Lists

Lists in SharePoint are generally exactly what they say they are. Think about a list which you would write on a piece of paper. Generally your list will have different columns full of information. Each of this columns are properties which describe the item. The item is the row of columns. If you were making a shopping list, you would have the name of item such as milk, eggs, or bread which may be the name of the item. For columns, you may have the price of the item, the area of the store they are in, or the brand name which you are looking for. In SharePoint 2013, the generic list, when created, will have no items listed and will allow you to start fresh.

If you are using SharePoint 2010, then this will most likely be a slightly different process than what you are used to. In SharePoint 2010, the process of creating a list requires you to go to site actions and access the "more options" feature to add a custom list. This will allow you to add columns or properties which you may want to include in your list. The SharePoint 2013 format differs only in semantics.

 In SharePoint 2013, many of the old properties are now called apps. This is only common semantics and won't make a difference in the end. Simple click on "add an app"

                        

Simply enough, this is done by going to the top right corner of the page and clicking on the gear symbol as shown above. When the new window appears, the custom list option is presented as a Noteworthy app.

When you are adding new items this list as is, you will need to design the list yourself. Hence the term custom. This includes adding columns and content.

SharePoint 2013 has made adding a column easier by allowing users to click on the plus button at the top of the list and select from a drop down menu what type of data will be stored in that column. This is different from 2010 which required use of the ribbon to add columns to the list which you were constructing. This allows time to be saved and is easy for end-users who have little SharePoint experience.

Generally, SharePoint lists are useful on a basis of simplicity. In the long run, lists are increasingly useful for collaborating information which has been gathered that can be updated. There are different lists which are already included in SharePoint 2013. These are:

• Promoted Links: This is used to identify links which map to other areas across the web or across your SharePoint Site.
• Custom List in Datasheet view: Identical to a SharePoint Custom List except all relevant information is set in a datasheet view. (The view setting for a list may also be changed to a datasheet view)

An alternative to adding custom columns each time for the lists which you are creating is to use content types which you have already created or are included by default. One common content type is the contact information. This may be applied to a new list which you create at any time. It is important to note that the information which you input into the different content types will not disappear if you change the default content type which is shown. In other words, all the relevant information will still be available if you click on the item and change the content which you are looking at.