SharePoint 2010 - Using Lists

In this article we can focus on Lists in SharePoint. We can create multiple lists in SharePoint 2010. The limit can be configured through Central Administration.

For starting, use our site collection URL to open the page.


Creating a List

Now we can start by creating a List. As mentioned in the previous article a SharePoint List is a collection of items. We can specify columns as metadata for the List. We can create a List based on existing templates or from scratch.

Click on the Lists option from the left side and click the Create button. The following dialog box appears:


Choose one of the templates; for example Announcements. Enter the name for your list and Click the Create button. The new List will be created as shown below:


You can use the Items or List ribbons to add item, or modify the view.

Adding items to a List

Click on the Add new Announcement link from the List and you will get the following screen:


Enter the details for Announcement and click the Save button. Your new item will be displayed as below:


Deleting a List

We might be required to delete an existing entire List. In this case do the following steps.

  1. Open the List
  2. Click the List ribbon menu item

  3. Click List Settings

  4. Use Delete this List link


Now the list will be deleted from the site.

Note: In a list there is always an ID column which is hidden. So while creating custom columns for the list, the name ID will be reserved. It is case-sensitive too.

Indexes on List

SharePoint allows us to manage large amounts of data. The data are actually be stored inside SQL Server database tables. So we can suggest the Indexing feature of tables to allow faster fetching of records. We can use the Indexed Columns feature of any List to provide indexing.

Click on the List Settings > Indexed Columns link to pen Indexed Columns page.


Use the Create a new Index in the upcoming page. Choose the column for indexing and click the Ok button to create the index.


Now the index will be successfully created and shown in the index details of List.


In real world scenarios indexes provide high leverage in data loading and manipulations.



In this article we have explored Lists and Indexes in SharePoint. The list provides an interface to store related entities and library provides document storage facility. There are many more templates to explore in the List section.