Choose Contact columns and sort customer lists for account reviews

A Contact list becomes useful when its columns answer an operational question: who is the right person at an account, which records need review, or who has portal access. Core provides a configurable column set rather than one fixed contact table. This guide shows how to choose and order the information, interpret access-related fields and preserve the intended layout.

Choose columns around the review you need to perform  ·  Choose and apply Contact columns  ·  Sort one field or build a multiple-field order  ·  Interpret Status, Active and portal columns separately  ·  Keep personal layout and saved Contact views distinct  ·  Worked example: prepare an account-contact review  ·  Troubleshoot missing columns and unexpected sorting

Choose columns around the review you need to perform

Columns depend on account capabilities, enabled modules and permissions. The catalog includes contact identity, Company relationship, communication, location and available activity/history fields, plus custom fields. Portal-related columns require the relevant portal capability. Do not expect every account to expose the same complete list.

Choose and apply Contact columns

1. Open Customers → Contacts and confirm the current list or saved Contact view. Check the selection criteria before interpreting the rows.
2. Choose Columns to open Contact columns.
3. Select the available fields that answer the review question. Include ID when you need to distinguish similar records, and retain readable name/customer context.
4. Choose Apply columns. Inspect the grid and confirm the information is readable at your normal screen width.
5. Use Reset layout in the columns workflow when you intend to return to its default layout. Review the resulting columns before relying on a prior custom arrangement.
6. If you are editing a saved Contact view, finish with its Save view action to commit the staged view changes. Personal-workspace preferences and a saved view have different persistence paths.

The normal default set includes Avatar, ID, Name, Company, Email, Registered in portal and Open cases, with capability-dependent fields omitted when unavailable. These are defaults for the current list, not a promise that an existing saved view uses them. Keep the number of visible fields manageable and use focused views for different review tasks.

Sort one field or build a multiple-field order

1. Choose a sortable Contact column header. A normal click replaces the previous sort with that column’s ascending order.
2. Click the same header again for descending order; the next click clears that column’s sort. Check the indicator and real values after each change.
3. To keep an existing sort and add another field, hold Shift while choosing the next sortable header. The first field remains the primary key and the next field orders matching values within it.
4. Review the resulting order. For example, sort by Company, then Shift-click Name to make an account-by-account contact review easier to scan.
5. The list returns to page 1 when sorting changes. Inspect additional pages as needed instead of assuming the first screen contains every eligible Contact.
6. For a saved Contact view, use Save view to commit its staged grid state. In the personal workspace, grid preferences persist through its own save path. Reopen the intended context to verify the result.

The current Contacts grid supports up to 25 sort keys, but that limit is not a recommendation to use them all. One or two meaningful keys are usually easier to understand. There is no separate gear-based clear-sort step in this Contacts header workflow; use the header cycle. This differs from the Case list’s single-column interactive header sorting, so do not transfer shortcuts between those screens.

Interpret Status, Active and portal columns separately

Viewing a role-related column does not change a customer’s permissions. If access needs correction, use the authorized Contact and portal configuration workflows and test the intended reader. Avoid granting administrator access merely to make a customer’s sign-in problem disappear.

Keep personal layout and saved Contact views distinct

On the personal Contacts workspace, selected columns and grid state are persisted as that workspace’s preferences. On a saved Contact view, grid-state changes are staged and must be committed through Save view in the view editor. A list that looks correct before you leave is not proof that the saved view has been updated.

1. Identify whether you are on the personal list or editing a saved Contact view before changing the layout.
2. For a reusable saved view, give it a clear purpose and verify its criteria as well as the grid arrangement. Sorting does not replace the filters that select the intended Contacts.
3. Save the view when permitted, leave it, and reopen it to check columns, sort direction and selection.
4. If other users rely on the view, coordinate a change to its maintained presentation and test with the intended role. Sharing a view does not expand access to customer records.

Use the focused Company and Contact views guide for creating and filtering a saved view. This procedure covers its presentation; it does not prescribe a new customer-access policy.

Worked example: prepare an account-contact review

An account owner wants to identify the right people for a quarterly service review and spot incorrect portal access assumptions.

1. Start with the Contacts list or an authorized saved view that selects the intended account population. Verify the criteria and a sample included/excluded Contact.
2. Apply Name, ID, Company, Title, Department and Email. Add relevant portal columns only when access review is part of this task.
3. Sort by Company and add Name with Shift-click. Check the direction and examine each account’s Contacts without assuming that a shared email or similar name means duplicate records.
4. Open questionable Contacts to verify their relationship and configured access. Treat Is a portal admin, Registered in portal and Portal access disabled as separate facts.
5. Record or assign data-cleanup actions. Save the maintained view if this review will recur, then reopen it to verify.

The result is a more reliable account review list. It does not automatically send an invitation, change customer roles or modify any Contact simply because a field is displayed.

Troubleshoot missing columns and unexpected sorting

Continue learning

• Manage Companies, Contacts and their relationships
• Create saved Company and Contact views
• Configure Contact records and portal access
• Understand customer case visibility
• Sort and save a Case view using its separate controls