| UI or UX | UI + UX - Deliberate user or owner-selected items kept in a stable prominent position | UI + UX - User-marked preferred items gathered into a recognizable return-access list | UI + UX - Automatic list of items the current user opened recently | UI + UX - Persisted named presentation state for a data workspace |
| UI guidance | Render pinned items in a clearly labelled section, top zone, or fixed order with item identity, type, owner or scope, pin state, and an unpin path visible near each item. | Show a clearly labelled Favorites or Starred area with item identity, item type, location, ownership or scope, selected favorite state, and an unfavorite control that is visually tied to each item. | Render a labelled list or rail of items the current user actually opened, ordered most recent first, with enough identity to recognize each item such as name, type, thumbnail or icon, location, status, and last-viewed time. | Render saved views as named, selectable workspace presentations with visible owner or visibility, active state, saved layout mode, columns or fields, grouping, sort, filters, and last-updated metadata. |
| UX guidance | Use pinned items when users or workspace owners deliberately keep a small set of high-priority objects, files, links, repositories, records, or widgets easy to return to. | Use favorites when users want to mark affinity, preference, or personal save-for-later access without necessarily changing list order, top placement, notifications, or the underlying object. | Use recently viewed to reduce re-finding effort when users compare items, pause work, resume documents, or return to records they inspected during the current or recent sessions. | Use saved view when users need to return to a complete operational presentation of a changing dataset rather than rebuilding columns, layout, grouping, filters, and sort every session. |
| Good UI | A document library has a Pinned section at the top with three highlighted files, each showing file name, type, modified date, owner, Move left, Move right, and Unpin actions. | A file hub has a Favorites section with file names, file types, folder paths, owner labels, filled star buttons, and an explanation that removing a favorite keeps the file in its folder. | A procurement dashboard shows Recently viewed records with title, record type, status, project, last-viewed time, and a remove control for each row. | A support queue has saved views named My urgent tickets, Team backlog, and SLA breach risk, each showing columns, sort, filters, owner, and private or team visibility before users apply it. |
| Bad UI | A pin icon appears on cards with no selected state, no top section, no limit, and no explanation of whether the pin is personal or public. | A star icon appears beside items with no label, no selected state, and no way to tell whether it favorites, rates, pins, recommends, or subscribes. | A homepage shows a Recently viewed carousel filled with promoted products the user never opened. | A tab labelled Saved view applies hidden filters, changes columns, and switches layout with no preview or active-state summary. |
| Good UX | A manager pins the Quarterly review folder, moves it before the Benefits checklist, sees the three-item limit, and can unpin it without deleting the folder. | A user stars three policy folders for personal access, filters the workspace to Favorites, and removes one favorite without deleting or moving the folder. | A user opens several supplier records, returns to the dashboard, and reopens the most recent record without reconstructing the search. | A manager opens SLA breach risk, sees the board layout, grouped Status lanes, five saved columns, and current result count, then changes density and saves a private copy instead of overwriting the team view. |
| Bad UX | A user unpins a file and thinks it was deleted because the item disappears with no status message or recovery path. | A user removes a favorite and loses the underlying record because the product treated unfavorite as delete. | Users trust a Recently viewed rail as a recommendation and choose an irrelevant item because sponsored content was mixed into history. | A user changes one column while reviewing a team queue and accidentally updates the shared default for everyone. |
| Best fit | Users need stable quick access to a small set of known high-priority objects. | Users need to mark preferred or personally important objects for later return. | Users inspect multiple objects and often need to return to one they recently opened. | Users repeatedly return to a specific presentation of a changing data set. |
| Avoid when | The item list should be automatic history, popularity, recommendation, or search ranking. | The goal is to keep a small set at the top or in a stable user-defined order. | The content set is tiny, linear, or easy to scan without history. | Only one current-session filter or sort choice needs to be changed. |
| Required state | No pinned items state with a path to pin an eligible item. | No favorites state with a path to favorite eligible items. | Empty or hidden state before any qualifying item has been viewed. | No saved view selected with current display settings visible and saveable. |
| Accessibility burden | Use text and accessible state for Pin, Pinned, Unpin, Move earlier, Move later, and Replace actions instead of relying on a pushpin icon alone. | Use an accessible name and state such as Add to favorites, Remove from favorites, or Starred instead of relying on a star icon alone. | Use a heading or labelled region that describes the scope of the list. | Expose active saved-view name, visibility, default status, and modified state in text, not only selected tab styling. |
| Common misuse | Using a pin icon as a favorite without changing placement or explaining selected state. | Using a star icon with no label or selected state. | Filling recently viewed with recommendations, ads, popular items, or related content. | Saving current rows instead of presentation settings and dynamic criteria. |