Chapter 12. Managing and Using SharePoint Lists

• Understanding SharePoint Lists

• Creating, Modifying, and Accessing SharePoint Lists

• Standard Actions That Apply to Most Lists

• Benefiting from Alerts

• Using the Approve/Reject View for Controlling the Publication of List Items

• Using Announcements to Keep Users Informed

• Maintaining Information About People with the Contacts List

• Creating SharePoint Discussion Boards

• Using the Links List to Provide and Share Shortcuts

• Planning Events Using SharePoint

• Getting Things Done with Tasks

• Managing Problem Resolution with an Issues List

• Special Lists for Meeting Workspace Sites

This chapter covers the standard lists offered by Windows SharePoint Services that organizations can benefit from whether they are used in workspaces, sites, or Web Part pages. The skills needed to effectively work with lists are similar to those required for document libraries, so new users should review Chapter 11, “Managing and Using SharePoint Libraries,” prior to reading this chapter.

This chapter also covers the important and powerful functionality of Alerts both for Windows SharePoint Services and SharePoint Portal Server 2003, and discusses how they can enhance the user experience with SharePoint 2003.

SharePoint lists are used to share information with other SharePoint users. A number of SharePoint lists are installed by default and can be customized or used “as-is.” Lists can also be created from scratch to satisfy a specific organizational requirement.

Lists in SharePoint 2003 have been enhanced in many ways over their counterparts in SharePoint 2001. Additional field types are available, such as rich text, multivalue fields, and calculated fields. Field types can be changed after the list has been created, providing a means for accommodating data that is not stable. For Office 2003 users, lists can be edited in a “datasheet” view, providing spreadsheet types of editing features, such as copy and paste, adding rows, and fill options.

Because the application code for lists resides in Windows SharePoint Services, lists are available in both Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003 and in Windows SharePoint Services. Therefore, most of the information contained in this chapter applies to both applications. Differences are noted when applicable.