Understanding the Range of List and Library Options

Chapter 18, “SharePoint Foundation Versus SharePoint Server 2010,” provided some initial information about the lists and libraries provided in the different versions of SharePoint 2010 in Table 18.8. This section delves into more detail on the different options and provides some guidance on how they should be used from a high level. Due to the sheer number of lists and libraries as shown in Table 20.1, a detailed overview of each one is beyond the scope of this chapter. This table clarifies whether the template will create a list or a library, whether the template is available in SharePoint Foundation 2010 or SharePoint Server 2010 Standard or Enterprise, and provides notes on what the list or library is designed by Microsoft to be used for, and key tidbits of information about effectively using the list or library.

Table 20.1. Library and List Options in SharePoint Foundation 2010 and SharePoint Server 2010 Standard and Enterprise

Although this list is certainly not enough to make the final decision about which lists and libraries the organization will support and make available to specific sets of users, it can serve as a starting point, and the grid can be expanded for use during the planning process. The design team can simply review the lists and libraries, make decisions about whether to use each one, and determine whether specific lists or libraries meet the needs of a subset of users, groups, or divisions and verify that they are all included in the version of SharePoint that the organization has chosen. If an older version of Office is being used by the organization, such as Office 2003, certain libraries will have limited functionality, such as the Slide Library, which can only have slides published to it from PowerPoint 2007 or 2010. Likewise, InfoPath is required to publish forms to a form library and recommended to create ODC or UDC files in a data connection library.

Leveraging the Team Site Template for Standardized Lists and Libraries

Organizations that want to minimize the design and planning process can of course choose to use the team site template and stick to the default lists and libraries provided in it, rather than spend time discussing the merits of the range of lists and libraries. The team site template contains the following lists and libraries:

• Shared Documents document library

• Site Assets document library

• Site Pages wiki library

• Announcements announcements list

• Calendar calendar list

• Links links list

• Tasks tasks list

• Team Discussion discussion board

The team site template has evolved over several editions of SharePoint and so represents a great deal of thought and review of which lists and libraries are of the most interest to typical user groups. Use of site templates and the process of customizing site templates is covered in Chapter 21, “Designing and Managing Pages and Sites for Knowledge Workers.”