Adding, Editing, and Deleting List Columns
The list templates provided by Windows SharePoint Services are a great way to generate a list with very little effort. However, should you need to customize the templates, Windows SharePoint Services allows you to add, edit, and delete columns.
There are a plethora of column types available when you want to extend a list with an additional column. Once you name your new column, you need to select one of the column types displayed in the following table.
| Tip | Most, but not all, column types have both Required and Default value options. If Required is set to true, the user must enter a value into the column when creating or editing a list item. If the user doesn’t enter a value, the Default value is used. Because every column type has a Description option and an Add To Default View option, these options are not explicitly listed in the table. |
| Column Type | Used to | Options | Edit Using |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single Line Of Text | Enter a word or freeform phrase up to 255 characters. |
| Single-line textbox |
| Multiple Lines Of Text | Optionally enter freeform prose, including formatted text. |
| Multiple-line text-box with toolbar to edit text |
| Choice | Select one or more from static list. |
| Drop-down list, option buttons, or group of check boxes |
| Number | Enter a number. |
| Single-line textbox |
| Currency | Enter a monetary value. |
| Single-line textbox |
| Date And Time | Enter date and/or time-of-day. |
| Date textbox with popup calendar and drop-down lists for hours and minutes |
| Lookup | Select one list item from a list in the site. |
| Dropdown list |
| Yes/No | Enter true or false. |
| Single check box |
| Person Or Group | Select one or more users. |
| Textbox with Check Names icon |
| Hyperlink Or Picture | Enter a link to a page or picture. |
| Single-line textbox |
| Calculated | Calculate information from columns on this list, columns on another list, dates, or numbers using standard mathematical operators. |
| Single-line textbox |
Open table as spreadsheet 
After a column has been added, it is possible to make changes to it. You can change the display name, but the internal name cannot easily be changed. Most other column options can be changed even after data has already been entered into the list. If changing an option will potentially result in the loss of information, Windows SharePoint Services w prompts you to confirm the change before proceeding.
| Tip | You can also change a field from “not required” to “required” after data has already been entered into the list. The underlying data is not affected unless someone attempts to edit an existing record. The new required rule is enforced, and the list item cannot be saved without providing a value in the Required column. |
Most columns in the list can be deleted. However, all lists have at least one column that cannot be removed. For instance, the Title column is used to show the smart menu, so it can be renamed but not deleted. Certain lists also prevent the deletion of columns so that the list can display properly or integrate with the Microsoft Office suite properly. For example, the Assigned To, Status, and Category columns of any list based on the Issues list template cannot be deleted, and all of the default columns in any list based on the Calendar list template cannot be deleted.
Other columns that are automatically created and populated for each list item cannot be changed: ID, Created, Created By, Modified, and Modified By. The ID column ensures that the list item is unique in the list. It contains a sequential number beginning with 1 and increments by 1 for each new list item. Windows SharePoint Services automatically captures when the list item was Created, who it was Created By, when it was last Modified, and who it was last Modified By. Initially, the Created and Modified columns are equal, as are the Created By and Modified By columns.
This Windows SharePoint Services release introduces a new kind of column that can be added to the list called a site column. These columns are typically defined once by an administrator and represent a common set of data used across multiple lists. They are stored at the site level in a site column gallery, but the collective site columns in all of the galleries in the current site’s parentage can be used on a list or content type in this site. Thus, an administrator could define a site column in the top-level site for users in all sites in the site collection to use. Site columns provide two very valuable enhancements over regular list columns.
-
Administrators can change site columns at any time, and the change can be pushed down to all content types and lists that have used that site column within a given site collection.
-
Because site columns define a common set of data, lists that contain multiple content types can sort, filter, and group the disparate list items using their common site columns.
In the following exercise, you will enhance the Common Buyer Tasks list by adding a Sequence column, adding a Date Completed site column, editing the Priority column to include an additional option, and deleting the % Complete column. Finally, you will change the order of the columns on the New, Display, and Edit pages to show the Description column immediately after the Title column.
OPEN the SharePoint site where the Common Buyer Tasks list was created. The exercise will use the http://wideworldimporters site, but you can use whatever site you wish. If prompted, type your user name and password, and click OK.
BE SURE TO verify that you have sufficient rights to manage the list. If in doubt, see the Appendix on page 435.
1. On the Quick Launch, click Common Buyer Tasks to display the Common Buyer Tasks default list view page.
2. On the Settings menu, choose List Settings to display the Customize Common Buyer Tasks page.
3. Near the bottom of the Columns area, click Create column to display the Common Buyer Tasks: Add Column page.
4. In the Column name textbox, type Sequence.
5. On the list of column types, click Number (notice all of the other options described earlier in this section).
6. In the Description textbox, type Used to order tasks.
7. Leave the default values for the rest of the column’s settings.
8. Click OK to finish adding the Sequence column to the list. The Customize Common Buyer Tasks page is displayed.
Todd Rowe would like to see a column added to track the date that each task is completed.
9. In the Columns area, click Add from existing site columns to display the Add Columns from Site Columns: Common Buyer Tasks page.
10. On the Select site columns from drop-down list, click Core Task and Issue Columns to filter the list of Available site columns to just a handful of task-oriented site columns.
11. Click Date Completed and click the Add button, or simply double-click Date Completed to move it to the Columns to add list. 
12. Click OK to add the column to the list and redisplay the Customize Common Buyer Tasks page.
Some tasks are commonly very low on the task list, and the buyers want to add an option in the Priority column to reflect this. They typically use Medium rather than Normal to rank their tasks and would like to allow people to type in priorities other than High, Medium, Low, or Very Low.
13. In the Columns area, click Priority to edit the settings for the existing column using the Common Buyer Tasks: Change Column page.
14. In the Additional Column Settings area, type (4) Very Low as the last line in the Type each choice on a separate line textbox to add an additional option to the drop-down list.
15. Edit the values in the Type each choice on a separate line textbox, replacing (2) Normal by typing with (2) Medium in the second line. This will alter the options that will be available in the Priority drop-down list during data entry.
| Tip | Any list items that previously had the (2) Normal option chosen need to manually change to the new option, (2) Medium. Also, when leaving the Choice textbox, the Default value changes to the first choice-(1) High in this case. If you want the Default value to remain the second option, you must type (2) Medium into the Default value textbox. For this exercise, you can use the default (1) High. |
16. In the Allow ‘Fill-in’ choices column, click Yes to allow values that are not included in the column’s list of choices to be entered.
| Tip | Optionally choose to display the choices using Radio buttons or Checkboxes. Choosing Checkboxes will allow multiple values to be selected. |
17. Click OK to save changes to the Priority column. The Customize Common Buyer Tasks page is displayed.
The buyers don’t plan on using the % Complete column, and it can therefore be deleted. In the next part of the exercise, you will delete this column from the list.
18. In the Columns area, click % Complete to delete the existing column using the Common Buyer Tasks: Change Column page.
19. At the bottom of the page, click Delete to initiate deletion of the % Complete column from the list and display the deletion confirmation dialog box.
20. Click OK to finish deleting the % Complete column. The Customize Common Buyer Tasks page is displayed.
When creating or editing list items, the buyers would like to show the Description column immediately after the Title column. In the next part of the exercise, you will change the order of the columns in the list.
21. In the Columns area, click Column ordering to display the Common Buyer Tasks: Change Field Order page.
22. To the right of the Description column on the Position from Top drop-down list, click 2 to change the sequence of the fields displayed on the New, Display, and Edit pages so that the Description column comes immediately after the Title column. The column is instantly moved to the second position.
23. Click OK to save the sequence change. The Customize Common Buyer Tasks page is displayed.
24. In the breadcrumb at the top of the page, click Common Buyer Tasks to return to the default list view page.
25. On the toolbar, click New to display the Common Buyer Tasks: New Item page.
26. On the modified Common Buyer Tasks: New Item page, verify that the order of the columns has changed and the Description column comes immediately after the Title column.
CLOSE the browser.
EAN: N/A
Pages: 201