Scenario/Problem: You want to create a new list item (for example, add a contact to a contacts list or a new event to a calendar list).
Solution:
When you’re working in a list, you create a new list item by using the
New Item button in the Items ribbon or using the Add New Item link that
might be shown under the view displaying the existing list items.
However, unlike with documents, using the New
Item button (above the list view or in the Items ribbon) does not open
another application but rather redirects you to a form that allows you
to fill in the properties or columns for the new list item (see Figure 1).
FIGURE 1 A sample properties page for creating a new task.
Because each list can have different
properties (or columns) in different orders, the screen can look
totally different in each list. For example, the announcements list has
properties such as Title and Body (see Figure 2), whereas the contacts list has properties such as First Name, Last Name, and Business Phone (see Figure 3).
FIGURE 2 A sample properties page for creating a new announcement.
FIGURE 3 A sample properties page for creating a new contact.
Similarly to document libraries, lists can
also support multiple content types. This means that the New Item
button in the Items ribbon might also offer a drop-down menu of options
for you to choose the sort of list item you want to create (see Figure 4). Depending on the content type you select, the properties fields might change.
FIGURE 4. Choosing content types for creating different types of contacts.
For example, a contacts list might give you
the option of creating an item of type External Contact, which would be
used for contacts outside the company. This content type asks you to
fill in the property for Company (see Figure 5).
An item of type Internal Contact, on the other hand, does not ask for
that property because it assumes that the contact belongs to your
company. Instead, it has the property Department (see Figure 6).
FIGURE 5 A sample properties page for creating a new external contact has the Company column.
FIGURE 6 A sample properties page for creating a new internal contact has the Department column.
