# Overview

SleekView shows data you already have in a form you can work with. A View
reads one data source - a post type, a database table, a CSV, JSON or SQLite
file, or a remote URL - and presents it in one or more layouts: a table, a
Kanban board, a feedback list, a chart dashboard, or WordPress's own post
list. The data stays where it is; a View stores only how to show it.

## Where Views appear

- **On a post type's list screen.** A View of a post type replaces the list
  on that post type's screen in wp-admin, such as Posts > All Posts.
- **On admin pages.** An [admin page](/docs/view/admin-pages.md) adds a menu
  page to wp-admin that shows one or more Views.
- **In posts and pages.** The `[sleek-view-widget id="123"]` shortcode embeds
  a View anywhere on the site.

[View Settings](/docs/view/views/general.md) explains each placement and who
can see it.

## Where to find it

- **In the suite**, install and activate the suite's Pro plugin, which
  carries View, on the Plugins screen after the suite itself. View then
  appears in the workspace sidebar with **Views**, **Admin pages** and its
  **License** page.
- **As the standalone SleekView plugin**, it is the `SleekWP > View` submenu
  of the shared SleekWP admin menu and shows the same screens.

Creating and editing Views and admin pages requires the `manage_options`
capability. Reading a View where it is shown requires `edit_posts`
(Contributor and above), unless a post type View is made a
[public embed](/docs/view/views/general.md#public-embed).

SleekView does not need WooCommerce. Where WooCommerce is active and its
tables are in place, the Data source field also offers three WooCommerce
[presets](/docs/view/views/data-sources.md#built-in-woocommerce-presets).

## What each source can do

Every source renders in every layout type, and search, filters, sorting,
paging and export run on the server. Editing is reserved for post type
sources: inline editing, moving Kanban cards, adding and editing cards and
feedback items, upvotes and comments work only there, and their settings are
hidden for other sources. See [Data Sources](/docs/view/views/data-sources.md).

## The assistant

The workspace assistant can inspect and change the View you have open and
run SleekView's [WP-CLI commands](/docs/view/cli.md). SleekView has no AI
settings of its own; see [Assistant](/docs/view/ai/chat.md).

## Views as files

Views and admin pages are WordPress posts. With
[Agent Sync](/docs/ai/agent-sync.md) they are also mirrored into JSON files
under `sleek/view/` in the active theme, where they can be versioned and
edited.

## For developers

Site code can register data source presets with the
`sleekView/dataSourcePresets` filter, as
[Data Sources](/docs/view/views/data-sources.md#registering-a-preset) shows, and
run after SleekView has booted on the `sleekView/init` action. The
[hooks reference](/docs/view/reference/hooks.md) documents both, and the
[REST reference](/docs/view/reference/rest.md) lists the operations the screens
use.

## Updating from SleekView 1.x

The standalone SleekView plugin updates in place to 2.0.0 from any published
version. It requires PHP 8.2 and WordPress 6.5; a site below either stays on
its current release. The administration is rebuilt and stays in the SleekWP
menu. Views, admin pages and settings carry over. What changed:

- Views can be [embedded publicly](/docs/view/views/general.md#public-embed).
- Editors and other users who can edit posts see Views on post lists and in
  embeds again.
- An embed prints the same markup for every visitor, so full-page caching
  works with it.
- Feedback from users who cannot publish posts is saved as pending review.
- Managing Views, admin pages and SleekView's settings requires administrator
  rights.
- The built-in AI chat, its API key settings and chat sharing are retired.
  The workspace [assistant](/docs/view/ai/chat.md) takes their place.
- The Appearance page is replaced by the light, dark and system theme
  selector.

## Linking to a screen

Each screen has a link of its own. In the suite the screen's path is the hash
of the workspace's admin page, and the state of the screen sits in the query
before the hash:

- `#/view/views/72` opens View 72; `layout=1&inspector=settings` on the query
  with `#/view/views/72` opens its second layout with the View settings
  showing.
- On a View whose third layout is a Kanban board,
  `layout=2&item=add&kind=kanban&column=4` opens the add form of the column
  for term 4. With a Feedback layout, `item=view&kind=feedback&id=9` (or
  `item=edit`) and its `layout` index open item 9.
- `view=1&inspector=settings` with `#/view/admin-pages/5` opens admin page 5
  on its second View with its settings showing.
- `create=1` with `#/view/views` or `#/view/admin-pages` opens the create
  dialogs.

In the standalone plugin the page is `admin.php?page=sleek-view` and the path
drops its `/view` prefix, as in `admin.php?page=sleek-view#/views/72`.