Transcript Wrapping Your Head Around Content Types
Wrapping Your Head Around Content Types
MORE THAN JUST DOCUMENTS
Scott Ray Brewster
MCTS SharePoint in 2008 Sec+, ITIL, MOF, CKM http://www.linkedin.com/in/scottbrewster @madwhitehatter http://www.madwhitehatter.com
What is a content type?
“A content type is a reusable collection of metadata (columns), workflow, behavior, and other settings for a category of items or documents in a Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010 list or document library. Content types enable you to manage the settings for a category of information in a centralized, reusable way.” Enterprise (OOTB) Content Types Site Content Types List Content Types
Document Content Types
What most of you have seen. New template or formatted content you use over and over.
Project Plan Meeting Agenda Meeting Minutes Change Request Invoice Work Order Add the template directly to the content type.
Content Type Planning Put it all on paper first.
Don’t forget to build your look up lists first.
Create a base content type for all of your child content types. Think of how you can cascade additional columns to save time at creation.
Year-based content types could add a new dynamic, so base FY15 on FY14 and FY16 on FY15 and so on.
Title Filename Choice Column 1 Choice Column 2 Choice Column 3 Mult-line Text Column Base Content Type
X X X
Child 1 CT Child 2 CT
X X X X X X X X X X
Example: Project Plans and Meeting Minutes Put it all on paper first.
Don’t forget to build your look up lists first.
Create a base content type for all of your child content types. Think of how you can cascade additional columns to save time at creation.
Year-based content types could add a new dynamic, so base FY15 on FY14 and FY16 on FY15 and so on.
Title Filename Classification Project Document Status Review Comments New Doc Content Type
X X X
Meeting Minutes
X X X X
Project Plan
X X X X X X
Creating a New Document Content Type
Other Content Types
Take advantage of these.
Does a list look more like a spreadsheet or a database?
Lists are databases; content types are tables.
AllItems.aspx is your join query for all of your tables.
All other views are just different queries.
Example: Contact List You don’t want to have your team sync 20 different contact lists to Outlook. Must use the Contact list to make the sync. Columns must match Outlook fields.
Only use fields in each content type that you must and delete the rest.
Last Name First Name Address Number Company Product Business Unit Manager Date of Hire Contact
X X X X
Vendor
X X X X X X
Employee
X X X X X X X
Example: Super Calendar Overlays have their purposes, but they don’t capture extra metadata.
Do you want location for someone’s vacation?
Want to be able to use a CQWP to pull all of the vacations on every calendar in the site collection?
Want to be able to run a workflow to approve someone’s TDY?
Title Location Start Time End Time Company Sponsored Speaking Leave Type Emergency POC Approval Event
X X X X
TDY
X X X X X X
Leave
X X X X X X X X
Example: Military Orders Log Just ran into this issue and couldn’t find any help when I searched online or called out for help.
Example: Military Orders Log Just ran into this issue and couldn’t find any help when I searched online or called out for help.
Example: Military Orders Log Just ran into this issue and couldn’t find any help when I searched online or called out for help.
Example: Military Orders Log Just ran into this issue and couldn’t find any help when I searched online or called out for help.
Example: Military Orders Log Just ran into this issue and couldn’t find any help when I searched online or called out for help.
Example: Military Orders Log Just ran into this issue and couldn’t find any help when I searched online or called out for help.
Example: Military Orders Log Just ran into this issue and couldn’t find any help when I searched online or called out for help.
Pittfalls
Calculations will run for content types other than where you want them if you don’t use plenty of IF statements. Datasheet views can start to play havoc if you have calculations that run on columns where not every content type has them.
No permissions on the content types. Title is the same for all content types, so it might be best to have some real thought into how you intend to use them.