Adding and Editing List Columns

You can add any number of columns of different types (text, multiple choice, a list of persons at Tufts, etc) to your list. Microsoft has an explanation of each column type here. Note: Choosing the Person column type will provide a dropdown of all Tufts persons.

You can rename, delete, edit the configuration of, and change the type of existing columns.

Your list always starts with a Title column. This is a friendly identifier for the list item; there’s a separate uniqueID column which is hidden by default.

Title is the first column and can hold content

  1. To the right of your existing columns, next to the column names, click +Add column.
    Add column is the last tab option
  2. Choose a Column Type.
    A text column is default
  3. Click Next.
  4. In the right panel, give the column a short name and a description.
    Name will be the column title
  5. Choose your column options. These options will be different depending on the column type you chose.
    Choice columns have options like default value
  6. Expand the More Options dropdown to view more column options, such as requiring that the column contains information (it cannot be left blank for any list item).
    Requiring info is the second to last option
  7. At the bottom of the panel, click Save.
    Save is usually a purple button
  1. Click the column name to open a dropdown menu.
    Our example column is named Current Status
  2. Click Column settings to open the column settings menu.
    Column settings is the second option
  3. Click Edit at the top of the column settings menu.
    Edit is near the top of column settings
  4. In the right panel, make your edits.
  5. At the bottom of the panel, click Save.
    Save is usually a purple button
  1. Click the column name to open a dropdown menu.
    Our example column is named Current Status
  2. Click Column settings to open the column settings menu.
    Column settings is the second option
  3. Click Edit at the top of the column settings menu.
    Edit is near the top of column settings
  4. In the right panel, at the bottom, click Delete.
    Delete is the third option

MS Lists has automatically records information about each item in your list in metadata columns. These columns can be shown, hidden, and rearranged like any other column in your list.

Some of these columns are:

  • ID: A unique ID assigned to this list entry.
  • Modified: The date this list entry was last modified.
  • Created: The date this list entry was created.
  • Created By: The user who created this list entry.
  • Modified By: The user who last modified this list entry.
    Meta columns display as normal columns in your list
  1. In the top right of your list, click the name of your list.
    Our example list is called all items
  2. In the dropdown, click Add or remove fields.
    Add or remove is near the bottom of the dropdown
  3. Check columns you want to show and uncheck columns you want to hide. This does not delete the column from your list.
    Columns to show or hide include metadata columns
  4. Click Apply.

You can rearrange multiple columns at once or move a single column left or right.

To rearrange multiple columns at once:

  1. In the top right of your list, click the name of your list.
    Our example list is called all items
  2. In the dropdown, click Add or remove fields.
    Add or remove is near the bottom of the dropdown
  3. Hover over any column and use the arrows on the right side to move the column up and down to a different position in the list.
    The arrows point up or down
  4. Alternatively, click and hold a column to drag and drop the column to a different position in the list.
  5. Click Apply.

To move a single column left or right:

  1. Click the column name to open a dropdown menu.
    Our example column is named Current Status
  2. Click Column settings to open the column settings menu.
    Column settings is the second option
  3. Click Move Left or Move Right to move the column.
    Move Left and Move Right are two separate menu options