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Use the Custom List template to create a bespoke list from scratch. 

Quick reference

Creating Custom Lists

List templates are great but occasionally we might need a different type of template that isn't available by default in SharePoint. For example, we might need to produce a list to show product numbers, or an inventory, or maybe even an asset list. For this, we can use the custom list template. This template contains only one column and is completely customizable. 

When to use

We use the custom list template whenever we want to create a list that doesn't fit the existing SharePoint templates. 

Instructions

In this example, we are going to create a list to show the different training courses we will be providing. So, our list needs to contain a column that shows the training course name, the duration of the course, and the course type. 

Creating a Custom List

  • Click New from the horizontal menu. 
  • Select App from the menu. 
  • Choose Custom List from the templates. 
  • Type a name for the Custom List. e.g. TrainingCourses.
  • From Site Contents, click on Training Courses. 
  • Click the drop-down arrow next to the Title column.
  • Select Column Settings and rename the column to Course name. 
  • Click Add column. 
  • Choose the data type for the column, select Number. 
  • Give the column the name, Duration.  
  • Click Save. 
  • Click Add Column. 
  • Choose the data type for the column, select Choice. 
  • Give the column the name, Course Type. 
  • Type the choices for the pick-list. 
  • Click Save. 
  • Select Edit in grid view from the horizontal menu. 
  • Complete the course details. 
  • Once complete, select Exit grid view. 

Add the Custom List to the Quick Launch

  • From the Quick Launch menu, click Site Contents. 
  • Hover the mouse over the new list.
  • Click the three dots and choose Settings from the menu. 
  • Click List name, description and navigation. 
  • Edit the list name if required.  
  • Check the box to Display on the Quick Launch Menu.
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  • 00:04 Whilst it's great to have all of these different templates built into
  • 00:08 SharePoint for things such as contacts and tasks,
  • 00:11 many times you might find yourself needing a different type of default template,
  • 00:16 one that doesn't currently exist in the SharePoint system.
  • 00:19 For example, maybe you need to list out some product numbers, or
  • 00:24 an asset list, or maybe some form of inventory.
  • 00:27 Well, the good news is that there is a template in SharePoint that
  • 00:32 allows you to create your own custom lists.
  • 00:35 And the unique thing about this template is that when you load it up,
  • 00:39 it only contains one column, and
  • 00:41 then you can basically define all of the other columns that you need.
  • 00:45 Now for this example,
  • 00:46 we're going to have the scenario that this is a Microsoft 365 rollout project.
  • 00:50 And I'm going to be traveling around the different global offices training
  • 00:54 the staff members there on how to use Microsoft 365.
  • 00:57 And as part of that training,
  • 00:59 they're going to be lots of different mini training courses.
  • 01:03 So basically, what I want to create in SharePoint is a list that shows all of
  • 01:07 the different training courses I'm going to be providing.
  • 01:11 And it's going to contain information such as the duration of the training course,
  • 01:16 the office that it's going to take place in, so on and so forth.
  • 01:19 So to do this, I'm going to use a custom list.
  • 01:23 Now you'll find your custom list in the same place as all of the other templates
  • 01:27 for lists and libraries.
  • 01:28 So if we jump up to the New drop down, we're going to go straight back in to App.
  • 01:34 And you'll see in that top row, we have a Custom List template.
  • 01:38 So let's load it up.
  • 01:40 Now, much the same as any other template you might create,
  • 01:43 we need to give our list and name.
  • 01:45 So I'm going to call this.
  • 01:48 TrainingCourses, remember no space and click Create.
  • 01:53 Now as always, I've been taken back to that site contents page.
  • 01:57 And remember, this is the page that shows you all of the content that you have on
  • 02:01 your SharePoint site.
  • 02:03 So if I scroll through and find the list that I've just created, there it is.
  • 02:07 Let's click to open that up.
  • 02:09 And you'll see what I mean, there is only one column, and that is the title column.
  • 02:15 So I can basically customize this and tailor it to my needs.
  • 02:19 So the first thing I'm going to do here is I'm going to rename this first
  • 02:22 column because I don't want it to say title,
  • 02:24 I want the name of the training course just there.
  • 02:27 So all I need to do is click the drop-down, go to Column settings, and
  • 02:32 I can rename.
  • 02:32 So let's just call this Course, and click on Save.
  • 02:36 I'm now going to add some other columns in.
  • 02:38 And the first one I'm going to add is for the duration of the course.
  • 02:42 So let's click the drop-down, and
  • 02:44 I get to choose the data type that I'm going to use.
  • 02:47 Now remember, if this is a list that's going to be maintained by lots
  • 02:51 of different people, you might want to lock it down by specifying exactly what
  • 02:55 you want people to type into this column.
  • 02:57 Now I'm not going to do that In this case,
  • 02:59 I'm just going to select the number column.
  • 03:01 My column name is going to be duration, I'm not going to bother with
  • 03:05 a description, but obviously you can if you want to.
  • 03:08 The type is going to be number,
  • 03:10 and then I get to see a preview of what that number is going to look like.
  • 03:13 And you can change this to dollars, pounds, depending on what information is
  • 03:17 going to go into your column, you can modify this accordingly.
  • 03:20 Number of decimal places, I'm going to leave that automatic, in fact,
  • 03:24 I'm going to leave all of these settings on the default and click on Save.
  • 03:27 Let's add another column.
  • 03:29 Now this time, this is going to show the way that this course is going to
  • 03:33 be delivered, so whether it's online, in the classroom, or via e-learning.
  • 03:37 Now for this, I'm going to lock this down, so
  • 03:40 I'm going to give people a list of choices.
  • 03:42 So the name for my column, let's say, Course Type.
  • 03:47 It's choice, my first choice is going to be Online.
  • 03:51 My second choice is going to be, let's say webinar,
  • 03:54 a third choice is going to be, let's say E-Learning.
  • 03:58 And the last choice is going to be Classroom or in-person training.
  • 04:04 Let's click Save at the bottom to add that column in.
  • 04:08 And I could carry on going, adding in all of the columns that I need,
  • 04:12 making sure I'm selecting the correct data type.
  • 04:15 So now if I want to populate this with some records, all I need to do is Edit in
  • 04:19 grid view, and I can now start to type in my training course.
  • 04:23 So maybe let's say we have Excel for Beginners.
  • 04:27 The duration of this course, let's say this is going to be two hours.
  • 04:31 The course type, well, I'm getting my drop-down options, so
  • 04:35 this is going to be classroom, and then I can exit my grid view.
  • 04:40 Now again, you'll notice that this list that I've created, this custom list for
  • 04:44 training courses isn't listed in that quick launch menu.
  • 04:47 So I'm going to very quickly add it and
  • 04:48 also make this title a little bit more user-friendly.
  • 04:51 So let's jump down into Site contents.
  • 04:53 Let's find our list TrainingCourses.
  • 04:56 Let's show more actions and go to Settings.
  • 04:59 And if you remember, we need to jump into lists name, description, and navigation.
  • 05:04 And from here, I can add a space into the name and
  • 05:07 I can also say that I want to display it on the quick launch, and click on Save.
  • 05:12 And there we go.
  • 05:12 If you take a look in the quick launch menu now,
  • 05:15 you can see that I have training courses listed just there.
  • 05:18 And if I want to move that up the list, I can edit menu, click the three dots,
  • 05:24 and I can move it up, so that it's with the rest of my content.
  • 05:28 So that is how you can use a custom template to create your own custom lists.

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