Top 3 Features in a SharePoint Online List

The following are three hidden gems for making the most of a SharePoint Online list:

1. Favoriting a List for Easy Access: Quickly access the most important or active information by favoriting a list. Simply use the star icon next to the list’s title and click it. The favorited list will appear at the top of the Lists home page, both on the web and in the mobile app.
2. Create a List from a Template: When starting a new project, one can utilize one of the ready-made templates available in Microsoft Lists. These templates cover common scenarios such as work progress tracking, asset management, and employee onboarding.
3. Replicate an Existing List: If one already has a perfectly formatted and configured list, easily replicate it for similar efforts. Create a new list using the format and structure of an existing list that was made.

Top 5 Best Practices for SharePoint Lists

The following are five best practices in regard to SharePoint lists: 

1. Keep the list focused: Keep the list to only one purpose or context and try not to mix information.
2. Use the modern experience: If one can use the modern interface that is best.
3. Plan for large lists. One should plan for building and operating large SharePoint Lists and Libraries well above the item limit threshold.
4. Be aware of the List View Threshold: This is when the number of items or documents is so high that SharePoint displays an error instead of the content.
5. Use proper information architecture: To use SharePoint safely and effectively, use the right security settings and tips for efficient administration.

6 Examples of How SharePoint Lists Can Be Used

The following are six  examples of how SharePoint lists can be used:

• Contact lists - Store contact information for projects, customers, employees, etc. 
• Customer support lists - Track support tickets and their status.
• Event lists - Track event information, such as dates, times, and locations.
• Inventory lists - Track inventory levels, locations, and reorder aspects.
• Issues lists - Track simple core and key issues for any project or business.
• Project lists - Track basic project tasks, milestones, and budgets.
• Task lists - Track basic tasks, deadlines, and progress.

6 Tips for Using SharePoint Lists Effectively

The following are six tips for using SharePoint list’s effectively:

• Use descriptive names for the lists and columns.
• Use the correct data type for each column.
• Use required and unique columns to ensure that entered data is valid.
• Use views to filter and sort the list data.
• Use rules and logic to automate tasks.
• Share the lists with the appropriate users.

4 Additional Tips & Tricks for Using SharePoint Lists

The following are four additional tips and tricks for using SharePoint lists:

• Use custom views to create views for different audiences. Example: you could create a view for managers which shows all of the tasks that are assigned to their team members.
• Use alerts to notify when changes are made to a list. This is a helpful aspect for staying up-to-date on important changes.
• Use Power Automate to automate tasks related to lists. Example: one could create a flow to automatically send an email when a new item is added to a list.
• Use the SharePoint mobile app to access and edit lists no matter where you are.

6 Tips & Tricks for Using SharePoint Lists

The following are six tips and tricks for using SharePoint lists:

• Choose the right column type. SharePoint lists offer several column types, such as text, number, date, and choice. Choose the column type to ensure that the data is stored and displayed correctly.
• Use calculated columns to calculate values. Calculated columns allow one to calculate values based on other columns in the list. This is useful for calculating totals, percentages, and averages.
• Use lookup columns to link data from other lists. Lookup columns allow one to link data from one list to another list. This can be useful in regard to creating relationships between lists, such as a list of tasks and projects.
• Use views to filter and sort data. Views allow one to filter and sort the data in a list to display only the information that is needed. One can create multiple views for a list to display data in different ways.
• Use conditional formatting to highlight important data. Conditional formatting allows one to highlight important data in a list, such as overdue tasks or items that warrant attention.
• Use permissions to control access to the list. Permissions allow one to control who can access and edit a list. One can set permissions at the list level or at the item level.