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The Problem with SharePoint’s Column Validation SharePoint allows administrators to set up validation rules for columns to restrict the data that can be entered. This is useful for enforcing data integrity and business rules. However, SharePoint places a hard limit on the length of column validation formulas – capping them at 8,000 characters. If a…

Common Root Causes of Formula Validation Failures in SharePoint Columns Formula validation rules in SharePoint columns can fail to execute as expected due to various syntactical, logical, and data-related issues. Identifying the root cause of the validation error is key to debugging SharePoint column formulas. Syntax Errors in Column Validation Formulas Syntax errors occur when…

Why Phone Number Validation Matters Validating phone numbers entered into SharePoint columns is an important data governance practice. Requiring phone numbers to conform to specific formats improves overall data quality and consistency within SharePoint. Normalized phone number data enables additional functionality like click-to-call from listings, search, and business applications. Standardizing phone number storage eliminates variations…

Validating Phone Numbers in SharePoint Columns Validating phone number inputs in SharePoint columns is important to ensure high quality standardized data. Validation can prevent invalid or improperly formatted numbers from being entered. Key reasons to validate phone numbers include: Ensure users enter 10 digit phone numbers in a standard (XXX) XXX-XXXX format. This standardized format…

Linking SharePoint Lists into Parent-Child Relationships Connecting SharePoint lists hierarchically as parent-child relationships enables more intuitive retrieval and display of related data rows. By establishing lookup column connections, child list rows can be linked to parent list rows to show organizational hierarchies and drill-down capabilities. Key benefits include: Retrieving and displaying hierarchical data more intuitively…

Defining the Problem: Relating Data Across Multiple Lists Organizations often store data in multiple SharePoint lists to represent different entities or areas of information. However, relationships frequently exist between these distinct sets of data. A common example is hierarchical associations, where certain records logically function as “parents” with connections to “child” items that inherit attributes…

What are Master-Detail Relationships? A master-detail relationship refers to a type of relationship between two SharePoint lists where one list (the “master”) contains records that have corresponding “detail” records in another list. The master list contains the main entities, while the detail list contains related secondary records that reference their parent master record. For example,…

Understanding Master-Detail Relationships A master-detail relationship links two SharePoint lists together, enabling records in one list to display data from related records in the other list. The master list contains unique master records, while the detail list contains dependent detail records related to each master record. Establishing a connection between a master list and a…

Exporting SharePoint List Versions SharePoint allows users to turn on versioning for lists and libraries to preserve a history of changes. When exporting SharePoint content, it is important to also migrate the full version history to maintain a complete record. This section covers techniques to enable, configure and export all versions of SharePoint lists. Overview…

Microsoft Excel is a versatile data analysis and visualization tool used by millions worldwide. For SharePoint administrators and power users who manage data in SharePoint lists, getting that list data into Excel for further manipulation and reporting is a common need. Fortunately, SharePoint offers several built-in options for exporting list data into Excel spreadsheets. The…