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Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Help and How-to >  Customizing sites, pages, lists, and libraries >  Customizing pages, lists, and libraries
Change a content type for a list or library
Change a content type for a list or library

Any changes that you make to a content type (content type: A reusable group of settings for a category of content. Use content types to manage the metadata, templates, and behaviors of items and documents consistently. Content types are defined at the site level and used on lists and libraries.) for a list or library apply only to the instance of that content type that has been added to the list or library. The parent site content type from which the content type was created is not updated with the changes.

What do you want to do?

Add a document template to a content type

You can associate a document template only with a document content type (any content type that is derived from the document parent site content type). By associating a document template with a content type, you can help ensure that when authors create new documents of this content type, the documents are all based on an identical template.

For example, your organization can use a particular document template for legal contracts. If you associate this document template with the content type that your organization uses for legal contracts, any new legal contracts that are created by using this content type are all based on this legal contract document template.

  1. If the library is not already open, click its name on the Quick Launch.

    If the name of your library does not appear, click View All Site Content, and then click the name of your library.

  2. On the Settings menu Settings menu, click the settings for the type of library that you are opening.

    For example, in a document library, click Document Library Settings.

  3. Under Content Types, click the name of the content type that you want to change.

     Note    If the document library is not set up to allow multiple content types, the Content Types section does not appear on the Customize page for the library.

  4. Under Settings, click Advanced Settings.
  5. If you want to provide the URL for an existing document template, in the Document Template section, click Enter the URL of an existing document template, and then type the URL for the location of the document template that you want to use.

    You can use an absolute URL or a URL that is relative to a location on a server, site, or resource folder. The following table provides examples of the types of URLs that you can use. The examples assume the existence of a content type resource folder (the folder that contains the files for site content types) located at http://contoso/_cts/Content Type Name/, and that the document template is named Docname.doc.

     Note    A resource folder, which is labeled _cts/Content Type Name, where Content Type Name is the name of the site content type, exists at the root level of each site.

    URL type

    Example

    Absolute

    http://contoso/_cts/Content Type Name/Docname.doc

    Site relative

    ~site/Library Name/Docname.doc

    Server relative

    _cts/Content Type Name/Docname.doc

    Resource folder relative

    Docname.doc

  6. If you want to upload the document template that you want to use, in the Document Templates section, click Upload a new document template, and then click Browse. In the Choose File dialog box, browse to the location of the file that you want to use, click the file name, and then click Open.
  7. Click OK.
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Add a column to a content type

You can specify the properties or metadata that you want to collect for an item of a specific content type by adding columns to that content type. For example, your organization might want to track a specific set of metadata for all of its purchase orders, such as account number, project number, and project manager. If you add columns for account number, project number, and project manager to the purchase order content type, users are prompted to provide this metadata for items of this content type.

If you have a list or library that contains items of multiple content types, you can collect unique metadata for items of each content type by adding columns directly to the relevant content type instead of to the list or library itself.

  1. If the list or library is not already open, click its name on the Quick Launch.

    If the name of your list or library does not appear, click View All Site Content, and then click the name of your list or library.

  2. On the Settings menu Settings menu, click List Settings, or click the settings for the type of library that you are opening.

    For example, in a document library, click Document Library Settings.

  3. Under Content Types, click the name of the content type that you want to change.

     Note    If the list or library is not set up to allow multiple content types, the Content Types section does not appear on the Customize page for the list or library.

  4. Under Columns, click Add from existing site or list columns.
  5. In the Select Columns section, under Select columns from, click the arrow to select the group from which you want to add a column.
  6. Under Available columns, click the column that you want to add, and then click Add to move the column to the Columns to add list.
  7. To add additional columns, repeat steps 5 and 6.
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Change the order of columns for a content type

  1. If the list or library is not already open, click its name on the Quick Launch.

    If the name of your list or library does not appear, click View All Site Content, and then click the name of your list or library.

  2. On the Settings menu Settings menu, click List Settings, or click the settings for the type of library that you are opening.

    For example, in a document library, click Document Library Settings.

  3. Under Content Types, click the name of the content type that you want to change.

     Note    If the document library is not set up to allow multiple content types, the Content Types section does not appear on the Customize page for the library.

  4. Under Columns, click Column order.
  5. In the Column Order section, click the arrow next to the column that you want to reorder in the Position from Top column, and then select the order number that you want.
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Make a column required for a content type

If you make columns required for a content type, users are prompted to provide metadata (column values) when they create new items of this content type.

  1. If the list or library is not already open, click its name on the Quick Launch.

    If the name of your list or library does not appear, click View All Site Content, and then click the name of your list or library.

  2. On the Settings menu Settings menu, click List Settings, or click the settings for the type of library that you are opening.

    For example, in a document library, click Document Library Settings.

  3. Under Content Types, click the name of the content type that you want to change.

     Note    If the document library is not set up to allow multiple content types, the Content Types section does not appear on the Customize page for the library.

  4. Under Columns, click the name of the column that you want to make required.
  5. In the Column Settings section, click Required.
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Add a workflow to a content type

Workflows (workflow: The automated movement of documents or items through a specific sequence of actions or tasks related to a business process. Workflows can be used to consistently manage common business processes, such as document approval or review.) make it possible to specify a business process for items and documents in a site. Organizations can use workflows to automate and manage certain common business processes, such as document approval or review. By adding a workflow to a content type, you can help ensure that all items of that content type are subject to consistent and similar business processes. If a workflow has been added to a content type, that workflow can be started on individual items of that content type.

 Note    You can add a workflow to a content type for a list or library only if a workflow has been deployed for your site or workspace. If workflows do not appear to be available, contact your central administrator.

  1. If the list or library is not already open, click its name on the Quick Launch.

    If the name of your list or library does not appear, click View All Site Content, and then click the name of your list or library.

  2. On the Settings menu Settings menu, click List Settings, or click the settings for the type of library that you are opening.

    For example, in a document library, click Document Library Settings.

  3. Under Content Types, click the name of the content type to which you want to add a workflow.

     Note    If the list or library is not set up to allow multiple content types, the Content Types section does not appear on the Customize page for the list or library.

  4. Under Settings, click Workflow settings.
  5. On the Change Workflow Settings page, click Add a workflow.
  6. On the Add a Workflow page, in the Workflow section, click the workflow template that you want to use.
  7. In the Name section, type a unique name for the workflow.
  8. In the Tasks List section, specify a task list to use with this workflow.

     Notes 

    • You can use the default Tasks list, or you can create a new one. If you use the default Tasks list, workflow participants will be able to find and view their workflow tasks easily by using the My Tasks view of the Tasks list.
    • Create a new tasks list if the tasks for this workflow will involve or reveal sensitive or confidential data that you want to keep separate from the general Tasks list.
    • Create a new tasks list if your organization will have numerous workflows or if workflows will involve numerous tasks. In this instance, you might want to create tasks lists for each workflow.

  9. In the History List section, select a history list to use with this workflow. The History list displays all of the events that occur during each instance of the workflow.

     Note    You can use the default History list or you can create a new one. If your organization will have numerous workflows, you might want to create a separate history list for each workflow.

  10. In the Start Options section, specify how, when, or by whom a workflow can be started.

     Notes 

    • Specific options may not be available if they are not supported by the workflow template that you selected.
    • The option Start this workflow to approve publishing a major version of an item is available only if support for major and minor versioning is enabled for the library and if the workflow template that you selected can be used for content approval.

  11. Click Next.
  12. On the Customize Workflow page, select any additional options that you want, and then click OK.
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Make a content type read-only

If you want to prevent other people from making changes to a content type that has been added to a list or library, you can make the list content type read-only. If you make a list content type read-only, this prevents the list content type from inheriting any changes that are made to its parent site content type.

  1. If the list or library for which you want to change a content type is not already open, click its name under Lists or Documents on the Quick Launch.
  2. On the Settings menu Settings menu, do one of the following:
    • If you are working in a list, click List Settings.
    • If you are working in a document library, click Document Library Settings.
  3. Under Content Types, click the name of the content type that you want to make read-only.

     Note    If the list or library is not set up to allow multiple content types, the Content Types section does not appear on the Customize page for the list or library.

  4. Under Settings, click Advanced settings.
  5. In the Read Only section, under Should this content type be read only?, click Yes.
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See Also