About list templates

When a user creates a new list, he or she selects a list template to use in creating the list. Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services includes many list templates by default, and users can customize an existing list and save the customized list as a new list template. Administrators of a site collection can also import a list template created by another user or software vendor and add the new template to the available list of templates in the site collection.

A list template is a file that includes all of the design information about the list, such as the following:

• The columns and fields in the list
• Any views created for the list
• List content (optional)

List templates do not include the following:

• Security settings, such as a list of users or groups with permissions to the list from which the template was created.
• General list settings, such as whether the list is displayed on the Quick Launch bar, or whether attachments are allowed.
• Lookup field links. Although lists can contain lookup fields that refer to data in another list, that other list and its data are not included when you save a list template. Therefore, you cannot make a template from a list that contains lookup fields, except for fields that look up user information.

To create a list template, you must have the Manage Lists right. The Web Designer and Administrator site groups include the Manage Lists right by default. You must also have access to the list template gallery for the top-level Web site to create a list template. The Add Item right for the template gallery controls this access, which is granted to members of the Web Designer and Administrator site groups for the top-level Web site. List templates are stored as files with the .stp extension.

Caution  Template files include personal information such as server URLs and user account names. Only share template files with trusted users and groups.

About using list templates

Users can create lists based on templates available on the server or in the site collection. To create a list based on a template, go to the Create page in a site, and then click the list name to create. The Create page lists custom templates alongside the default set of list templates from the front-end template.

Note  When a user creates a list, he or she can select a list template from the set of list templates on the server and the site collection. This set is filtered based on the language of the site the user is in and the schema properties included in the front-end templates for the server. For example, if the front-end templates for the server do not include an Agenda list type, and the user has imported a list template that refers to an Agenda list type, the list template will not be available in the set of templates when the user attempts to create a list.