's status field updates to "Fulfilled" — immediately, without opening the record.

This makes the board genuinely interactive, not just a visual representation of data. Actions taken on the board have real effects on the underlying records.

Cards Show Key Information

Each card displays the most relevant fields for the record — configured in the board view settings. Typically: the record name or identifier, one or two additional fields that give context (assigned user, due date, amount), and a status badge if there are secondary status indicators.

The card size is compact by default — enough information to identify the record and its context without requiring the full record to be open.

Swimlanes for Grouping

Board view supports swimlanes — horizontal groupings that subdivide the board by a second field. A project board with swimlane grouping by assignee shows each team member's tasks organized by stage. The same board without swimlanes shows all tasks across all assignees.

Swimlanes are optional and configurable. When the data is naturally two-dimensional — stages on one axis, people or categories on the other — they make the board significantly more useful.

Same Data, Different Lens

Switching between list view and board view doesn't change the data. The same records appear in both views; only the representation changes. Use the list for detailed review, sorting, and export; use the board for workflow management and status updates.

Both views reflect changes made in the other — a status update in the list view moves the card to the right column in the board view.

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