--- title: "The three Goals views: List, Timeline and Hierarchy" description: "The Goals module shows one set of goals in three ways: List as a sortable table, Timeline as bars on a calendar, and Hierarchy as the tree linking parent goals to their sub-goals." category: goals-analytics section: goals-and-okrs type: Reference lastUpdated: 2026-08-26 locale: en canonical: https://support.talkspirit.com/en/goals-analytics/the-different-goals-views --- # The three Goals views: List, Timeline and Hierarchy ## The three Goals views: List, Timeline and Hierarchy The Goals module presents one set of goals in three views: **List**, **Timeline** and **Hierarchy**. List is a sortable table of every goal you can see, Timeline plots each goal as a bar on a calendar, and Hierarchy draws the tree that links parent goals to their sub-goals. You switch between them with the three buttons on the left of the Goals toolbar, and Talkspirit remembers the one you chose. --- ## How do I switch between the Goals views? 1. Click **Goals** in the navigation rail. 2. In the toolbar under the **All Goals** heading, click one of the three view buttons on the left. The active view shows its name, the other two show their icon only. Talkspirit stores your choice in this browser, so Goals opens on the same view next time. The first time you arrive, you land on List. ![The Goals module in List view, with the three view buttons outlined in the toolbar above the table of goals](/images/goals-analytics/the-different-goals-views/01-goals-list-view.png) The panel on the left is the same in all three views. **All Goals** opens the full set with a count beside it, and **My goals** lists the goals assigned to you, to your roles and to your circles. A **Key Results to update** section appears in that panel when one of your key results is waiting for a check-in. When nothing is due, the section is simply absent, which is normal rather than a fault. --- ## What does the List view show? The List view is a table of every goal you have access to, with six columns: **Name**, **Status**, **Progress**, **Time period**, **Owner** and **Category**. Click a column heading to sort by it. A goal that has sub-goals carries a sub-goal count beside its name, and the arrow to the left of the name unfolds them as indented rows under their parent. ![The Goals table with one parent goal unfolded, its sub-goal shown as an indented row underneath, across the Name, Status, Progress, Time period, Owner and Category columns](/images/goals-analytics/the-different-goals-views/02-goals-list-sub-goal-expanded.png) An owner can be a member, a circle or a role. Category is Company, Team or Individual. --- ## What does the Timeline view show? The Timeline view plots each goal as a bar across a calendar, so you can see which goals run in parallel and which are about to end. The chart has its own controls above it: previous, **Today** and next on the left, zoom out and zoom in on the right. You can also zoom by holding Ctrl (or Cmd on a Mac) while you scroll, or by pinching on a trackpad. The scale runs from years down to days. **Note:** only goals that have a time period appear on the timeline. If none of them does, the view shows "No goals with dates" and asks you to add time periods. ![The Goals module in Timeline view, with the previous, Today and next controls outlined on the left of the chart and the zoom controls outlined on the right](/images/goals-analytics/the-different-goals-views/03-goals-timeline-view.png) --- ## What does the Hierarchy view show? The Hierarchy view draws the alignment tree on a canvas. Every goal is a card, and a line runs from a parent goal down to each of its sub-goals. Goals with no parent sit on the top row, whatever their category. Each card carries the category, the status, the time period, the progress bar, the owner and the number of key results it holds. The controls stacked on the right expand every branch, collapse them again, switch between a vertical and a horizontal layout, zoom, and fit the whole tree to the screen. ![The Goals module in Hierarchy view, showing six goal cards on one row and a seventh card linked below its parent goal by a connecting line](/images/goals-analytics/the-different-goals-views/04-goals-hierarchy-view.png) To link a goal to a parent and read cascading progress, see [Visualising the Goal hierarchy](/goals-analytics/visualize-the-goals-hierarchy). --- ## Which controls work in which view? | Control | List | Timeline | Hierarchy | |---|---|---|---| | **Filter** and search | Yes | Yes | Yes, but goals that do not match are dimmed rather than removed, so the tree stays whole | | **Group** | Yes | Yes | Not available | | **Sort** | Yes | No effect on the chart order | Not available | Filters cover Status, Category, Time period and Owner, plus one-click filters for **My Goals**, **On Track**, **At Risk**, **Blocked** and **Archived**. Grouping is by Time period, Category, Status or Owner. Archived goals are not a separate view: switch on the **Archived** filter to bring them into whichever view you are in. --- ## What's Next? - [Visualising the Goal hierarchy](/goals-analytics/visualize-the-goals-hierarchy) - [Adding, editing, or deleting a Goal](/goals-analytics/how-to-add-edit-or-delete-a-goal) - [Managing Goal time periods for my organisation](/goals-analytics/manage-goal-time-periods) - [What Goals are and how they work](/goals-analytics/goals-overview)