Setting Up Views in Drupal

Last Updated: 18 Mar 2025

Introduction

Drupal's Views module is a powerful tool that allows you to create, manage, and display lists of content dynamically without writing custom SQL queries. Whether you need to display a list of articles, create a custom block, or build a filtered content display, Views makes it easy to achieve these goals with a user-friendly interface.

Enabling the Views Module

By default, Drupal 8 and later versions come with the Views module included in the core. However, you need to ensure that both Views and Views UI modules are enabled to create and configure views.

  1. Navigate to Extend (/admin/modules).
  2. Search for "Views" and check both Views and Views UI.
  3. Click Install to enable the modules if they are not already enabled.

Creating a Basic View

To create a new view, follow these steps:

  1. Go to Structure > Views (/admin/structure/views).
  2. Click Add View.
  3. Enter a View Name (e.g., "Latest Articles").
  4. Under View Settings, choose a Content type (e.g., Article).
  5. Set the Display format (e.g., Unformatted list, Table, Grid, etc.).
  6. Click Save and edit to configure further settings.

Customizing the View

Once the view is created, you can customize it:

Adding Fields

Instead of displaying full content, you can select specific fields:

  1. In the Fields section, click Add.
  2. Select fields such as Title, Image, and Created Date.
  3. Configure field settings and click Apply.

Using Filters and Sorting

  1. Under Filter Criteria, add conditions (e.g., Show only Published content).
  2. Under Sort Criteria, set an ordering rule (e.g., Newest first).

Changing the Display Format

You can choose how the view will be displayed:

  1. Click on Format and select options like Grid, Table, or Unformatted list.
  2. Adjust settings like column count for grids.

Using Views with Exposed Filters

Exposed filters allow users to refine results dynamically:

  1. Click Add filter criteria and select a field (e.g., Content Type or Tags).
  2. Check Expose this filter to visitors.
  3. Save and preview the view with filtering enabled.

Theming Views

Views allow customization via Twig templates:

  1. Find the template suggestions for your view (views-view--[view-name].html.twig).
  2. Override the template in your theme’s templates folder.
  3. Clear cache and test the new design.

Exporting & Reusing Views

To reuse a view on another Drupal site:

  1. Go to Configuration > Development > Configuration Synchronization.
  2. Export the view configuration and import it on another site.

Conclusion

The Views module is an essential feature in Drupal that provides flexibility in displaying content. By using filters, relationships, and theming, you can create highly customized content lists and pages efficiently. Mastering Views will significantly improve your Drupal development experience.

If you need further assistance, have any questions, or require custom code, feel free to reach out through our Contact Us page. We are happy to help!

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