Saturday, December 4, 2010

SharePoint 2010: Using Visual Studio 2010 to Create a List Definition and List Instance (Based on a new Content Type)

In order to programmatically add a new list definition and instance based on a new content type, you will need to expand upon the solution/project created in the content type post. Right-click the project and select Add New Item. The Add New Item dialog appears:

Select List Definition from Content Type, enter a name, and then click Add. The SharePoint Customization Wizard appears:


Enter an appropriate display name for the list definition and select the content type from the drop-down. The drop-down will only show the content types that are being defined within the current solution. Leave the Add a list instance checked if you want the deployment of the solution to create the actual list. Click Finish.
The list definition elements file is opened. Add Unique=”TRUE”. The Unique setting means that the list instance will be created once and there is no need to show this definition to the users moving forward:

Expand the ListInstance1 item in the Solution Explorer and click on the Elements.xml underneath. This defines the instance of the list (or document library). Change the title to determine the name of the list instance. If the list will be a document library, modify the URL setting by removing the “Lists/”. Enter a name without spaces for the URL. Enter an appropriate description:

Save all of the changes to the files.

Right-click the Project in Solution Explorer and select Deploy. The content type package is built and added to the SharePoint farm solutions. The solution is deployed globally as a feature that is available at the site level. The site feature will be activated at the root site collection but may not be activated within other sites. The site columns, content type, and list (document library) are created accordingly on the root site.


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