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How to rename the Attachments column in SharePoint lists

photo of purple paper clip on green background

Lists in Microsoft Lists (your own or those in SharePoint) offer a great way to store and manage data. One useful feature is the ability to add attachments to list items – think photos in maintenance requests, or screenshots in IT Support requests. The Attachments column is built into every list automatically (though it can be disabled if you’d like). However, you might want to rename this column to something more descriptive or relevant to a particular business process such as Supporting Documentation or Content for Review. Or maybe you’d just like to match the naming conventions or style guide recommendations already used in your organization.

Unlike other columns, the attachments column cannot be deleted or renamed using the list settings page, or by using the column header menu when viewing the list. However, you can rename the attachments column by modifying the URL of the generic column settings page, as described in the following section.

How to rename the attachments column in SharePoint lists

  1. Go to the SharePoint list for which you’d like to rename the Attachments column.
  2. Click on the settings (gear) icon and select List settings.
  3. Scroll down to the Columns section on the List settings page and click on any column name listed.
  4. In your browser’s address bar, replace the selected column’s name in the URL with Attachments after &Field= and press Enter to navigate to the column settings for the attachments column. Here, you’ll rename the column in the Column name box.

https://yoursite.sharepoint.com/_layouts/15/FldEditEx.aspx?List=%7BYourListID%7D&Field=Attachments

Demonstration of step 4 | Click to enlarge
  1. Click OK to save your changes.

Please note that some of the new list templates (Employee onboarding, Issue tracker, Content scheduler, etc.) come with the Attachment column already renamed to something else, but you can still get to its settings page by using Attachments for its field name in Step 4’s URL.

See a video demonstration of this process here:

In this blog post, I have shown you how to rename the attachments column in SharePoint lists. I hope you found this helpful. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below.

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How to use columns and views in SharePoint Online lists and libraries (Video)

Views are a great way to create multiple “reports” or ways of viewing the data contained in a SharePoint list or library. For example, you may want one view for managers, and another view of the same data targeted towards everyday users. In this lesson, you’ll learn about columns and how they’re used to create specific views.

This video is part of my FREE 30+ lesson self-paced online training course called Collaboration in Microsoft 365 (OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams). Enroll today at https://www.NateTheTrainer.com for the full learning experience including lesson discussions, quizzes, exams, and a completion certificate.

You can also watch the entire course as a YouTube playlist as well (just without the course discussions, quizzes, exam, and certificate). Be sure to subscribe to support my channel and for easy access to future content.

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How to add a Version column to modern SharePoint list and library views

Versioning is enabled by default on all modern lists and libraries in Microsoft 365 and saves the last 500 major versions of an item/document . However, you won’t see a column displaying an item’s/document’s version number automatically in list/library views unless you explicitly add it.

Normally in modern lists and libraries you could show/hide columns that already exist by selecting the column header titled “+ Add column” then “Show/hide columns” as seen in the screenshot below.

However, when we do this, Version isn’t an option.

Solution #1: Edit the current view

We visit some classic SharePoint settings to find this column. Simply follow the steps below to add the “Version” column to your list or library view.

1. Go to the list or library and make sure it’s on the view to which you’re adding a column for Version

2. Select the view name (All Items or All Documents is default) then Edit current view

3. Scroll down to the bottom of the list of column names and select the checkbox next to Version.

4. Click OK at the top or bottom of the screen to save.

Note: If you want to rearrange the order of columns as well (perhaps placing Version between other columns) then be sure to change its corresponding number next to its row in the view settings as well.

Solution #2: Edit the view through List/Library settings

Rather than using Edit current view from the view itself, you can also get to the same view settings by going to Settings > List Settings or Settings > Library Settings.

Scroll down to the Views section and select the name of the view for which you’re adding the Version column then proceed with steps 3 and 4 from Solution #1.

And through either method, now we have a column for Version added to our view.

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Make full-width SharePoint hyperlink column clickable beyond just the link text

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

This is such an obscure topic, but maybe it will help somebody curious out there. I recently had a request to alter a classic experience list with a single hyperlink column so that users could click in the white space of a cell and it takes them to that cell’s hyperlink value as if they’d actually clicked the link.

To illustrate what I mean, notice how the arrow pointer changes to a hand cursor like the whole cell is clickable. And when white (blue) space of the Google link is clicked, it takes us to Google anyway:

Click to enlarge

This was done with the tiniest bit of CSS added to the page inside a <style> tag. Note that this will affect all links in tables on the page to which it’s applied. So if you have more than one table on the page, this could cause issues. But in my case I just had the single-column list I was working with and this sufficed.

td a {
    display:inline-flex;
    width:100%;
}

Good luck!

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SharePoint conditional column formatting with JSON: Beginner, intermediate, and advanced background colors example

I borrowed from Microsoft’s documentation on conditional column formatting recently to modify a modern experience list in SharePoint 2019. This also works for SharePoint Online/O365, but will not work in classic experiences (or pre-2019 server versions). I modified Microsoft’s example on conditional background colors for a numeric range and created a similar conditional column formatting result for text values.

In this example, I have a list for upcoming training opportunities. There’s a column named “Level” which is a choice field of either Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced. The JSON code at the bottom of this post changes the column’s background color value to green, yellow, or red respectively based on the level selection. Here’s a demonstration of the result:

Click to enlarge.

You could modify this code to suit your own column’s values/options, then paste it into the Column Formatting section of that column’s settings (List settings > Select column from Columns section). Do not change @currentField in the JSON code – that’s just a reference to whichever column you add it to and doesn’t need to be your column’s name.

Click to enlarge
{  
  "elmType": "div",  
  "txtContent": "@currentField",  
  "style": {  
    "color": "#fff",  
    "padding-left": "14px",  
    "background-color": {  
      "operator": "?",  
      "operands": [  
        {  
          "operator": "==",  
          "operands": [  
            "@currentField",  
            "Beginner"  
          ]  
        },  
        "#2ECC71",  
        {  
          "operator": "?",  
          "operands": [  
            {  
              "operator": "==",  
              "operands": [  
                "@currentField",  
                "Advanced"  
              ]  
            },  
            "#E74C3C",  
            {  
              "operator": "?",  
              "operands": [  
                {  
                  "operator": "==",  
                  "operands": [  
                    "@currentField",  
                    "Intermediate"  
                  ]  
                },  
                "#F1C40F",""
              ]  
            }  
          ]  
        }  
      ]  
    }  
  }  
}
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Add a thumbnail column for documents and media in a SharePoint Online document library

Mark Rackley recently tweeted about the ability to create a calculated column in SharePoint online document libraries that would automatically render thumbnails for documents. In the GIF from his tweet, it shows how this works for media files.

Naturally curious, I had to see how this worked for documents of .docx, .pdf, .pptx, etc. types. What I found is that it only currently supports some file types:

Supported file types (there’s likely even more I didn’t test):

  • Word (.docx)
  • PDF (.pdf)
  • Emails (.msg)
  • Images (.png, .gif, .jpg, etc.)
  • Media (.mp4)

Not-yet-supported file types:

  • Excel (.xlsx)
  • OneNote (.one)
  • PowerPoint (.pptx)

Create a thumbnail column in SharePoint Online document libraries

1. Add a new column to your document library (library settings > Create column).

2. Set the column name to Thumbnail. As for type, you have two options:

  • Leave type as Single line of text. Thanks to Dario Cassinerio for sharing that Single line of text type works as well as (and more simply than) Calculated set to [Title].
  • Mark Rackley suggests sticking with Calculated set to [Title] (see example screenshot) to prevent users from editing the text field in forms.

3. Click OK.

Supported file types will have thumbnails rendered (like .docx and .pdf in the example below) and others will just be blank (like .pptx and .xlsx in the example below).

Click to enlarge

Here is an animation demonstrating the entire process, start to finish using Single line of text as column type:

Click to enlarge

And another animation but using the Calculated column set to [Title] type:

Click to enlarge
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SharePoint column validation format difference between classic and modern experiences

The following column validation formula worked fine in SharePoint on-prem (2016 specifically, in my case), but returned an error when used in the exact same context in SharePoint Online’s modern UI:

EndDate<=Today()

The expected behavior, in SharePoint Server/on-prem OR SharePoint Online/O365, is that if someone enters a date beyond the current date, they’ll get an error message and cannot submit the form until it’s corrected and the validation formula resolves to TRUE.

Troubleshooting in SharePoint Online

I used this formula in SharePoint Server/on-prem, and it worked fine. Then I tried using the modern UI in SharePoint Online by using the column’s menu > Column settings > Edit.

But when you try to save the exact same formula (specifically from the modern experience side panel) you get the error “A formula has a syntax error.”

Then I decided to try the classic view of settings to compare on-prem and online as closely as possible. I went to Settings > List settings and selected my column.

And, as you already know, it WORKED when entered on this classic column settings page (in SharePoint Online still) instead of the modern column settings side panel accessed directly from the list view.

When I go back through the modern UI now that my formula saved successfully, I see what caused the problem. The modern UI requires that you begin the formula with an equals sign (=). When I created the formula through the classic column settings method, it automatically added the equals sign for me in the background.

Solution

So if you’re creating column validation formulas in the modern experience (or even in classic), just remember to add an equals sign (=) to the start of your formula.

Click to enlarge

The difference is simply which formats are accepted.

  • Classic: Start formulas with or without equals sign
  • Modern: Start formulas with equals sign
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Adjust column widths in classic SharePoint lists using CSS (including “Quick Edit”/datasheet views)

Once upon a time two years ago (two years?!?) I shared how you can adjust SharePoint column widths in traditional views using JQuery.

But adjusting the same widths in datasheet mode (quick edit, for example) is a bit different. After a bit of fiddling around, I found an answer that will allow you to adjust column widths for both standard and datasheet view types using just CSS.

The difference is in how you reference the column names in the css:

  • Standard (catches both filterable and non-filterable columns such as multi-line text): th.ms-vh2-nofilter div[DisplayName=’Column1′],th.ms-vh2 div[DisplayName=’Column1′]{…
  • Datasheet: th[Title=’Column1′] {…

Everything that follows that first line is the same in both types of views, fixing a minimum and regular width property for the column(s).

Standard Views (not quick edit)

<style>
th.ms-vh2-nofilter div[DisplayName='Justification'],th.ms-vh2 div[DisplayName='Justification']{
    min-width:500px!important;
    width:500px!important;
}
</style>

Datasheet/Quick Edit Views

<style>
th[Title='Justification']{
    min-width:500px!important;
    width:500px!important;
}
</style>

All Views

So if you’re including just one script reference for all views in your list, you’d be safe to include all formats in the script.

<style>
th[Title='Justification'],th.ms-vh2-nofilter div[DisplayName='Justification'],th.ms-vh2 div[DisplayName='Justification']{
    min-width:500px!important;
    width:500px!important;
}
</style>

Multiple columns

For multiple column width adjustments, just include another block for each column as seen here:

<style>
th[Title='Justification'],th.ms-vh2-nofilter div[DisplayName='Justification'],th.ms-vh2 div[DisplayName='Justification']{
    min-width:500px!important;
    width:500px!important;
}
th[Title='Other Column'],th.ms-vh2-nofilter div[DisplayName='Other Column'],th.ms-vh2 div[DisplayName='Other Column']{
    min-width:200px!important;
    width:200px!important;
}
</style>
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Change “Specify your own value” label to “Other” in SharePoint choice columns

In classic list views/forms and on-premise environments, your choice columns allow you let users specify their own value. But the label is literally “Specify your own value:”. This can be changed.

Note: If you’re using the modern experience, you don’t have this issue.

To change the label, add the following script to your newform.aspx page, changing the name of the field referenced (see below). You can add this script in a script editor web part as a snippet or save it as a .js file to your Site Assets and reference it in a content editor web part.

To get the actual field label, use F12 (developer tools) when viewing the form and select the checkbox. Copy everything after the ‘#’ sign or whatever the column name is, ending in ‘FillInRadio.’

Once you’ve added that script (and updated the field name with your own), save the page and you’ll see your new label:

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Using current date and/or time as default column value in SharePoint

Date and time fields can have a default value of “Today” or “Now” that populates if you don’t enter another value in the field before saving an item. In your date/time column settings: 

  • If you choose type “Date only” you’ll get the current date
  • If you choose “Date and time” you’ll get the current date and time

You can instead check the box for “Use calculated value” and use “=Now()” as the formula to return the exact same result. However, the benefit/difference of using the calculated option with =Now() instead of the “Today’s date” option is that if your users change from “Date only” to “Date and time” type down the road, “=Now()” will include both date and time values already. It doesn’t hurt to have time included and not displayed.

Finally, you can use the calculated value option to do true calculations for things like “Due date” or “Reminder” where you use a formula like:

  • =Now()+7 is exactly a week from the current date and time
  • =Now()+(1/24*n) where you’ll replace “n” with a number of hours from the current time

Note that these values will be static, meaning once the date/time populates, it doesn’t update when you edit the item. It’s merely a default value inserted upon creation if you don’t manually enter a different value.

Also, when using Now() with hourly calculations you’ll want to double-check your time zone settings (Site settings –> regional settings) and adjust your formulas accordingly if you’re unable to identify a fix.

If just using “Date only” type, you can instead use =Today() and not worry about time zone so much unless your calculations will involve units less than one day.

Related topics:

If you need a “live” always-updated value regardless of items being modified, you’ll need to create a separate “Today” column using Microsoft Flow or SharePoint Designer:

This post also includes ideas for calculations using today’s date.