In this edition of the đź§Microsoft 365 Compass🧠newsletter, I’ll explore some exciting enhancements to SharePoint Lists that could revolutionize how you collect and manage data. Several months ago, Microsoft introduced the SharePoint List New Form Experience, and if you’re not already using it, you’re definitely missing out! This feature allows you to build user-friendly data collection forms on top of SharePoint Lists. Best of all, these forms can be shared with anyone in your organization without granting them direct access to the underlying list (note: sharing with external users isn’t supported yet).
What makes this feature even better? The form’s interface is similar to Microsoft Forms, making it intuitive and accessible for users at all levels. This familiarity opens up new possibilities for streamlined and effective data collection.
While I won’t dive into all the details of how it works in this post (you can check out my in-depth tutorial here), I want to focus on the latest enhancements to this feature: the ability to include lookup fields and attachment fields in your forms—making them even more versatile and powerful.
What is a SharePoint List Look Up Field?
A SharePoint List Lookup Field is a column type that enables you to retrieve and display information from another list within the same site. Essentially, it links two lists, allowing you to reference data in one while working with another.
For example, let’s say you have a primary list called Invoices. This list tracks various details, including the Department associated with each invoice and other related information such as the Business Unit. While you could create separate columns in the Invoice list for each of these fields, doing so isn’t ideal:
- Consistency: Manually entering department details increases the risk of typos or mismatched values.
- Centralized Management: Updates to department details (e.g., name changes or new business units) would require editing multiple records in the Invoice list instead of managing this data in one place.
Instead, a better approach is to host department-related data in a separate Departments list. This list could include columns for each department’s Name and Business Unit. Then, in the Invoice list, you could add a Lookup Column that allows users to select a department from the Departments list. When a department is selected, additional fields like the Business Unit can automatically populate in the Invoice list.
This approach simplifies data entry, reduces errors, and ensures consistency across the system. If you’d like a step-by-step guide on adding lookup fields to SharePoint Lists, check out my full tutorial here.
By the way, this is exactly the type of content I cover in my SharePoint List Fundamentals course, where you can dive deeper into concepts like lookup fields, data management best practices, and more—learn all about it here.
When Microsoft initially launched the SharePoint List New Form Experience, it lacked support for lookup fields and attachment fields. However, recent updates have addressed this limitation, making the new List Experience even more useful. As shown in the clip below, the Customize Form pane’s field picker now allows you to include both lookup fields, like the “Department” column, and attachment fields.
Why These Enhancements Matter
The addition of lookup and attachment fields significantly enhances the utility of the SharePoint List New Form Experience by enabling dynamic data connections, supporting document uploads, and streamlining workflows. These updates make the new List Experience a powerful tool for managing data, automating processes, and improving organizational productivity.
Thank you for reading this edition of the Microsoft 365 Compass newsletter. Stay tuned for next week’s edition, where I’ll cover more tips and updates to help you get the most out of Microsoft 365!
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