Microsoft® SharePoint® Designer 2010 Unleashed

What Are SharePoint Views?

Views, in a nutshell, take the raw XML list and library data stored in the SharePoint content database and translate that data into readable and logical views throughout SharePoint sites and pages. Another way of looking at views is that the data is accessible and readable in human form in browsers and other devices, such as mobile devices. Views can also be looked at as datasets because they include rows, columns (fields), column titles, and items. Views epitomize the presentation (layer) of SharePoint data.