SharePoint 365 Owner: Master Advanced Column Types

Course description

This course explores the advanced column types available in SharePoint 365, focusing on how they enhance data relationships, automation, and contextual information within lists and libraries. Learners begin by creating lookup columns, which connect data across multiple lists, enabling one list to reference values stored in another. Through guided demonstrations, participants learn how to configure lookup relationships, select source lists and columns, and display related fields such as product names, quantities, or pricing details. The course explains how lookup columns maintain data integrity by updating automatically when the source data changes and how optional restrictions can prevent deletion of linked records. It also outlines scenarios where lookup columns are less suitable, such as when building Power Apps or automated workflows, and why an ID-based approach may be preferable in those cases. The next segment introduces calculated columns, which use Excel-style formulas to derive new values based on existing fields. Learners explore examples such as calculating profit margins, extracting years from date fields, or combining first and last names. The lessons emphasize key rules for calculated columns, including their static behavior—values recalculate only when an item is created or edited—and demonstrate how to apply functions like TEXT, YEAR, and basic arithmetic operations for precise formatting and control. Finally, participants create and configure location columns, a modern SharePoint feature that captures address data integrated with mapping services. The training shows how to set up a location field, add related address components like city, state, or postal code, and use the modern view to input or edit location details. Learners also gain awareness of limitations when managing location columns in classic settings and how to modify them effectively in the modern interface. By the end of the course, site owners will be able to use lookup, calculated, and location columns to create dynamic, relational, and context-rich data environments that support better insights and usability within SharePoint 365.

Course outline