SharePoint List and Library Views
Now that we’ve covered the two most common SharePoint apps (Lists & Libraries) and we understand what they do and how they store and organize information into columns, the next thing to understand is how the information stored in the list or library is presented to users: views.
SharePoint uses views to display different information while maintaining the look and feel of an app. So let’s use our grocery list again, only this time I’ll show you all of the information that list contains.
Store | Item Name | Section | Description | Price | On Sale | Coupon |
Market St | Bread | Bakery | Whole Wheat | 3.99 | No | No |
Market St | Milk | Dairy | 2% Half-Gallon | 2.49 | No | No |
Market St | Eggs | Cold Foods | Cage-free Organic | 4.85 | No | Yes |
Market St | Dog Food | Pet Supplies | Purina Healthy Weight | 12.69 | Yes | No |
Target | Towel | Linens | Egyptian Cotton | 15.99 | Yes | Yes |
Target | Pillow | Bedding | Down Throw | 24.99 | No | No |
You might be saying “That isn’t the same list! There are two other columns, and two items have been added!” Well, you’re partially correct. Let’s pretend we entered the above list into SharePoint.
I would create a view (it’s really easy) which filters the items in the shopping list by the following criteria:
- Only Show items from Market Street
- Only Show the columns
- Item Name
- Description
- Price
- Coupon
Here’s what the shopping list in SharePoint would look like. The information is still stored in the list, but it’s filtered by certain criteria in the view I created. Pretty simple right?
Item Name | Description | Price | Coupon |
Bread | Whole Wheat | 3.99 | No |
Milk | 2% Half-Gallon | 2.49 | No |
Eggs | Cage-free Organic | 4.85 | Yes |
Dog Food | Purina Healthy Weight | 12.69 | No |
Views can be used with all libraries, lists, and most apps in SharePoint. I’ll show some examples and give you an idea of exactly how creating views and switching between them works in the video.