Managing Metadata and Content Types in SharePoint 2010 : Site Columns Practical Applications

• The administrator can manually create the same column in the other lists and libraries that need it. If changes are needed to the settings of the column, the administrator will need to manually make the changes in each list and library.

• The administrator can create a template of the entire document library or list and then use that template to create a new list or library and it will contain the Project Name column and choice values. If changes are needed to the settings of the column, the administrator will need to manually make the changes in each list and library.

• The administrator can create a site column that can be referenced by different lists and libraries and even different sites within the site collection. Changes can be made to the site column that will be immediately reflected in the locations where this column is used. The column can also be modified from the libraries and lists where it is used.

• The administrator can create a site column, and also create a content type that uses the site column. This allows the benefits of the site column capabilities and leverages the content type’s capabilities.

Follow these steps to create a site column called Project Name and then add it to a list, and then experiment with making changes to the site column from the list to verify these changes do not go “upstream”:

1.	Access the Site Settings page for the top-level site of a site collection where the site column will be used using an account that is a member of the Site Collection Owners group.
2.	Click Site Columns in the Galleries section. Note To create or manage a site column, the user must have web designer privileges on the site collection. If an administrator does not have the appropriate access rights to a child site, the push-down process to that child site will fail.
3.	The Site Columns page will display. Note that there are a large number of site columns already in existence for the site collection, many of which are self-explanatory. Click the Create link on the toolbar.
4.	Enter the title Project Name and choose the Choice column type. Note that there are several columns types that may be new to the administrator. These include Full HTML Content with Formatting and Constraints for Publishing, Image with Formatting and Constraints for Publishing, and Hyperlink with Formatting and Constraints for Publishing.
5.	Scroll down to the Group section and click the circle next to New Group and enter the name Company ABC Columns.
6.	Scroll down to the Additional Column Settings section and enter in several choices for the project names. In this example, enter Project ABC, Project DEF, Project GHI. Select Yes under Allow Fill-In Choices, and clear the text in the Default Value field.
7.	Expand the Column Validation section, and enter the following formula, as shown in Figure 1: =FIND("Project",[Project Name], 1) Figure 1. Creating a site column with choices and column validation settings visible.
8.	Enter text in the User Message section: Value must include the word "Project".
9.	Click OK to save. The Site Columns page will now show the new site column. If needed, the name of the site column can be clicked and the settings modified.

Now that the site column has been created, it can be used in a list or library. Follow these steps to use the site column in a list and to test the addition of values:

1.	Create a Tasks list and title it Site Column Test.
2.	Click List Settings from the List tab on the Ribbon.
3.	Click Add from Existing Site Columns in the Columns section.
4.	On the Add Columns from Site Columns page, access the group Company ABC Columns created in the previous exercise. Click Project Name entry in the Available Site Columns pane and click the Add button, as shown in Figure 2. Click OK to save. Figure 2. Adding a site column to a list.
5.	Click the name of the list in the breadcrumb to return to the list and click the Add New Item link.
6.	Create a new task with the title of Task 1; leave the default values and scroll down to where the field Project Name is visible. Note that there is a drop-down list with the field values defined in the previous exercise. Verify that Project ABC, Project DEF, and Project GHI appear.
7.	Click the circle next to Specify Your Own Value and enter the text Project JKLMNOP and click Save.
8.	Now see whether the new value added modifies the site column by navigating to the Site Settings page by accessing Site Settings from the Site Actions drop-down menu and clicking Site Columns.
9.	Click Project Name in the Company ABC Columns section and verify that the new project name was not added to the site column.

Now that the site column has been created and it is referenced in a list, the administrator can experiment with further modifications to get a better sense for the connectivity between the site column and the list. For example, the following tests will be revealing:

• Modify the title of the column in the list where it is used. Note that this doesn’t change the site column settings in the Site Column Gallery.

• Modify the type of column (for example, change it from Choice to Single Line of Text) and verify this doesn’t change the site column settings in the Site Column Gallery.

• Add a new value to the site column in the Site Column Gallery and verify that it populates to the instance of the site column in the test list.

• Remove a value from the site column choice fields that is actually used in the list, and verify that the value in the list still remains even after the site column has been modified.