Sorry - I should have clarified my post after reading Curt's. The settings I posted only concern themselves with actions whose due dates fall in the Due Soon window. It doesn't attempt to do any filtering on the basis of start dates.
The specific filter request that the original poster asked for - "stuff that's due
or starting soon" - isn't something we've gotten a lot of requests for until now, but folks can email our
support ninjas and vote for that feature so we can consider adding it in the future.
In the meantime, you could make a "Stuff that Starts Soon" perspective with these settings:
View -> Context Mode
View -> Sidebar Filter -> Active
View -> Grouping -> Start
View -> Sorting -> Project (or another, if you like)
View -> Availibility Filter -> Remaining (or Available, though it hides more)
View -> Status Filter -> Any
View -> Estimated Time Filter -> Any
Items in this window are now grouped by their start dates, from past to future. Use the disclosure triangle at the left of each category to collapse the ones you're not interested in. Start dates in the future are at the bottom - leave them expanded.
Next, select
Perspectives -> Save Window As -> New Perspective
from the menu bar.
Name the perspective, and make sure the "Restore: Expansion" box is checked in the Perspectives window. (If it isn't, check the box, then re-save the perspective from the menu.)
Does that help?