Customizing Lists In Sharepoint

By Author: Dylan Rodriguez
Total Articles: 131
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To view all the contents of a SharePoint site such as team site, Document Workspace, or Meeting Workspace, click the All Site Content link on the Quick Launch bar. If you carefully look at the various components-Document Libraries, Picture Libraries, Lists, Surveys, and so on-you will note that all of them are some kind of list or library. Remember, even though Surveys and Discussion Boards don't immediately appear like lists, they are lists in SharePoint.
You can create a SharePoint component from the All Sites Content page by clicking the Create link. The resulting Create page will give you a mixed set of components available on SharePoint including the different types of Workspaces and team sites.
Use the List filter to view the lists. The following components are available as List types: Announcements, Calendar, Contacts, Custom List, and Custom List in Datasheet View, Discussion Board, External List, Import Spreadsheet, Issue Tracking, Links, Project Task, Survey, and Tasks. While most of them such as Calendar, Tasks, and Contacts are very useful, the available types seems insufficient for the various kinds ...
... of information that you might want to store and share. This is why SharePoint offers the Custom List and Custom List in Datasheet View options. Both views display the same content even though they are presented differently. With these options, you can customize lists to your requirement. While the Custom List in Datasheet View option is a spreadsheet like presentation, which helps you make multiple entries quickly, the Custom List option is slightly different.
Let's take a scenario. Rudolf works for a Quick Hire, a car rental agency. He needs to maintain a list on his SharePoint team site of the cars his agency is renting out. The list must contain the following information: Car Details, Rental Rates, Customer Name, Contact Information, Customer Identity number, Starting Hire Date, No. of Days, Discounts, Starting Location, Ending Location, Total Cost including taxes, Advance Paid, Balance Payment.
Rudolf has to use the following steps to customize his list:
Step 1: On the Create page, select the Custom List option.

Step 2: Provide a name for the list. For example, 'Quick Hire Payments'.

Step 3: Click the Create button. 'Quick Hire Payments' will also appear on the Quick Launch bar.

Step 4: Click the Add new item link.

Step 5: Select or ensure that Rudolph is on the List tab of List Tools. This allows him to make changes to the entire list.

Step 6: Click the Create Column icon on the ribbon.

Step 7: Provide a column name. In this case, enter 'Car Details'.

Step 8: Select the type of information using the radio button options. Some of the options are Single line of text, Choice (Menu to choose from), Number, Currency, Date and Time, Yes/No checkbox and so on.

Step 9: This information changes depending on the type of information selected in Step 8. This is where the actual SharePoint customization of list takes place. Provide all the necessary information and selections.

Step 10: Click OK. It will go to the List page.

Step 11: Repeat Steps 6 to 10 for every column: Car Details, Rental Rates, Customer Name, Contact Information, Customer Identity number, Starting Hire Date, No. of Days, Discounts, Starting Location, Ending Location, Total Cost including taxes, Advance Paid, and Balance Payment
The customized list has been created. Now Rudolph can start entering details on his list to maintain the required information on SharePoint team site.

For More Information:- Sharepoint Customization | Sharepoint Workspace