Beginning SharePoint 2007: Building Team Solutions with MOSS 2007 (Programmer to Programmer)

This chapter discussed the very important SharePoint 2007 feature known as content types. Content types allow you to package and manage elements such as templates, workflow processes, policies, and metadata columns into a single reusable component. You can then associate these components with lists and libraries throughout a site collection. Users can then make edits centrally to the site content type gallery, and changes can be updated in all existing content types. After reading this chapter, you should know the following:

• The default groups of content types include: Business Intelligence, Document content types, Folder content types, List content types, Page Layout content types, Publishing content types, and Special content types

• Every new content type must have a parent content type from which it inherits its settings. You can extend the parent content type to suit your business requirements.

• You can associate a content type with a custom template, workflow processes, and site columns. You can also create information management policies to control what information display when an item is opened or printed. You can also configure rules to determine when it must expire.

• Some content types are very basic in nature and do not require configuration. However, other content types may be more heavily regulated and controlled.

• A single document library or list can host multiple content types. This allows users to work from a single repository for related content. However, when managing multiple content types and large amounts of data within a single library, consider using custom views to maintain an acceptable level of usability for users. Information should always be well organized and easy to find.