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When you create a Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services site, several types of lists are created for you. These default lists range from a discussion board to a calendar list. You can customize the default lists in many ways, or you can create custom lists with the columns that you choose.

Lists can also take advantage of e-mail features, if incoming or outgoing mail is enabled on your site. Some lists, such as calendars, announcements, blogs, and discussion boards, can be set up so that people can add content to them by sending e-mail. Other lists, such as tasks and issue-tracking lists, can be set up to send e-mail to people when items are assigned to them.

Lists can include many types of data, ranging from dates or pictures to calculations based on other columns.

Create a list from a list template

Create a custom list

Add a column to a list

Create a list from a list template

Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 includes several different types of lists, ranging from a calendar to a contacts list. Although some of the settings vary among the lists, you can use the same basic procedure to create any type of list. The following procedure shows you how to create a list from a list template.

 Note    To create a list, you must have permission to change the site where you want to create the list.

1. Click View All Site Content, and then click Create on the All Site Content page.

   Tip  In most cases, you can use the Site Actions menu instead to complete this step.

2. Under Communications or Tracking, click the type of list that you want, such as Contacts or Calendar.

   Types of lists

   The type of list that you use depends on the kind of information that you are sharing:

   • Announcements  Use an announcements list to share news and status and to provide reminders. Announcements support enhanced formatting with images, hyperlinks, and formatted text.
   • Contacts  Use a contacts list to store information about people or groups that you work with. If you are using an e-mail or contact management program that is compatible with Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, you can view and update your contacts from your SharePoint site in the other program. For example, you can update a list of all your organization's suppliers from Office Outlook 2007. A contacts list doesn't actually manage the members of your site, but it can be used to store and share contacts for your organization, such as a list of external vendors.
   • Discussion boards  Use a discussion board to provide a central place to record and store team discussions that is similar to the format of newsgroups. If your administrator has enabled lists on your site to receive e-mail, discussion boards can store e-mail discussions from most common e-mail programs. For example, you can create a discussion board for your organization's new product release. If you are using an e-mail program that is compatible with Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, you can view and update your discussion board while working in the other program.
   • Links  Use a links list as a central location for links to the Web, your company's intranet, and other resources. For example, you might create a list of links to your customers' Web sites.
   • Calendar  Use a calendar for all of your team's events or for specific situations, such as company holidays. A calendar provides visual views, similar to a desk or wall calendar, of your team events, including meetings, social events, and all-day events. You can also track team milestones, such as deadlines or product release dates, that are not related to a specific time interval. If you are using an e-mail or calendar program that is compatible with Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, you can view and update your calendar from your SharePoint site while working in the other program. For example, you can compare and update your calendar on the SharePoint site with dates from your Office Outlook 2007 calendar, by viewing both calendars side-by-side or overlaid with each other in Office Outlook 2007.
   • Tasks  Use a task list to track information about projects and other to-do events for your group. You can assign tasks to people, as well as track the status and percentage complete as the task moves toward completion. If you are using an e-mail or task management program that is compatible with Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, you can view and update your tasks from your SharePoint site in your other program. For example, you can create a task list for your organization's budget process and then view and update it in Office Outlook 2007 along with your other tasks.
   • Project tasks  To store information that is similar to a task list, but also provide a visual or Gantt view with progress bars, use a project task list. You can track the status and percentage complete as the task moves toward completion. If you are using an e-mail or task management program that is compatible with Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, you can view and update your project tasks from your SharePoint site in your other program. For example, you can create a task list on your SharePoint site to identify and assign the work to create a training manual. Then you can track your organization's progress from Office Outlook 2007.
   • Issue tracking  Use an issue-tracking list to store information about specific issues, such as support issues, and track their progress. You can assign issues, categorize them, and relate issues to each other. For example, you can create an issue-tracking list to manage customer service problems and solutions. You can also comment on issues each time you edit them, creating a history of comments without altering the original description of the issue. For example, a customer service representative can record each step taken to resolve a problem and the results.
   • Survey  To collect and compile feedback, such as an employee satisfaction survey or a quiz, use a survey. You can design your questions and answers in several different ways and see an overview of your feedback. If you have a spreadsheet or database program installed that is compatible with Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 or Windows SharePoint Services 2.0, you can export your results to further analyze them.
   • Custom  Although you can customize any list, you can start with a custom list and then customize just the settings that you specify. You can also create a list that is based on a spreadsheet, if you have a spreadsheet program that is compatible with Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 or Windows SharePoint Services 2.0, and Windows Internet Explorer and Microsoft Windows. For example, you can import a list from Microsoft Office Excel 2007 that you created to store and manage contracts with vendors.

3. In the Name box, type a name for the list. The list name is required.

   The name appears at the top of the list page, becomes part of the Web address for the list page, and appears in navigational elements that help users to find and open the list.

4. In the Description box, type a description of the purpose of the list. The description is optional.

   The description appears at the top of the list in most views, underneath the name of the list. Some types of lists can receive content by e-mail. If you plan to enable the list to receive content by e-mail, you can add the e-mail address of the list to its description, so that people can easily find the e-mail address.

5. To add a link to this list on the Quick Launch, click Yes in the Navigation section.
6. If an Incoming E-mail section appears, your administrator has enabled lists on your site to receive content by e-mail. To enable people to add content to the list by sending e-mail, click Yes under Enable this list to receive e-mail. Then, in the Email address box, type the first part of the address that you want people to use for the list.

   This option may not be available for some types of lists.

7. If an E-Mail Notification section appears, your administrator has enabled lists on your site to send e-mail notifications when list items are assigned. To enable the list to send e-mail to people when an item is assigned to them, click Yes under Send e-mail when ownership is assigned?.

   This option may not be available for some types of lists.

8. Click Create.

 Note    By default, you can add content by sending e-mail to discussion boards, announcements, and calendar lists, if incoming e-mail is enabled on your site. Tasks, project tasks, and issue-tracking lists can send e-mail to people when items are assigned to them, if outgoing mail is enabled for the site. Other lists can be enabled by your administrator with a custom solution such as an e-mail handler.

Tip  You can save time when you create a list by importing a spreadsheet file, if your data is already in a spreadsheet format. To create a list that is based on a spreadsheet, you must be using a spreadsheet program that is compatible with Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services, Microsoft Internet Explorer 5, and Microsoft Windows.

Create a custom list

Creating a custom list is similar to creating a default list, except that the custom list comes with only a few columns, such as Title. After you create a custom list, you can add columns to suit the purpose of your list.

 Note    To create a list, you must have permission to change the site where you want to create the list.

1. Click View All Site Content, and then click Create on the All Site Content page.

   Tip  In most cases, you can use the Site Actions menu instead to complete this step.

2. Under Custom Lists, click Custom List.
3. In the Name box, type a name for the list. The list name is required.

   The name appears at the top of the list page, becomes part of the Web address for the list page, and appears in navigational elements that help users to find and open the list.

4. In the Description box, type a description of the purpose of the list. The description is optional.

   The description appears at the top of the list, underneath the name of the list.

5. To add a link to this list on the Quick Launch, click Yes in the Navigation section.
6. Click Create.

Tip  You can also create a custom list in datasheet view or from a spreadsheet, which is helpful when you have several items to update at once. Datasheet view requires a program or control that is compatible with Windows SharePoint Services, such as Microsoft Office Professional 2007, and ActiveX control  support.

Add a column to a list

Some lists already have columns set up, but you can add or change them. For custom lists, you add your own columns to the list.

Columns help your group to categorize and track information, such as your department name or project number. You have several options for the type of column that you create, including a single line of text, a drop-down list in which you specify the options, a number that is calculated from other columns, or even the name and picture of a person on your site.

 Note    The following procedure begins from the list page for the list that you want to add the column to. If the list is not already open, click its name on the Quick Launch. If the name of your list does not appear, click View All Site Content, and then click the name of your list.

1. On the Settings menu , click Create Column.
2. In the Name and Type section, type the name that you want in the Column name box.
3. Under The type of information in this column is, select the type of information that you want to appear in the column.
4. In the Additional Column Settings section, type a description in the Description box to help people understand the purpose of the column and what data it should contain. This description is optional.
5. Depending on the type of column that you selected, more options may appear in the Additional Column Settings section. Select the additional settings that you want.
6. To add the column to the default view, which people on your site automatically see when they first open a list or library, click Add to default view.
7. Click OK.

 Note    After you create a column, you can go back and change its settings. For example, you might want to specify that a column contains currency instead of just a number. To view or change the list settings, open the list, and then click List Settings on the Settings menu.