Creating Sections

In ORCA, a "Section" is a top-level module - like Accounts or Contacts - but you can create your own.

Want a "Projects" section? A "Pipeline"? An internal "Resource library"? No problem.

Create a Section

Head to Settings → Sections, and click “Create Section”.

Give your section a name and choose an icon.

Each section can be populated with templates, picklists, and custom inputs - giving you total control over how data is captured and displayed.

These sections stack up in your left hand navigation. To change the order they display in, simply drag and drop them into your preferred order.

Section Settings

Once a section is created, a handful of settings let you control how records inside it are displayed and sorted.

Order Records

Choose a field to sort records by when the list loads. Useful if you want a date or status field to determine the default order rather than leaving it to chance.

Group Records

Pick a picklist field to group records by. When grouping is active, the list view shows a filter at the top letting anyone switch between groups at a glance. Only picklist-type fields are available here.

Show created date

When this is turned on, a "Created" column appears as the first column in the list view showing when each record was added. Records are always sorted by creation date (newest first) even when this column is hidden, so turning it on just makes that ordering visible.

Show last updated date

When this is turned on, each record in the list view gets a "Last Updated" column showing when the record was last edited, and the record detail page shows the same timestamp below the fields.

The timestamp reflects the last time any field on that record was changed - not just the title. So if someone updates a status, reassigns a contact, or edits a note field, the timestamp moves.

This is worth turning on for any section where recency matters: active deal pipelines, live project trackers, anything where the team needs to know whether a record has been touched recently.

Kanban Board View

If your section has a Group Records picklist, you can enable a kanban board as an alternative to the default list view. The board shows one column per picklist option, with records as draggable cards.

To enable it, go to Settings > Sections, open the section, and turn on Kanban view. Once enabled, a view toggle appears in the top right of the section so anyone can switch between list and board.

Choosing which options appear as columns

Not every picklist option needs a column on the board. Open Settings > Picklists, find the relevant picklist, and edit each option - there's a checkbox to control whether it shows as a kanban column. Archived or rarely-used statuses can stay in the picklist for historical records without cluttering the board.

Dragging cards

Drag any card from one column to another to update its status. The change takes effect immediately - no save step needed.

What appears on a card

By default, each card shows the record title and up to four additional fields from the template. If the section has "Show last updated date" turned on, the card also shows when the record was last edited.

If you want more control over which fields appear, open the section's template and check Show in Kanban Card on the fields you want to highlight. Once any field has that checked, only those fields appear on cards - the automatic "up to four" fallback switches off. This is useful when a template has many fields but only two or three are worth scanning on a kanban board.

Gallery View

Sections that include a file-type entity field get a third view option: Gallery. Instead of rows, records are shown as image cards - the first file field's image is used as the thumbnail.

The gallery view toggle appears automatically in the section header alongside list and kanban (when applicable). ORCA remembers which view you last used per section, so it's a one-time choice rather than something you have to reset each visit.

Gallery is a good fit for sections where the visual content is the point - site photos, product images, route maps, artwork, or anything else where scanning a grid is more useful than reading a table.

Good examples to explore

The Curtain Call demo account is the best place to start - its Talent Roster section has a headshot for every actor, and switching to Gallery view turns it into a proper casting board. The Clyde Commons Initiative demo account is also worth a look, with site photos in its Projects section. Uncommon Miles has route map images in Routes if you want a third example.

Why Create Sections?

Sections let you tailor ORCA to your workflow. Some examples:

• Projects
• Grant Applications
• Site Visits
• Environmental Impact Studies
• Investment Pitches