Limitations Of Calculated Columns In Sharepoint

What Are Calculated Columns

A calculated column in SharePoint is a column that displays a value based on a formula. The formula can reference other columns and manipulate their values to calculate a result. Some key capabilities of calculated columns include:

Performing mathematical calculations like adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing values from other columns
Concatenating text from multiple columns into a single column
Extracting parts of values like the first name or last 4 digits using text functions
Formatting values like dates or numbers with built-in formatting functions

Calculated columns are useful when you need to display or aggregate data from other columns without affecting the source values. They allow customizing SharePoint lists and libraries to show information tailored to specific needs. Reasons to use calculated columns include:

Combining values from multiple columns like first and last names into a single column
Adding a count of related items for informational purposes
Formatting existing values for consistent display
Performing calculations like sums or percentages

Core Limitations

Lack of Complex Functions

The functions available for SharePoint calculated columns are limited compared to full-featured programming languages. There are no looping or conditional statements, and the built-in mathematical and text functions are restricted.

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For example, you cannot use complex statistical functions to calculate quartiles, correlations, or distributions. Financial functions like net present value and internal rate of return are also unavailable out-of-the-box.

In addition, all logic must be written in a single expression which cannot span multiple lines. This limits the length and complexity of formulas you can implement.

Difficulty with Large Datasets

SharePoint calculated columns begin to degrade in performance once they reference very large lists or databases with thousands of items. The formulas are applied to every item, which takes resources and affects list responsiveness.

You may encounter timeouts, errors, or processing delays when working with calculated columns on large data sets, especially if the formulas are complex. There are row limits on SharePoint lists themselves which calculated columns cannot circumvent.

This makes SharePoint calculated columns impractical for some big data analytics uses. The lack of aggregate functions also prevents things like sums or counts across huge datasets with a single formula.

Restricted Access to Other Columns

Formulas in a calculated column cannot access just any other column in the SharePoint site. The references are limited to columns from:

The current list
Site columns from parent site collections
List columns from lists in the same site collection

This rules out direct references to columns in other site collections. Even within a site collection, getting data from multiple lists requires lookup columns which add complexity.

The permissions may also prevent accessing values from lists the user does not have access to. Calculated columns cannot override security trimming or dynamically pull values excluding confidential data.

Alternatives to Calculated Columns

Client-side Rendering

SharePoint provides client-side rendering as an alternative to calculated columns for more flexibility. Columns can be rendered with JavaScript that has access to the full client browser environment.

This allows things like conditional formatting, dynamic colors, and data visualizations. You can integrate external libraries for more advanced functions too.

However, client-side rendering requires customizing display templates and editing page layouts. It also shifts processing to individual users rather than handling centrally on the server so can be resource intensive.

Custom Code Solutions

Developers can build custom SharePoint solutions to handle advanced calculations instead of relying solely on calculated columns. Options include:

Event receivers to update values via the API
Custom field types with elaborate rendering
Workflow processes calculating values
Power Automate flows performing lookups

The downside is the complexity of building and maintaining custom solutions. It also requires greater development expertise versus simple calculated columns.

External Data Connections

SharePoint external data columns allow connecting to data sources outside the site collections. This provides access to more varied data for calculations including:

SQL Server databases
Online services like Excel or Twitter
OData feeds

With SQL Server, you can leverage stored procedures and functions for complex logic. But external data requires account permissions and connection management versus standalone SharePoint lists.

Example Calculated Column Limitations

Dates and Times

Date and time values have limited formatting options in SharePoint calculated columns. You cannot easily convert dates to fiscal periods, extract date parts like day of week, or calculate durations.

Date comparisons are also restrictive. And the lack of aggregate date functions prevents things like calculating average days to completion across multiple items.

Referencing Other Lists

Getting data from secondary lists requires intermediary lookup columns on the source list referring to the destination list. If that destination list has lookups to yet another list, joining the data becomes very complex.

In addition, renaming or deleting the source columns would break the lookup. So calculated columns provide no abstraction or independence when accessing other list data.

Restricted Functions

The available functions for calculated columns are limited compared to full-scale programming platforms. Things like text manipulation, math, logical, data type conversion and formatting have basic options.

But you cannot perform statistical analysis, data visualization, machine learning, natural language processing, or other advanced techniques without custom code. Even basic procedural logic requires workarounds to implement.

Overcoming Limitations

Best Practices

When working within the constraints of SharePoint calculated columns, follow these best practices:

Reference only columns you have permission to
Index lengthy columns used in formulas
Stick to necessary simple formulas
Split complex logic across multiple columns
Use sensible list view thresholds

This helps optimize performance and avoid overwritten customizations that cause issues. Understanding the limitations allows building within safe boundaries.

Custom Solutions

For more advanced needs, custom SharePoint solutions can help overcome limitations:

Power Automate for complex logic
REST APIs accessing other systems
JavaScript injection via web parts
External data integration

This does require greater expertise and development work. But custom solutions enable extending SharePoint lists well beyond basic calculated columns.

Recommendations

When calculated columns are insufficient, consider these alternatives:

Power BI for sophisticated analytics
Power Apps for rich applications
Power Automate for elaborate workflows
Custom code for advanced functions

With the right tools, almost any limitations of SharePoint calculated columns can be overcome through customization.