A CorasWorks view is comprised of all of the properties and settings that can be defined for a web part via the Display Wizard. This includes the sites and lists referenced, filters, sorting, grouping, display options, available actions, and more. The combination of all of those property settings are saved as a CorasWorks View and assigned a name by the builder. A single instance of a Grid Display can include one or more views.
By using multiple views, a single instance of a Data Display can present an unlimited variety of information from any combination of lists and sites. You can present the same information in a variety of different ways, or show data from completely different list types. For even more flexibility, you can use different types of views: standard, parent-child, and if you have purchased it or have v11, data pulled from the CorasWorks Data Integration Toolset.
In addition, all of the Data Displays support the use of central views. A central view is a CorasWorks view that is defined via the Central Views Wizard that can be referenced by any number of Data Displays. Instead of creating a new view within an instance of a Data Display, the builder can create a reference to an existing central view. You can update the properties in a single location and all Data Display iterations that reference that central view are automatically updated.
When a Data Display is initially placed on a page, it includes one empty CorasWorks view out of the box. A number of default property values are set in this view, but the builder must identify at least the required properties in the Data Selection category in order for the display to return any data.
If the builder makes multiple views available for use, the user can select any of them from a drop-down at the top of the display on the toolbar. The display will be updated to reflect the properties associated with that view. If there is only one view associated with a Data Display, there will not be a Views option on the toolbar.
NOTE: A number of supplemental Data Displays with predefined views for standard SharePoint lists can be found in the WSP/Displays for SharePoint Lists folder of the zip file you downloaded from the CorasWorks Community.