diff --git a/application/controllers/EditController.php b/application/controllers/EditController.php
index 92299b8..9360f3c 100644
--- a/application/controllers/EditController.php
+++ b/application/controllers/EditController.php
@@ -3,9 +3,11 @@
 
 namespace Icinga\Module\Toplevelview\Controllers;
 
+use Icinga\Module\Toplevelview\Model\View;
 use Icinga\Module\Toplevelview\Forms\EditForm;
 use Icinga\Module\Toplevelview\ViewConfig;
 use Icinga\Module\Toplevelview\Web\Controller;
+
 use Icinga\Web\Url;
 
 class EditController extends Controller
@@ -39,26 +41,30 @@ public function indexAction()
     {
         $action = $this->getRequest()->getActionName();
 
+        $c = new ViewConfig();
+        $view = null;
+
         if ($action === 'add') {
             $this->view->title = sprintf('%s Top Level View', $this->translate('Add'));
-            $view = new ViewConfig();
-            $view->setConfigDir();
+            $view = new View('', $c::FORMAT_YAML);
         } elseif ($action === 'clone') {
             $name = $this->params->getRequired('name');
             $this->view->title = sprintf('%s Top Level View', $this->translate('Clone'));
-            $view = clone ViewConfig::loadByName($name);
+            // Clone the view and give it to the $config
+            $view = clone $c->loadByName($name);
         } else {
             $this->view->name = $name = $this->params->getRequired('name');
             $this->view->title = sprintf('%s Top Level View: %s', $this->translate('Edit'), $this->params->getRequired('name'));
-            $view = ViewConfig::loadByName($name);
+            $view = $c->loadByName($name);
         }
 
+        $view->setFormat($c::FORMAT_YAML);
+
         $this->view->form = $form = new EditForm();
+        $form->setViewConfig($c);
+        $form->setViews($view);
 
-        $view->setFormat(ViewConfig::FORMAT_YAML);
-        $form->setViewConfig($view);
         $form->handleRequest();
-
         $this->setViewScript('edit/index');
     }
 
diff --git a/application/controllers/IndexController.php b/application/controllers/IndexController.php
index eccae95..9525e73 100644
--- a/application/controllers/IndexController.php
+++ b/application/controllers/IndexController.php
@@ -19,7 +19,10 @@ public function indexAction()
         ])->activate('index');
 
         // Load add views from the existing YAML files
-        $this->view->views = ViewConfig::loadAll();
+        $c = new ViewConfig();
+        $views = $c->loadAll();
+
+        $this->view->views = $views;
 
         $this->setAutorefreshInterval(30);
     }
diff --git a/application/controllers/ShowController.php b/application/controllers/ShowController.php
index 2f49166..e416abb 100644
--- a/application/controllers/ShowController.php
+++ b/application/controllers/ShowController.php
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 
 use Icinga\Module\Toplevelview\ViewConfig;
 use Icinga\Module\Toplevelview\Web\Controller;
+
 use Icinga\Web\Url;
 
 class ShowController extends Controller
@@ -43,7 +44,11 @@ public function init()
     public function indexAction()
     {
         $this->view->name = $name = $this->params->getRequired('name');
-        $this->view->view = $view = ViewConfig::loadByName($name);
+
+        $c = new ViewConfig();
+        $view = $c->loadByName($name);
+        $this->view->view = $view;
+
         $tree = $view->getTree();
 
         if (($lifetime = $this->getParam('cache')) !== null) {
@@ -56,7 +61,10 @@ public function indexAction()
     public function treeAction()
     {
         $this->view->name = $name = $this->params->getRequired('name');
-        $this->view->view = $view = ViewConfig::loadByName($name);
+
+        $c = new ViewConfig();
+        $view = $c->loadByName($name);
+        $this->view->view = $view;
 
         $tree = $view->getTree();
 
@@ -72,7 +80,10 @@ public function treeAction()
     public function sourceAction()
     {
         $this->view->name = $name = $this->params->getRequired('name');
-        $this->view->view = $view = ViewConfig::loadByName($name);
+
+        $c = new ViewConfig();
+        $view = $c->loadByName($name);
+        $this->view->view = $view;
 
         $this->view->text = $view->getText();
         $this->setViewScript('index', 'text');
diff --git a/application/forms/EditForm.php b/application/forms/EditForm.php
index 96f2c74..6596308 100644
--- a/application/forms/EditForm.php
+++ b/application/forms/EditForm.php
@@ -3,8 +3,10 @@
 
 namespace Icinga\Module\Toplevelview\Forms;
 
-use Exception;
 use Icinga\Module\Toplevelview\ViewConfig;
+use Icinga\Module\Toplevelview\Model\View;
+
+use Exception;
 use Icinga\Web\Form;
 use Icinga\Web\Notification;
 use Icinga\Web\Url;
@@ -14,7 +16,12 @@ class EditForm extends Form
     /**
      * @var ViewConfig
      */
-    protected $viewConfig;
+    protected $viewconfig;
+
+    /**
+     * @var View
+     */
+    protected $view;
 
     /**
      * {@inheritdoc}
@@ -24,9 +31,15 @@ public function init()
         $this->setName('form_toplevelview_edit');
     }
 
-    public function setViewConfig(ViewConfig $viewConfig)
+    public function setViews(View $view)
+    {
+        $this->view = $view;
+        return $this;
+    }
+
+    public function setViewConfig(ViewConfig $config)
     {
-        $this->viewConfig = $viewConfig;
+        $this->viewconfig = $config;
         return $this;
     }
 
@@ -36,26 +49,27 @@ public function setViewConfig(ViewConfig $viewConfig)
     public function onSuccess()
     {
         try {
-            $this->viewConfig->setName($this->getValue('name'));
-            $this->viewConfig->setText($this->getValue('config'));
+            $this->view->setName($this->getValue('name'));
+            $this->view->setText($this->getValue('config'));
 
             // ensure config can be parsed...
-            $this->viewConfig->getMetaData();
-            $this->viewConfig->getTree();
+            $this->view->getMetaData();
+            $this->view->getTree();
 
-            $this->viewConfig->storeToSession();
+            // Store the view to the session
+            $this->viewconfig->storeToSession($this->view);
 
             $cancel = $this->getElement('btn_submit_cancel');
             $delete = $this->getElement('btn_submit_delete');
 
             if ($this->getElement('btn_submit_save_file')->getValue() !== null) {
-                $this->viewConfig->store();
+                $this->viewconfig->storeToFile($this->view);
                 Notification::success($this->translate('Top Level View successfully saved'));
             } elseif ($cancel !== null && $cancel->getValue() !== null) {
-                $this->viewConfig->clearSession();
+                $this->viewconfig->clearSession($this->view);
                 Notification::success($this->translate('Top Level View restored from disk'));
             } elseif ($delete != null && $delete->getValue() !== null) {
-                $this->viewConfig->delete();
+                $this->viewconfig->delete($this->view);
                 $this->setRedirectUrl('toplevelview');
                 Notification::success($this->translate('Top Level View successfully deleted'));
             } else {
@@ -70,8 +84,8 @@ public function onSuccess()
 
     public function getRedirectUrl()
     {
-        if ($this->redirectUrl === null && ($name = $this->viewConfig->getName()) !== null) {
-            $this->redirectUrl = Url::fromPath('toplevelview/show', array('name' => $name));
+        if ($this->redirectUrl === null && ($name = $this->view->getName()) !== null) {
+            $this->redirectUrl = Url::fromPath('toplevelview/show', ['name' => $name]);
         }
         return parent::getRedirectUrl();
     }
@@ -84,8 +98,8 @@ public function getRedirectUrl()
     public function onRequest()
     {
         $values = array();
-        $values['name'] = $this->viewConfig->getName();
-        $values['config'] = $this->viewConfig->getText();
+        $values['name'] = $this->view->getName();
+        $values['config'] = $this->view->getText();
 
         $this->populate($values);
     }
@@ -95,7 +109,7 @@ public function onRequest()
      */
     public function createElements(array $formData)
     {
-        if ($this->viewConfig->hasBeenLoadedFromSession()) {
+        if ($this->view->hasBeenLoadedFromSession()) {
             $this->warning(
                 $this->translate(
                     'This config is only stored in your session!'
@@ -117,7 +131,6 @@ public function createElements(array $formData)
             'textarea',
             'config',
             array(
-                //'required'             => true,
                 'label'                => $this->translate('YAML Config'),
                 'class'                => 'code-editor codemirror',
                 'decorators'           => array(
@@ -149,7 +162,7 @@ public function createElements(array $formData)
             )
         );
 
-        if ($this->viewConfig->hasBeenLoadedFromSession()) {
+        if ($this->view->hasBeenLoadedFromSession()) {
             $this->addElement(
                 'submit',
                 'btn_submit_cancel',
@@ -162,7 +175,7 @@ public function createElements(array $formData)
             );
         }
 
-        if ($this->viewConfig->hasBeenLoaded()) {
+        if ($this->view->hasBeenLoaded()) {
             $this->addElement(
                 'submit',
                 'btn_submit_delete',
diff --git a/application/views/helpers/Tiles.php b/application/views/helpers/Tiles.php
index 594da28..254edf6 100644
--- a/application/views/helpers/Tiles.php
+++ b/application/views/helpers/Tiles.php
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ public function tiles(TLVTreeNode $node, $levels = 2, $classes = array())
             $title . $badges,
             'toplevelview/show/tree',
             array(
-                'name' => $node->getRoot()->getConfig()->getName(),
+                'name' => $node->getRoot()->getView()->getName(),
                 'id'   => $node->getFullId()
             ),
             array(
diff --git a/application/views/helpers/Tree.php b/application/views/helpers/Tree.php
index bd7c9ea..dd43de9 100644
--- a/application/views/helpers/Tree.php
+++ b/application/views/helpers/Tree.php
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ public function tree(TLVTreeNode $node, $classes = array(), $level = 0)
             $url = Url::fromPath(
                 'toplevelview/show/tree',
                 array(
-                    'name' => $node->getRoot()->getConfig()->getName(),
+                    'name' => $node->getRoot()->getView()->getName(),
                     'id'   => $node->getFullId()
                 )
             );
diff --git a/configuration.php b/configuration.php
index 4b41a29..741a933 100644
--- a/configuration.php
+++ b/configuration.php
@@ -8,6 +8,17 @@
 
 $this->providePermission('toplevelview/edit', $this->translate('Allow the user to edit Top Level Views'));
 
+// TODO Implement these restrictions in the ViewConfig
+// $this->provideRestriction(
+//     'toplevelview/filter/edit',
+//     $this->translate('Restrict edit rights to Views that match the filter (comma-separated values)')
+// );
+
+// $this->provideRestriction(
+//     'toplevelview/filter/views',
+//     $this->translate('Restrict access to Views that match the filter (comma-separated values)')
+// );
+
 /** @var \Icinga\Web\Navigation\NavigationItem $section */
 $section = $this->menuSection('toplevelview');
 $section
@@ -19,7 +30,8 @@
 try {
     if (extension_loaded('yaml')) {
         /** @var \Icinga\Application\Modules\MenuItemContainer $section */
-        $views = ViewConfig::loadAll();
+        $c = new ViewConfig();
+        $views = $c->loadAll();
 
         foreach ($views as $name => $viewConfig) {
             $section->add($name, array(
diff --git a/library/Toplevelview/Model/View.php b/library/Toplevelview/Model/View.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3a2766c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/library/Toplevelview/Model/View.php
@@ -0,0 +1,233 @@
+<?php
+
+namespace Icinga\Module\Toplevelview\Model;
+
+use Icinga\Application\Benchmark;
+use Icinga\Exception\InvalidPropertyException;
+use Icinga\Exception\NotImplementedError;
+use Icinga\Exception\ProgrammingError;
+use Icinga\Module\Toplevelview\Tree\TLVTree;
+
+/**
+ * View represents a single Top Level View
+ */
+class View
+{
+    const FORMAT_YAML = 'yml';
+
+    /**
+     * Format of this View (e.g. 'yml')
+     * @var string
+     */
+    protected $format;
+    /**
+     * Name if this view (also used for the filename)
+     * @var string
+     */
+    protected $name;
+    /**
+     * Contains the parsed YAML (yaml_parse)
+     * @var string
+     */
+    protected $raw;
+    /**
+     * The TLVTree object for this View
+     * @var TLVTree
+     */
+    protected $tree;
+    /**
+     * Has this View been loaded
+     * @var bool
+     */
+    public $hasBeenLoaded = false;
+    /**
+     * Has this View been loaded from a session
+     * @var bool
+     */
+    public $hasBeenLoadedFromSession = false;
+    /**
+     * Content of the configuration file
+     * @var string
+     */
+    protected $text;
+    /**
+     * SHA1 checksum of the text
+     * @var string
+     */
+    protected $textChecksum;
+
+    function __construct($name, $format) {
+        $this->name = $name;
+        $this->format = $format;
+    }
+
+    public function __clone()
+    {
+        $this->name = null;
+        $this->raw = null;
+        $this->tree = null;
+
+        $this->hasBeenLoaded = false;
+        $this->hasBeenLoadedFromSession = false;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * getTree loads the Tree for this configuration
+     *
+     * @return TLVTree
+     */
+    public function getTree(): TLVTree
+    {
+        if ($this->tree === null) {
+            $this->ensureParsed();
+            $this->tree = $tree = TLVTree::fromArray($this->raw);
+            $tree->setView($this);
+        }
+        return $this->tree;
+    }
+
+    protected function ensureParsed()
+    {
+        if ($this->raw === null) {
+            Benchmark::measure('Begin parsing YAML document');
+
+            $text = $this->getText();
+            if ($text === null) {
+                // new View
+                $this->raw = array();
+            } elseif ($this->format == self::FORMAT_YAML) {
+                // TODO: use stdClass instead of Array?
+                $this->raw = yaml_parse($text);
+                if (! is_array($this->raw)) {
+                    throw new InvalidPropertyException('Could not parse YAML config!');
+                }
+            } else {
+                throw new NotImplementedError("Unknown format '%s'", $this->format);
+            }
+
+            Benchmark::measure('Finished parsing YAML document');
+        }
+    }
+
+    public function getMeta($key)
+    {
+        $this->ensureParsed();
+        if ($key !== 'children' && array_key_exists($key, $this->raw)) {
+            return $this->raw[$key];
+        } else {
+            return null;
+        }
+    }
+
+    public function setMeta($key, $value)
+    {
+        if ($key === 'children') {
+            throw new ProgrammingError('You can not edit children here!');
+        }
+        $this->raw[$key] = $value;
+        return $this;
+    }
+
+    public function getMetaData()
+    {
+        $this->ensureParsed();
+        $data = array();
+        foreach ($this->raw as $key => $value) {
+            if ($key !== 'children') {
+                $data[$key] = $value;
+            }
+        }
+        return $data;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @return bool
+     */
+    public function hasBeenLoadedFromSession()
+    {
+        return $this->hasBeenLoadedFromSession;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * @return bool
+     */
+    public function hasBeenLoaded()
+    {
+        return $this->hasBeenLoaded;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * getText returns the Views text, which contains the full YAML data
+     * @return string
+     */
+    public function getText(): ?string
+    {
+        return $this->text;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * getTextChecksum returns the textChecksum of this View
+     * @return string
+     */
+    public function getTextChecksum(): string
+    {
+        if ($this->textChecksum === null) {
+            $this->textChecksum = sha1($this->text);
+        }
+        return $this->textChecksum;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * setFormat sets the format for this View
+     * @param string $format Format for this view (e.g. 'yml')
+     * @return $this
+     */
+    public function setFormat($format)
+    {
+        $this->format = $format;
+        return $this;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * getFormat returns the View's format
+     */
+    public function getFormat(): string
+    {
+        return $this->format;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * setText sets the text (YAML) for this View.
+     * Hint: This will reset textChecksum, raw, and tree
+     * @param $text
+     * @return $this
+     */
+    public function setText($text)
+    {
+        $this->text = $text;
+        $this->textChecksum = null;
+        $this->raw = null;
+        $this->tree = null;
+        return $this;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * getName returns the name of this View
+     * @return ?string
+     */
+    public function getName(): ?string
+    {
+        return $this->name;
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * setName sets the name for this View
+     * @param string $name
+     * @return $this
+     */
+    public function setName($name)
+    {
+        $this->name = $name;
+        return $this;
+    }
+}
diff --git a/library/Toplevelview/Tree/TLVTree.php b/library/Toplevelview/Tree/TLVTree.php
index ecfe6e3..f4e1750 100644
--- a/library/Toplevelview/Tree/TLVTree.php
+++ b/library/Toplevelview/Tree/TLVTree.php
@@ -3,13 +3,14 @@
 
 namespace Icinga\Module\Toplevelview\Tree;
 
+use Icinga\Module\Toplevelview\Util\Json;
+use Icinga\Module\Toplevelview\Model\View;
+
 use Icinga\Application\Logger;
 use Icinga\Exception\IcingaException;
 use Icinga\Exception\NotFoundError;
 use Icinga\Exception\ProgrammingError;
 use Icinga\Module\Icingadb\Common\Database;
-use Icinga\Module\Toplevelview\Util\Json;
-use Icinga\Module\Toplevelview\ViewConfig;
 use Icinga\Web\FileCache;
 use stdClass;
 
@@ -38,9 +39,9 @@ class TLVTree extends TLVTreeNode
     protected $cacheLifetime = 60;
 
     /**
-     * @var ViewConfig
+     * @var View
      */
-    protected $config;
+    protected $view;
 
     public function getById($id)
     {
@@ -65,21 +66,21 @@ public function getById($id)
     }
 
     /**
-     * @return ViewConfig
+     * @return View
      */
-    public function getConfig()
+    public function getView()
     {
-        return $this->config;
+        return $this->view;
     }
 
     /**
-     * @param ViewConfig $config
+     * @param View $view
      *
      * @return $this
      */
-    public function setConfig(ViewConfig $config)
+    public function setView(View $view)
     {
-        $this->config = $config;
+        $this->view = $view;
         return $this;
     }
 
@@ -100,11 +101,11 @@ public function registerObject($type, $name, $class)
 
     protected function getCacheName()
     {
-        $config = $this->getConfig();
+        $view = $this->getView();
         return sprintf(
             '%s-%s.json',
-            $config->getName(),
-            $config->getTextChecksum()
+            $view->getName(),
+            $view->getTextChecksum()
         );
     }
 
diff --git a/library/Toplevelview/ViewConfig.php b/library/Toplevelview/ViewConfig.php
index 3fdc7eb..dfe79ee 100644
--- a/library/Toplevelview/ViewConfig.php
+++ b/library/Toplevelview/ViewConfig.php
@@ -3,189 +3,139 @@
 
 namespace Icinga\Module\Toplevelview;
 
-use Icinga\Application\Benchmark;
+use Icinga\Module\Toplevelview\Model\View;
+
 use Icinga\Application\Icinga;
-use Icinga\Exception\InvalidPropertyException;
-use Icinga\Exception\NotImplementedError;
-use Icinga\Exception\NotReadableError;
 use Icinga\Exception\NotWritableError;
-use Icinga\Exception\ProgrammingError;
-use Icinga\Module\Toplevelview\Tree\TLVTree;
+use Icinga\Exception\NotReadableError;
 use Icinga\Util\DirectoryIterator;
 use Icinga\Web\Session;
 
+/**
+ * Manages the View's configurations, loads and stores Views.
+ */
 class ViewConfig
 {
     const FORMAT_YAML = 'yml';
     const SESSION_PREFIX = 'toplevelview_view_';
 
-    protected $config_dir;
-
-    protected $name;
-
-    protected $format;
-
-    protected $file_path;
-
-    protected $view;
-
-    protected $raw;
-
-    protected $tree;
-
-    protected $hasBeenLoaded = false;
-    protected $hasBeenLoadedFromSession = false;
-
     /**
-     * Content of the file
-     *
+     * The module's configuration directory
      * @var string
      */
-    protected $text;
+    protected $config_dir;
+
+    function __construct() {
+        // Ensure the Views configuration directory exists
+        $config_dir_module = Icinga::app()
+                           ->getModuleManager()
+                           ->getModule('toplevelview')
+                           ->getConfigDir();
 
-    protected $textChecksum;
+        $config_dir = $config_dir_module . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . 'views';
+        $this->ensureDirExists($config_dir_module);
+        $this->ensureDirExists($config_dir);
+        // Set the configuration directory
+        $this->config_dir = $config_dir;
+    }
 
     /**
-     * @param             $name
-     * @param string|null $config_dir
-     * @param string      $format
+     * getConfigDir returns the configuration directory
      *
-     * @return static
+     * @return string
+     * @throws ProgrammingError When dir is not yet set
      */
-    public static function loadByName($name, $config_dir = null, $format = self::FORMAT_YAML)
+    public function getConfigDir(): string
     {
-        $object = new static;
-        $object
-            ->setName($name)
-            ->setConfigDir($config_dir)
-            ->setFormat($format)
-            ->load();
-
-        return $object;
+        if ($this->config_dir === null) {
+            throw new ProgrammingError('Configuration directory does not exit');
+        }
+        return $this->config_dir;
     }
 
     /**
-     * @param string|null $config_dir
-     * @param string      $format
+     * ensureDirExists checks if a given path exists and creates the path if it doesn't
      *
-     * @return static[]
+     * @param string $path Path to create the directory at
+     * @param string $mode Mode to create the directory with
+     *
+     * @return View
      */
-    public static function loadAll($config_dir = null, $format = self::FORMAT_YAML)
+    protected function ensureDirExists($path, $mode = '2770'): void
     {
-        $suffix = '.' . $format;
-
-        $config_dir = static::configDir($config_dir);
-        $directory = new DirectoryIterator($config_dir, $suffix);
-
-        $views = array();
-        foreach ($directory as $name => $path) {
-            if (is_dir($path)) {
-                // no not descend and ignore directories
-                continue;
-            }
-            $name = basename($name, $suffix);
-            $views[$name] = static::loadByName($name, $config_dir, $format);
+        if (file_exists($path)) {
+            return;
         }
 
-        // try to load from session
-        $len = strlen(self::SESSION_PREFIX);
-        foreach (static::session()->getAll() as $k => $v) {
-            if (substr($k, 0, $len) === self::SESSION_PREFIX) {
-                $name = substr($k, $len);
-                if (! array_key_exists($name, $views)) {
-                    $views[$name] = static::loadByName($name, $config_dir, $format);
-                }
-            }
+        if (mkdir($path) !== true) {
+            throw new NotWritableError(
+                'Configuration directory does not exit, and it could not be created: %s',
+                $path
+            );
         }
 
-        ksort($views);
-
-        return $views;
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * @return string
-     */
-    public function getFilePath()
-    {
-        if ($this->file_path === null) {
-            if ($this->format === null) {
-                throw new ProgrammingError('format not set!');
-            }
-            $this->file_path = $this->getConfigDir() . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . $this->name . '.' . $this->format;
+        $octalMode = intval($mode, 8);
+        if ($mode !== null && false === @chmod($path, $octalMode)) {
+            throw new NotWritableError('Failed to set file mode "%s" on file "%s"', $mode, $path);
         }
-        return $this->file_path;
     }
 
     /**
-     * @param string $file_path
+     * loadFromSession loads a View stored in the user's session
      *
-     * @return $this
+     * @param string $name name of the View
+     * @param string $format format of the View
+     * @return ?View
      */
-    public function setFilePath($file_path)
+    protected function loadFromSession($name, $format): ?View
     {
-        $this->file_path = $file_path;
-        return $this;
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * @return $this
-     */
-    public function load()
-    {
-        if ($this->text === null) {
-            $this->loadFromSession();
-        }
-        if ($this->text === null) {
-            $this->loadFromFile();
+        // Try to load data from the session
+        $sessionConfig = Session::getSession()->get(self::SESSION_PREFIX . $name);
+        // If there is none, we return
+        if ($sessionConfig === null) {
+            return null;
         }
-        return $this;
-    }
+        // If there is data, create the View with the data
+        $view = (new View($name, $format))->setText($sessionConfig);
+        $view->hasBeenLoadedFromSession = true;
+        $view->hasBeenLoaded = true;
 
-    public function loadFromFile()
-    {
-        $file_path = $this->getFilePath();
-        $this->text = file_get_contents($file_path);
-        if ($this->text === false) {
-            throw new NotReadableError('Could not read file %s', $file_path);
-        }
-        $this->view = null;
-        $this->hasBeenLoadedFromSession = false;
-        $this->hasBeenLoaded = true;
-        return $this;
+        return $view;
     }
 
     /**
-     * @return string
+     * loadFromFile loads a View stored in a configuration file
+     *
+     * @param string $name name of the View
+     * @param string $format format of the View
+     * @return ?View
      */
-    public function getText()
-    {
-        return $this->text;
-    }
-
-    public function getTextChecksum()
+    protected function loadFromFile($name, $format): View
     {
-        if ($this->textChecksum === null) {
-            $this->textChecksum = sha1($this->text);
+        // Try to load the data from the file
+        $file_path = $this->getConfigDir() . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . $name . '.' . $format;
+        $text = file_get_contents($file_path);
+        // Throw error if we cannot read it
+        if ($text === false) {
+            throw new NotReadableError('Could not read file %s', $file_path);
         }
-        return $this->textChecksum;
+        // If there is data, create the View with the data
+        $view = (new View($name, $format))->setText($text);
+        $view->hasBeenLoadedFromSession = false;
+        $view->hasBeenLoaded = true;
+
+        return $view;
     }
 
     /**
-     * @param $text
+     * writeFile writes the given content to a given path.
+     * Used to store the Views YAML content
      *
-     * @return $this
+     * @param $path Path to the file
+     * @param $content Content of the file
+     * @param $mode Mode of the new file
      */
-    public function setText($text)
-    {
-        $this->text = $text;
-        $this->textChecksum = null;
-        $this->raw = null;
-        $this->tree = null;
-        return $this;
-    }
-
-    protected function writeFile($path, $content, $mode = '0660')
+    protected function writeFile($path, $content, $mode = '0660'): void
     {
         $existing = file_exists($path);
         if (file_put_contents($path, $content) === false) {
@@ -200,288 +150,162 @@ protected function writeFile($path, $content, $mode = '0660')
         }
     }
 
-    protected function storeBackup($force = false)
-    {
-        $backupDir = $this->getConfigBackupDir();
-
-        $this->ensureConfigDir($backupDir);
-
-        $ts = (string) time();
-        $backup = $backupDir . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . $ts . '.' . $this->format;
-
-        if (file_exists($backup)) {
-            throw new ProgrammingError('History file with timestamp already present: %s', $backup);
-        }
-
-        $existingFile = $this->getFilePath();
-        $oldText = file_get_contents($existingFile);
-        if ($oldText === false) {
-            throw new NotReadableError('Could not read file %s', $existingFile);
-        }
-
-        // only save backup if changed or forced
-        if ($force || $oldText !== $this->text) {
-            $this->writeFile($backup, $oldText);
-        }
-    }
-
-    public function store()
+    /**
+     * Load a View by its name
+     *
+     * @param             $name
+     * @param string|null $config_dir
+     * @param string      $format
+     *
+     * @return View
+     */
+    public function loadByName($name, $format = self::FORMAT_YAML): View
     {
-        $config_dir = $this->getConfigDir();
-        $file_path = $this->getFilePath();
-
-        $this->ensureConfigDir($config_dir);
+        // Try to load from session
+        $view = $this->loadFromSession($name, $format);
 
-        // ensure to save history
-        if (file_exists($file_path)) {
-            $this->storeBackup();
+        if (isset($view)) {
+            return $view;
         }
 
-        $this->writeFile($file_path, $this->text);
+        // Try to load the view from the file
+        $view = $this->loadFromFile($name, $format);
 
-        $this->clearSession();
-        return $this;
+        return $view;
     }
 
     /**
-     * @return string
-     * @throws ProgrammingError When dir is not yet set
+     * @param string|null $config_dir
+     * @param string      $format
+     *
+     * @return View[]
      */
-    public function getConfigDir()
+    public function loadAll($format = self::FORMAT_YAML): array
     {
-        if ($this->config_dir === null) {
-            throw new ProgrammingError('config_dir not yet set!');
-        }
-        return $this->config_dir;
-    }
+        $suffix = '.' . $format;
 
-    /**
-     * @return string
-     */
-    public function getConfigBackupDir()
-    {
-        return $this->getConfigDir() . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . $this->name;
-    }
+        $views = array();
 
-    /**
-     * @param string $config_dir
-     *
-     * @return $this
-     * @throws NotReadableError
-     */
-    public function setConfigDir($config_dir = null)
-    {
-        $this->config_dir = static::configDir($config_dir);
-        $this->file_path = null;
-        return $this;
-    }
+        // Load the YAML files for the Views from the config directory
+        $directory = new DirectoryIterator($this->config_dir, $suffix);
 
-    protected static function ensureConfigDir($path, $mode = '2770')
-    {
-        if (! file_exists($path)) {
-            if (mkdir($path) !== true) {
-                throw new NotWritableError(
-                    'Config path did not exit, and it could not be created: %s',
-                    $path
-                );
+        foreach ($directory as $name => $path) {
+            if (is_dir($path)) {
+                // Do not descend and ignore directories
+                continue;
             }
+            $name = basename($name, $suffix);
+            $view = $this->loadByName($name, $format);
 
-            $octalMode = intval($mode, 8);
-            if ($mode !== null && false === @chmod($path, $octalMode)) {
-                throw new NotWritableError('Failed to set file mode "%s" on file "%s"', $mode, $path);
+            if (isset($view)) {
+                $views[$name] = $view;
             }
         }
-    }
 
-    public static function configDir($config_dir = null)
-    {
-        $config_dir_module = Icinga::app()->getModuleManager()->getModule('toplevelview')->getConfigDir();
-        if ($config_dir === null) {
-            $config_dir = $config_dir_module . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . 'views';
-        }
+        // Try to load View from the session
+        $len = strlen(self::SESSION_PREFIX);
 
-        static::ensureConfigDir($config_dir_module);
-        static::ensureConfigDir($config_dir);
+        foreach (Session::getSession()->getAll() as $k => $v) {
+            if (substr($k, 0, $len) === self::SESSION_PREFIX) {
+                $name = substr($k, $len);
+                if (! array_key_exists($name, $views)) {
+                    $view = $this->loadByName($name, $format);
 
-        return $config_dir;
-    }
+                    if (isset($view)) {
+                        $views[$name] = $view;
+                    }
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        // Sort and return the views
+        ksort($views);
 
-    /**
-     * @return mixed
-     */
-    public function getName()
-    {
-        return $this->name;
+        return $views;
     }
 
     /**
-     * @param mixed $name
+     * storeToSession stores a View's text to the user's session
      *
-     * @return $this
+     * @param $view
      */
-    public function setName($name)
+    public function storeToSession($view): void
     {
-        $this->name = $name;
-        $this->file_path = null;
-        return $this;
+        Session::getSession()->set(self::SESSION_PREFIX . $view->getName(), $view->getText());
     }
 
     /**
-     * @return string
+     * clearSession removes a view from the user's session
+     *
+     * @param $view
      */
-    public function getFormat()
+    public function clearSession($view): void
     {
-        return $this->format;
+        Session::getSession()->delete(self::SESSION_PREFIX . $view->getName());
     }
 
     /**
-     * @param string $format
+     * storeToFile stores a View to its configuration file
      *
-     * @return $this
+     * @param $view
      */
-    public function setFormat($format)
-    {
-        $this->format = $format;
-        $this->file_path = null;
-        return $this;
-    }
-
-    public function getMeta($key)
+    public function storeToFile($view): void
     {
-        $this->ensureParsed();
-        if ($key !== 'children' && array_key_exists($key, $this->raw)) {
-            return $this->raw[$key];
-        } else {
-            return null;
-        }
-    }
-
-    public function setMeta($key, $value)
-    {
-        if ($key === 'children') {
-            throw new ProgrammingError('You can not edit children here!');
-        }
-        $this->raw[$key] = $value;
-        return $this;
-    }
-
-    public function getMetaData()
-    {
-        $this->ensureParsed();
-        $data = array();
-        foreach ($this->raw as $key => $value) {
-            if ($key !== 'children') {
-                $data[$key] = $value;
-            }
-        }
-        return $data;
-    }
-
-    protected function ensureParsed()
-    {
-        if ($this->raw === null) {
-            Benchmark::measure('Begin parsing YAML document');
-
-            $text = $this->getText();
-            if ($text === null) {
-                // new ViewConfig
-                $this->raw = array();
-            } elseif ($this->format == self::FORMAT_YAML) {
-                // TODO: use stdClass instead of Array?
-                $this->raw = yaml_parse($text);
-                if (! is_array($this->raw)) {
-                    throw new InvalidPropertyException('Could not parse YAML config!');
-                }
-            } else {
-                throw new NotImplementedError("Unknown format '%s'", $this->format);
-            }
-
-            Benchmark::measure('Finished parsing YAML document');
+        $file_path = $this->getConfigDir() . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . $view->getName() . '.' . $view->getFormat();
+        // Store a backup of the existing config
+        if (file_exists($file_path)) {
+            $this->storeBackup($view);
         }
+        // Write the content to the file and clear the session
+        $this->writeFile($file_path, $view->getText());
+        $this->clearSession($view);
     }
 
     /**
-     * Loads the Tree for this configuration
+     * delete removes a Views configuration file
      *
-     * @return TLVTree
+     * @param $view
      */
-    public function getTree()
-    {
-        if ($this->tree === null) {
-            $this->ensureParsed();
-            $this->tree = $tree = TLVTree::fromArray($this->raw);
-            $tree->setConfig($this);
-        }
-        return $this->tree;
-    }
-
-    protected function getSessionVarName()
+    public function delete($view): void
     {
-        return self::SESSION_PREFIX . $this->name;
-    }
+        $file_path = $this->getConfigDir() . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . $view->getName() . '.' . $view->getFormat();
 
-    public static function session()
-    {
-        return Session::getSession();
-    }
+        $this->clearSession($view);
 
-    public function loadFromSession()
-    {
-        if (($sessionConfig = $this->session()->get($this->getSessionVarName())) !== null) {
-            $this->text = $sessionConfig;
-            $this->hasBeenLoadedFromSession = true;
-            $this->hasBeenLoaded = true;
+        if (file_exists($file_path)) {
+            $this->storeBackup($view, true);
+            unlink($file_path);
         }
-        return $this;
-    }
-
-    public function clearSession()
-    {
-        $this->session()->delete($this->getSessionVarName());
-    }
-
-    public function storeToSession()
-    {
-        $this->session()->set($this->getSessionVarName(), $this->text);
     }
 
     /**
-     * @return bool
-     */
-    public function hasBeenLoadedFromSession()
-    {
-        return $this->hasBeenLoadedFromSession;
-    }
-
-    /**
-     * @return bool
+     * storeBackup stores a timestamped backup file of a View's file,
+     * if the content has changed
+     *
+     * @param $view
+     * @param $force Stores a backup even if the content hasn't changed
      */
-    public function hasBeenLoaded()
+    protected function storeBackup($view, $force = false)
     {
-        return $this->hasBeenLoaded;
-    }
+        $backup_dir = $this->getConfigDir() . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . $view->getName();
+        $this->ensureDirExists($backup_dir);
 
-    public function __clone()
-    {
-        $this->name = null;
-        $this->raw = null;
-        $this->tree = null;
-
-        $this->hasBeenLoaded = false;
-        $this->hasBeenLoadedFromSession = false;
-    }
+        $ts = (string) time();
+        $backup = $backup_dir . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . $ts . '.' . $view->getFormat();
 
-    public function delete()
-    {
-        $file_path = $this->getFilePath();
+        if (file_exists($backup)) {
+            throw new ProgrammingError('History file with timestamp already present: %s', $backup);
+        }
 
-        $this->clearSession();
+        $existing_file = $this->getConfigDir() . DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR . $view->getName() . '.' . $view->getFormat();
+        $oldText = file_get_contents($existing_file);
 
-        if (file_exists($file_path)) {
-            $this->storeBackup(true);
-            unlink($file_path);
+        if ($oldText === false) {
+            throw new NotReadableError('Could not read file %s', $existing_file);
         }
 
-        return $this;
+        // Only store a backup if the text changed or forced is set to true
+        if ($force || $oldText !== $view->getText()) {
+            $this->writeFile($backup, $oldText);
+        }
     }
 }