Mastering SharePoint Lists - Tips and Tricks for Seamless Management

Enhancing Productivity with SharePoint Lists

In today's digital age, managing data efficiently is paramount.

SharePoint lists have long been a central feature of Microsoft's SharePoint platform, offering users a powerful means to organise, manage, and share information. With the new lists experience, SharePoint takes this capability to new heights, providing enhanced functionality and user-friendly features.

In this blog, we will explore the latest updates, including SharePoint list icons, moving lists between sites, managing columns, exporting lists to Excel, and bulk updating lists from Excel.

Mastering SharePoint Lists

Here's our run down of some top tips and tricks for mastering SharePoint Lists.

SharePoint List Icons

The first noticeable improvement in the new lists experience is the introduction of vibrant and intuitive list icons.

These icons not only add a visual appeal but also help users quickly identify the type of list they are working with. Whether it's a task list, contact list, or custom list, the icons make it easy to differentiate between various lists at a glance, enhancing user navigation and efficiency.

How to Move a SharePoint List to Another Site

One of the most requested features by SharePoint users has been the ability to move lists between different sites. The new lists experience simplifies this process significantly.

Now, you can effortlessly transfer your lists from one site to another, however you will have to manually move the data after creating the list in the target site, but this can normally be achieved using the built in copy and paste capability. This feature is particularly useful for organisations undergoing restructuring or migrating projects, ensuring continuity and consistency in data management.

Managing Columns: How to Delete and Rename a Column in a SharePoint List

Columns are essential components of any SharePoint list, as they define the data that the list will capture. The new lists experience offers improved tools for managing these columns. You can now easily delete or rename columns directly from the list settings. Deleting columns is straightforward and ensures that obsolete or redundant data fields no longer clutter your lists. Renaming columns, on the other hand, provides flexibility in adapting the list to evolving project requirements without the need to create a new list from scratch.

How to Export a SharePoint List to Excel

Exporting data to Excel has always been a crucial feature for users who need to perform in-depth analysis or create custom reports. The new lists experience makes this process even more seamless. With just a few clicks, you can export your SharePoint lists to Excel, preserving all the column data and formatting.

This functionality bridges the gap between SharePoint's data management capabilities and Excel's advanced data manipulation tools, offering the best of both worlds.

Bulk Updating a List from Excel

In addition to exporting data, the new lists experience also supports bulk updating lists from Excel. This feature allows users to make extensive updates to their lists without having to manually edit each entry. Simply make the necessary changes in Excel, and then import the updated data back into SharePoint. This is particularly useful for large datasets where manual entry would be time-consuming and prone to errors.

New List Forms Feature

Another exciting addition to SharePoint's new lists experience is the revamped List forms feature. These forms are designed to streamline the way users input and manage data within SharePoint lists.

With the new List forms, you can now customise the layout, design, and fields to better suit your organisation's needs. This customisation extends to adding conditional formatting and validation rules, ensuring that all data entries meet specific criteria before being submitted.

The forms also support drag-and-drop functionality, making it easier than ever to arrange fields and sections without the need for complex coding. This user-friendly approach allows even those with limited technical skills to create sophisticated forms that enhance data collection and improve accuracy.

Moreover, integration with PowerApps enables advanced users to develop more complex forms with additional functionalities, extending the capabilities of SharePoint lists to meet diverse business requirements. Whether you need simple data entry forms or highly customised solutions, the new List forms feature is a valuable tool for enhancing your SharePoint experience.

Enhancing Productivity with SharePoint Lists

In conclusion, the new lists experience in SharePoint brings a wealth of enhancements that streamline data management and improve user productivity.

From the visually appealing list icons to the powerful tools for moving, managing, and exporting lists, these features cater to the needs of modern organisations. And let’s not forget the powerful features that have always been there, such as version management of every change made to a list item enabling easy recovery from errors, or the ability to share an individual list item with another user, even if they would not normally have access to the list.

Embracing these updates will not only make your work more efficient but also allow you to leverage SharePoint's full potential in managing your information.

Stay tuned to our blog for more tips and updates on maximising your SharePoint experience.