What pipelines are and how to build one

Pipelines let you track records as they move through a series of stages, the same idea as a sales or workflow pipeline. Pipelines are their own area of SwiftFox: open Pipelines from the left menu and you see a pane listing your pipelines, grouped into folders, with a Search pipelines box at the top and a Show archived checkbox at the bottom.

Inside, a pipeline works like a project table. It has rows and columns, saved views, and the same toolbar as a project (Add row, Search, Filter, Sort, pin, hide, Group By, Export), so everything in the Projects guides about columns, rows, linked contacts, permissions, exporting and saved views applies here too. What makes it a pipeline is a view grouped by a stage column: each stage becomes its own band and the band heading shows how many items sit in it.

What you need

• A pipeline in the Pipelines area. The Pipelines pane has no create control, so if your account needs a new pipeline, contact SwiftFox support (Support menu, the question-mark icon at the top right → Report an issue).
• A Select column that lists your stages, for example a Status column with options such as New Lead, Meeting Scheduled, Won and Lost (see Project column types). Tick Colour coded if you want each stage to have its own colour.

Open a pipeline

1. Click Pipelines in the left menu.
2. Expand a folder in the pane and click the pipeline's name. The pipeline opens with its views as tabs across the top, for example Pipeline, Timeline and Table.

Group the table by stage

If a view is not already grouped, you can group it yourself.

1. Make sure the pipeline has a Select column for your stages. If not, add one (see Project column types).
2. Click Group By in the toolbar. If it is not there, add a row first: on an empty pipeline the toolbar shows only Add row, Search, pin, hide and Export.
3. In the Group by popover, choose your stage column (for example Status). Use Clear to remove the grouping again.
4. The table redraws with one band per stage, and each band heading shows the number of items in it.

Move an item to another stage

• Open the row, or click its stage cell, and choose the new stage. The row moves into that stage's band.

Save the grouping as a view

A view remembers its grouping along with its filters, sorts and hidden columns, so you can keep a grouped pipeline view alongside a plain table.

1. Arrange the table: group by your stage column and apply any filters, sorts or hidden columns.
2. Click the three dots (⋮) on the view tab.
3. Choose Save as New View to create a new saved view, or Save Current View to update the one you are on. The same menu offers Rename and Delete.
4. Switch between views using the tabs at the top (see Search, filter, sort, pin, hide and saved views).

Manage pipelines and folders

• The three dots (⋮) beside a folder or pipeline in the pane offer Rename, Archive, Sharing permissions and Delete.
• Archived pipelines are hidden from the pane until you tick Show archived.

Tips

• Use a Colour coded Select column so each stage stands out.
• Add a Number column set to currency (for example Value) to track the worth of each item as it moves through the stages.
• Keep one pipeline and save several views, for example a plain table for data entry and a grouped view for tracking progress.

Related guides

• Projects — Overview
• Folders and projects (create, templates, blank)
• Project column types
• Search, filter, sort, pin, hide and saved views