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Microsoft Lists: Meet Your Microsoft To Do List Tool
Microsoft Lists is an evolution of the list building capability that has been in SharePoint for 20 years, spun off into a tool that makes the creation and management of team’s tasks simpler and more robust.
13 Slides
Hover over any list in the Recent lists display to mark as a Favorite and move it up into the Favorites category.
Select + Create new list to start building a new Microsoft Lists entry.
Begin a new Microsoft Lists from multiple options including:
Blank list
From an Excel spreadsheet
From an existing Microsoft List
Pre-configured templates
Begin a new Microsoft List and customize it with these options:
Name
List Description
Custom Color
Custom Icon
Save Location (defaults to My Lists)
A customized Microsoft List ready for creation.
Newly created Microsoft List ready for item entry and custom column configuration.
Enter the item's title and add any related attachments, as necessary. Click Save to return to main list view.
Click the + Add column drop down to add custom columns to your list items. It is recommended that you do this after adding your first entry, so they are available as you add new entries.
Click on More for additional column configuration options.
Once a column is selected for addition, use this form to provide all the required details for that option. Continue this process for all columns in the list.
After creating a new Microsoft List and configuring custom columns, save it and it will be displayed on the main Microsoft Lists page with other lists.
This is what a fully populated Microsoft List will look like on the web interface. Users can edit the list, provide update, and even add new items in the life cycle of any list.
These are the templates that are provided by default when creating a new list.
Issue tracker
New hire checklist
Event itinerary
Business trip approvals
Team evaluations
Asset manager
Project planning
Social media calendar
This is the dialog that's used to create a new Microsoft List from an existing list.
Pictured is a Microsoft List added to a tab in a Microsoft Teams channel. This list is fully editable and new Microsoft Lists can also be created from within a Microsoft Teams channel.
Pictured is a Microsoft List added to a tab in a Microsoft Teams channel. This list is fully editable and new Microsoft Lists can also be created from within a Microsoft Teams channel.
Microsoft To Do List apps have been around for many years – because Microsoft’s users have been making lists with software like Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Access long before someone thought to spec out a tool specifically built for creating and managing lists.
SharePoint has had a list building capability for the last 20 years. Although Microsoft introduced its To Do List app in April 2017, which can be used by enterprise customers, there has been a need for an even more robust and flexible list solution to help with enterprise task management. That is where Microsoft Lists comes in, building upon the 20-year legacy of SharePoint Lists to move your organizations task management into the future.
During Microsoft’s all-digital Build 2020 event last month, Microsoft Lists was unveiled as a new service for Microsoft 365.
Microsoft Lists is intended to go beyond the more basic Microsoft to-do list apps and give users complete flexibility in the creation, use and management of lists covering a range of uses from the simplest of item check-off lists to complex event management. According to Microsoft, the new Lists service can be used to track:
Issues (software, hardware, facilities, etc.)
Reporting requirements
Inventories
Pending actions
Vacations
Computer upgrades
Department/division travel
Projects
Event and speaker schedule
The uses for Microsoft Lists are quite extensive and with the customization options, you can track or add just about any piece of information about your project/tasks:
Single/multiple lines of text
Location
Number
Yes/No
Person
Date
Hyperlinks
Currency
Image
Since Microsoft Lists builds upon SharePoint Lists, any column configuration that was available in SharePoint, is also accessible in Microsoft Lists.
New Microsoft Lists can be created from scratch, imported from an Excel spreadsheet, or even use an existing Microsoft to-do list to start a new set of items. This would be handy for tracking variations of an existing project.
In addition, Microsoft Lists provides several enterprise-friendly templates that can help users get started in creating a new Microsoft Lists project:
Issue Tracker
New hire checklist
Event itinerary
Business trip approvals
Team evaluations
Asset manager
Project planning
Social media calendar
Microsoft Lists will be available through the Microsoft 365 web interface and on a mobile app dedicated to the service. If an organization uses Microsoft Teams, then Microsoft Lists will be an option for adding to a tab in any channel on your Team site. This integration will allow team members to update and edit their existing to-do lists and create new Microsoft Lists right from inside of Microsoft Teams.
Microsoft Lists also includes four main views:
List
Grid (Default View)
Gallery
Calendar
Microsoft Lists fully supports custom rules that allow you to configure notifications and updates to team members as items are updated in any Microsoft list.
Microsoft 365 tenants can expect Microsoft Lists to start rolling out later this summer. This slidesow explores the main features and prompts within Microsoft Lists.
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