Your Complete Guide to Salesforce Split View

Salesforce strives to make users more productive in Lightning, and one way, is by working with lists faster using Split View! This feature was already part of Console Navigation, but starting with the Summer ’20 release, it is now available with Standard Navigation.

In this article, we will discover what Split View is, how and where you can use it, plus some useful tips for troubleshooting.

1. What is Split View?

It is a type of list view used to display Salesforce information with the list on the left, and record detail on the right.

A list view is similar to a report. The other list view options are Table View and Kanban View.

Split View is only available for Objects on a User’s navigation (that is, available as a tab).

Here is what Split View looks like:

2. How do users access Split View?

To access the Split View, a user changes the “Display As” setting on a list view. This setting can be changed back and forth as needed. The default view for each Object is Table View.

Below: With a list view selected, you can change the view to Split View.

Below: With Split View selected, you can collapse the list view by clicking the arrow. Click it again to expand it (located on the left margin of the collapsed list).

3. User Tips For Salesforce Split View

Users of Salesforce may regularly change between the Table View & Split View depending on their use case and personal preferences.

Split View is useful for going through records in sequence or skimming through a set of records. It removes the need for navigating back-and-forth between the list and records.

Split View is especially useful when a user needs to review or edit records that meet certain criteria and can be sorted/filtered, then worked on or viewed.

Limitations of Split View:

• A user can only Sort fields in Table View, not the Split View.
• A user can only Filter fields in Table View, not the Split View.

See how Table View looks below. In this example, the user Jon Smith has sorted the list to bubble up the accounts he owns at the top using the field “Owner Last Name.” Then, to work with his accounts and related records, he could change to Split View (under “Display As”).

See the Split View image below. Continuing the example from above, you can see how the Split View is now sorted by “Owner Last Name.” On the right side of the screen are the details of the record selected. The user can edit the record without leaving the Split View.

Top Tips:

• Split View displays the first 4 fields of the Table View for each record in the list. In our example: Account Name, Created Dated, Owner First Name, Owner Last Name.
• If a user ‘Clones’ a list view they can control the 4 fields that display in the Split View without affecting other users.

• If a user would like to use Split View on an object that is not in their navigation: The user can personalize their navigation bar to add any object they would like to use Split View. (See pencil icon below.)

4. Admin Tips – Troubleshooting Salesforce Split View

The Split View is not a feature that gets “Enabled.” It is turned on by default for everyone.

If users cannot see the option for Split View, this could be because the App is not Lightning-enabled:

I’ve included an example of this below. Notice the “(i)” icon.

An Admin can correct this by upgrading the app to Lightning Experience, so users can personalize their navigation, and also use the Split View.

• Another reason a user might not be able to see the Split View is that an object is only “temporarily” in their Navigation bar: Notice the small asterisk by Assets (see below). This denotes it’s only temporarily in the navigation.
• A user can add this to their navigation permanently (by selecting the pencil icon OR the down arrow next to “Asset”). Split View will then be available.

5. The Future of Salesforce Split View

Below are some items that did not make it into the Summer ’20 Release, but are still on the radar for Salesforce. These enhancements are “safe harbor” so there are no guarantees of when, or if, any of the features below will become available.

• Maintain the expanded Split View state in a variety of scenarios (for example, selecting a record from Favorites or a Utility Item).
• Support Split View when accessing a list that is not configured as a Navigation Item/Tab.
• More surprises!

Summary

Salesforce is always looking for ways to make users more productive, and the popular Split View from Console Navigation is now available in Standard Navigation. Stay safe and stay productive!