Field element (Field)

Applies to: SharePoint 2016 | SharePoint Foundation 2013 | SharePoint Online | SharePoint Server 2013

Defines a site column.

Definition

<Field
  Aggregation="sum" | "count" | "average" | "min" | "max" | "merge" | "plaintext" | "first" | "last"
  AllowDeletion="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  AllowDuplicateValues="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  AllowHyperlink="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  AllowMultiVote="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  AppendOnly="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  AuthoringInfo="Text"
  BaseType="Integer" | "Text"
  CalType="Integer"
  CanToggleHidden="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  ClassInfo="Text"
  ColName="Text"
  Commas="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  Customization=Text
  Decimals="Integer"
  DefaultListField="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  Description="Text"
  Dir="Text"
  DisplaceOnUpgrade="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  DisplayImage="Text"
  DisplayName="Text"
  DisplayNameSrcField="Text"
  DisplaySize=Integer
  Div="Number"
  EnableLookup="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  ExceptionImage="Text"
  FieldRef="Text"
  FillInChoice="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  Filterable="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  FilterableNoRecurrence="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  ForcedDisplay="Text"
  Format="DateOnly | DateTime | TimeOnly | EventList | ISO8601 | MonthDayOnly | MonthYearOnly | ISO8601Basic | ISO8601Gregorian | ISO8601BasicDateOnly | DropDown | RadioButtons | HyperLink | Image | TRUE | FALSE"
  FromBaseType="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  Group="Text"
  HeaderImage="Text"
  Height="Integer"
  Hidden="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  HTMLEncode="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  ID="Text"
  IMEMode="active | inactive"
  Indexed="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  IsolateStyles="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  IsRelationship="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  JoinColName="Text"
  JoinRowOrdinal="Integer"
  JoinType="INNER" | "LEFT OUTER" | "RIGHT OUTER"
  LCID="Integer"
  LinkToItem="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  List="Text"
  Max="Number"
  MaxLength="Integer"
  Min="Number"
  Mult="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  Name="Text"
  NegativeFormat="MinusSign" | "Parens"
  Node="Text"
  NoEditFormBreak="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  NumLines="Integer"
  Overwrite="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  OverwriteInChildScopes="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  Percentage="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  PIAttribute="Text"
  PITarget="Text"
  PrependId="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  Presence="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  PrimaryKey="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  PrimaryPIAttribute="Text"
  PrimaryPITarget="Text"
  ReadOnly="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  ReadOnlyEnforced="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  RelationshipDeleteBehavior="Restrict | Cascade | None"
  RenderXMLUsingPattern="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  Required="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  RestrictedMode="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  ResultType="Text"
  RichText="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  RichTextMode="Text"
  RowOrdinal="Integer"
  Sealed="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  SeperateLine="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  SetAs="Text"
  ShowAddressBookButton="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  ShowField="Text" | "Choice" | "Counter"
  ShowInDisplayForm="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  ShowInEditForm="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  ShowInFileDlg="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  ShowInListSettings="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  ShowInNewForm="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  ShowInVersionHistory="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  ShowInViewForms="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  Sortable="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  SourceID="Text"
  StaticName="Text"
  StorageTZ="UTC" | "Abstract"
  StripWS="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  SuppressNameDisplay="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  TextOnly="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  Title="Text"
  Type="Data_Type"
  UniqueId="Text"
  UnlimitedLengthInDocumentLibrary="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  URLEncode="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  URLEncodeAsUrl="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  UserSelectionMode="Text"
  UserSelectionScope="Integer"
  Viewable="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  Width="Integer"
  WikiLinking="TRUE" | "FALSE"
  XName="Text">
</Field>

Elements and attributes

The following sections describe attributes, child elements, and parent elements.

Attributes

Attribute	Description
Aggregation	Optional Text. Used in an aggregate field on an XML form to specify the function to apply to a collection of values or elements returned by an XPath expression. If you use the Node attribute to specify an XPath expression that returns a collection of values, you can also include an Aggregation attribute that specifies the action to take on the value set that is returned. This action can be either an aggregation function or an indication of the particular element within the collection. Possible values include the following: sum: Add the values. count: Count the number of values. average: Find the average of the values. min: Find the minimum value. max: Find the maximum value. merge: Merge the values. plaintext: Converts node text content into plain text. first: Apply property promotion and demotion to the first element in the collection. last: Apply property promotion and demotion to the last element in the collection. For more information about how the Node, PIAttribute, PITarget, PrimaryPIAttribute, and PrimaryPITarget attributes are used for property promotion and demotion in XML documents, see Using Content Types to Specify XML Document Properties.
AllowDeletion	Optional Boolean. TRUE if the field can be deleted.
AllowDuplicateValues	Optional Boolean. Specifies whether duplicate values are allowed in a given list field. Setting this value to false, which prevents entering duplicate values, effectively makes this field behave like a primary key. True if duplicate values are allowed in the field; otherwise false. The default value is true.
AllowHyperlink	Optional Boolean. TRUE if hyperlinks can be used in the field.
AllowMultiVote	Optional Boolean. TRUE if multiple responses are allowed in a survey.
AppendOnly	Optional Boolean. When versioning is enabled in the list, TRUE if text can only be appended to existing text in the Note field.
AuthoringInfo	Optional Text. A descriptive string that is displayed in the field editing pages to identify the field and its purpose; for example, the LinkTitle field has the authoring info "(link to item)". This attribute is usually used if a field of the same name exists for another purpose.
BaseType	Optional. The BaseType attribute can be set to Integer, which stores values as integers, or to Text (default), which stores values as text. You cannot create integer base-type choice fields.
CalType	Optional Integer. Specifies the calendar type. Possible values include the following: 16: Saka Era 15: Chinese lunar 14: Korean and Japanese lunar 12: Gregorian transliterated French 11: Gregorian transliterated English 10: Gregorian Arabic 9: Gregorian Middle East French 8: Hebrew (lunar) 7: Thai 6: Hijri (Arabic lunar) 5: Korean Tangun Era 4: Taiwan Era 3: Japanese Emperor Era 1: Gregorian 0: No type specified
CanToggleHidden	Optional Boolean. TRUE if the field can be hidden through the user interface.
ClassInfo	Optional Text. Specifies a cascading style sheet (CSS) class to use for the field in the standard table view. If set, the specified class is used instead of the standard ms-vb2 class.
ColName	Optional Text. An internal attribute that defines the mapping of the field to the physical storage name for this field. This must be a valid name in the underlying database and must be identical to the name used in the database table. If not specified, the server generates a column name that does not collide with any existing column names and that contains only characters that are allowed by Microsoft SQL Server.
Commas	Optional Boolean. TRUE if commas are used to separate thousands.
Customization	Optional Text. Provides the ability to add custom properties to custom field types.
Decimals	Optional Integer. Determines the number of decimals to display. The value displayed is rounded up to the display precision; for example, 1.05 is displayed as 1.1 when rounded to one decimal place.
DefaultListField	Optional Boolean. Gets a value that specifies whether to show the Edit Properties form for a file when that file is uploaded to a document library. True if the field that is being added to a library does not have a visible Edit Properties form; otherwise, false. The default is false.
Description	Optional Text. Provides the description that is shown in the edit form for a list if a field description is specified. By default, fields in Microsoft SharePoint Foundation do not have descriptions.
Dir	Optional Text. Specifies the direction of text for a field that supports bidirectional reading order. The possible values are LTR (left-to-right), RTL (right-to-left), and none.
DisplaceOnUpgrade	Optional Boolean. If a field definition already exists for the field, TRUE to force updates to field properties with the values that are specified in this field definition.
DisplayImage	Optional Text. Specifies the name of an icon that is displayed for the column.
DisplayName	Optional Text. The displayed name for a field. There is no restriction on use of spaces. Maximum length is 255 characters. The value can be a reference to a resource in the format $Resources:String. For more information, see Localizing SharePoint Solutions. The display name can be edited by the user and can change after initial field creation. This name is used as a column heading when the field is displayed in a table view and as a form label when the field is displayed in a form.
DisplayNameSrcField	Optional Text. Generally used for a computed field that needs the same name as another field. If the source field is modified and the display name is changed by a user, then the display name of this field will also change. This string refers to the name of the other field.
DisplaySize	Optional Integer.
Div	Optional Number. A scale factor used in division before displaying a number. The display number is N * Mult / Div (rounded up to the number specified by Decimals).
EnableLookup	Optional Boolean. TRUE to enable lookup values in the field.
ExceptionImage	Optional Text. Used in a Recurrence field type to specify the name of the image file to use for exceptions.
FieldRef	Optional Text. For a secondary lookup field, specifies the ID of the primary lookup field on which it depends. The value should be the string representation of a GUID without braces.
FillInChoice	Optional Boolean. TRUE if the field allows users to fill in values for the column.
Filterable	Optional Boolean. TRUE if the field can be filtered.
FilterableNoRecurrence	Optional Boolean. TRUE if a filter can be created on the field in a view that does not expand recurring events. If Filterable contains TRUE, the field can be filtered in all views regardless of how FilterableNoRecurrence is set.
ForcedDisplay	Optional Text. Specifies text to display in place of the actual field value. This attribute is used in surveys to prevent the user name from being displayed.
Format	Optional Text. Specifies the formatting to use for numerical values. For date/time fields, the following values are possible: DateOnly: Display (and allow edits to) only the date portion (the time portion is set to 12:00 A.M. for all edited values). DateTime: Display and edit both date and time of day (default). ISO8601: Display date and time in ISO8601 time format converted to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) format: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ. This is the format used for document properties in 2007 Microsoft Office system as well as for the standard interchange format used in SharePoint Foundation between New and Edit forms and the server. ISO8601Basic: Use the abbreviated form of 8601 date/time formats: YYYYMMDDTHHMMSSZ. This is the format used for vCard/iCal. For Choice fields, this attribute can be set to Dropdown (default), which provides editing options through a drop-down selection, or to RadioButtons, which provides options through a group of radio buttons. For URL fields, this attribute can be set to Hyperlink (default), which displays the URL as a normal <a> tag, or to Image, which displays the URL as <img src="url" alt="Description" />.
FromBaseType	Optional Boolean. This attribute is deprecated in favor of the Sealed attribute.
Group	Optional Text. Specifies the column group to which the field belongs.
HeaderImage	Optional Text. Specifies the name of an image file to use as a header in the field.
Height	Optional Integer. Specifies the height in pixels of the images that are displayed for users in the User Information list.
Hidden	Optional Boolean. If TRUE, the field is completely hidden from the user interface. Setting ReadOnly to TRUE means the field is not displayed in New or Edit forms but can still be included in views.
HTMLEncode	Optional Boolean. TRUE to convert embedded characters so that they are displayed as text in the browser; characters that could be confused with HTML tags are converted to entities.
ID	Required Text. Uniquely identifies the field. The value should be the string representation of a GUID contained within braces ({}).
IMEMode	Optional Text. Specifies the Input Method Editor (IME) mode bias to use for the field. The IME allows for conversion of keystrokes between languages when one writing system has more characters than can be encoded for the given keyboard. Possible values include the following: auto: Not used. To specify this IME mode, set the IMEMode property value to an empty string (""). active: All characters are typed through the IME, but users can still deactivate the IME. inactive: Characters are typed without the IME, although users can still activate the IME.
Indexed	Optional Boolean. TRUE if the column is indexed for use in view filters. Note: Although you can index a Lookup column to improve performance, using an indexed Lookup column to prevent exceeding the list view threshold does not work. To avoid exceeding the list view threshold, use another type of column as the primary or secondary index.
IsolateStyles	Optional Boolean. For a Text field whose RichText attribute is TRUE and whose RichTextMode attribute is FullHtml, this attribute specifies that a server will rewrite the HTML of the field to ensure that it will not interfere with the rendering of the surrounding page.
IsRelationship	Optional Boolean. TRUE if this field is returned by the GetRelatedFields() method from another list.
JoinColName	Optional Text. This attribute is defined only for Lookup fields. It is very similar to ColName, except it denotes the name of the column that is used in the SQL JOIN between the local and external lists. Ordinarily, this value should not be customized. It is currently used only in the Field schema of certain built-in and base type fields to denote lookups into the URLs (DocMd) table, which is joined on the UrlID column.
JoinRowOrdinal	Optional Integer. Not intended to be used directly from your code.
JoinType	Optional Text. Specifies the type of JOIN used on the field. Possible values include INNER, LEFTOUTER, and RIGHTOUTER.
LCID	Optional Integer. The LCID attribute can be used to specify the country/region whose currency format is being used, for example, 1033 for the United States. Two special cases involve the euro symbol format. If LCID=-1 (0xFFFFFFF), the euro symbol is added as a prefix to the number. If LCID=-2 (0xFFFFFFE), the euro symbol is added as a suffix to the number. The number of decimal digits is 2, although this can be overridden by the Decimals attribute of the field. The euro currency symbol is equal to 0x20AC in UCS-2.
List	Optional Text. Used to identify the list that is the target of a lookup field (Type="Lookup"). If the target list already exists, the value of the List attribute should be the string representation of the GUID (including braces) that identifies the target list. If the target is the same list as the one that the field belongs to, you can specify "Self". If the target list does not yet exist, the value of the List attribute can be a web-relative URL such as "Lists/My List" but only if the target list is created in the same feature as the one that creates the lookup field. In this case, the value of the List attribute on the Field element must be identical to the value of the Url attribute on the ListInstance element that creates the target list.
Max	Optional Number. Specifies the maximum value allowed for the field.
MaxLength	Optional Integer. Specifies the maximum number of characters allowed in a field value. Edit forms are adjusted to enforce this value, which is validated on the client. If the user attempts to enter more than the number of characters set by MaxLength, an error message appears.
Min	Optional Number. Specifies the minimum value allowed for the field.
Mult	Optional Boolean. TRUE to allow a lookup field to contain multiple values. The default is FALSE.
Name	Required Text. The internal name of the field. The name must be unique with respect to the set of fields in a list or website. SharePoint Foundation will amend the value if necessary to guarantee its uniqueness; otherwise it does not change for the lifetime of the field definition.
NegativeFormat	Optional Text. Specifies how to indicate negative values. Can be set to one of the following values: MinusSign: Use minus sign as prefix. Parens: Surround with parentheses.
Node	Optional Text. Used in XML forms, this attribute is required for all fields except processing instruction (PI) links, and it specifies the XPath expression for a node that is promoted.
NoEditFormBreak	Optional Boolean. TRUE to prevent a line break from being added between fields in the new item form or edit item form. Some field types, such as a rich-text field, provide spacing by default, and this attribute allows control over the extra spacing that results.
NumLines	Optional Integer. Recommends the number of lines (rows) to display in a TEXTAREA block during editing. This is merely a client UI hint—there is no enforced limitation on the number of lines of text that can be edited.
Overwrite	Optional Boolean. Specifies whether the field definition for a new field that is activated on a site (SPWeb) overwrites the field definition for an existing field, in cases where the new field has the same field ID as the existing field. True if the new field overwrites the existing field with the same field ID; otherwise false. The default is false. Note: If the existing field is read-only, or if it is sealed, it will not be overwritten by the field that is being activated, even if this attribute is set to true.
OverwriteInChildScopes	Optional Boolean. Indicates whether a specified field definition should be overwritten when you are provisioning the field in a site collection and that field definition already exists in the child Web of that site collection. True if the field definition should be overwritten; otherwise false. The default value is false.
Percentage	Optional Boolean. TRUE if the value is displayed as a percentage; that is, a number multiplied by 100 with a percent sign (%) appended.
PIAttribute	Optional Text. Specifies the attribute in the document processing instruction (specified by the PITarget attribute) to use as the column value. Used for property promotion and demotion in XML documents. If you specify the PIAttribute attribute, you must also specify the PITarget attribute. For more information about how the Node, PIAttribute, PITarget, Primary PIAttribute, and PrimaryPITarget attributes are used for property promotion and demotion in XML documents, see Using Content Types to Specify XML Document Properties.
PITarget	Optional Text. Specifies the document processing instruction in which the column value is stored in documents of this content type. Used for property promotion and demotion in XML documents. If you specify the PIAttribute attribute, you must also specify the PITarget attribute. For more information about how the Node, PIAttribute, PITarget, Primary PIAttribute, and PrimaryPITarget attributes are used for property promotion and demotion in XML documents, see Using Content Types to Specify XML Document Properties.
PrependId	Optional Boolean. Used by lookup fields that can have multiple values. Specify TRUE to display the item ID of a target item as well as the value of the target field in Edit and New item forms.
Presence	Optional Boolean. TRUE if user information is present for the field.
PrimaryKey	Optional Boolean. TRUE if the field is the primary key in the relationship between the list and another list.
PrimaryPIAttribute	Optional Text. Used for property promotion and demotion in XML documents. Specifies an alternate attribute in the document processing instruction, specified by the PrimaryPITarget, to use as the column value. If you specify the PrimaryPIAttribute attribute, you must also specify the PrimaryPITarget attribute. If specified, SharePoint Foundation uses these values before those specified in the PITarget and PIAttribute attributes. For more information about how the Node, PIAttribute, PITarget, Primary PIAttribute, and PrimaryPITarget attributes are used for property promotion and demotion in XML documents, see Using Content Types to Specify XML Document Properties.
PrimaryPITarget	Optional Text. Specifies an alternative document processing instruction in which the column value is stored for documents of this content type. If you specify the PrimaryPIAttribute attribute, you must also specify the PrimaryPITarget attribute. If specified, SharePoint Foundation uses these values before those specified in the PITarget and PIAttribute attributes. For more information about how the Node, PIAttribute, PITarget, Primary PIAttribute, and PrimaryPITarget attributes are used for property promotion and demotion in XML documents, see Using Content Types to Specify XML Document Properties.
ReadOnly	Optional Boolean. If TRUE, the field is not displayed in New or Edit forms but can be included in views. In addition, setting ReadOnly to TRUE hides the field from Site Settings pages for managing site columns and content types. Setting the Hidden attribute to TRUE completely hides the field from the UI. If you do not include this attribute, SharePoint Foundation treats the column as if this attribute is set to False.
ReadOnlyEnforced	Optional Boolean. TRUE to specify that the user cannot change the field by any means and that it can only be changed by the system.
RelationshipDeleteBehavior	Optional Text. Specifies a deletion constraint for a lookup field. For more information, see the SPRelationshipDeleteBehavior enumeration. For a site column, the value must not be Cascade or Restrict. It can be None (the default), or the attribute can be omitted. If you specify any value other than None, you must also specify TRUE for the Indexed attribute and FALSE for the Mult attribute.
RenderXMLUsingPattern	Optional Boolean. Used for computed fields to determine the display format. If TRUE, values are rendered based on the display pattern of the computed field, rather than on the column value of the first noncomputed field reference upon which the computed field is based. For example, in a picture library, the Picture Size column is represented by width x height, but if this attribute is not set to TRUE, only the first field reference, width, is displayed. If it is set to TRUE, the format of width x height is displayed.
Required	Required Boolean. If TRUE, the field must not have an empty value assigned to it. If a nonempty field value is not given in a form post, either the standard required-field text or an explicitly specified message (that is, via <ErrorText> tags) is displayed in the error form. This validation is handled only by the client (the database always allows NULL for all user-defined fields).
RestrictedMode	Optional Boolean. TRUE to not allow the Note field to contain enhanced rich text formatting, such as pictures, tables, or hyperlinks, nor to allow pasting formatted text into the field.
ResultType	Optional Text. Specifies the data type of values that are returned from the field.
RichText	Optional Boolean. TRUE if the field displays rich text formatting.
RichTextMode	Optional Text. One of the options from the RichTextMode enum.
RowOrdinal	Optional Integer. Specifies the database location for the field.
Sealed	Optional Boolean. Setting this attribute to TRUE for a field marks the field as irremovable. The Change Column page has no Delete button. Users cannot delete the field.
SeparateLine	Optional Boolean. Used internally to support rendering a field (for example, Notes or Comments) in a separate line. This attribute is not intended for public use.
SetAs	Not intended to be used directly from your code.
ShowAddressBookButton	Not intended to be used directly from your code.
ShowField	Optional Text. When the Type attribute is "Lookup" the value of the ShowField attribute specifies the internal name of the target field to look up. If no value is specified, the hyperlinked text from the Title field of the record in the target list is displayed. The following field types are allowed as the target of a lookup field: Counter, DateTime, Number, and Text. The Computed field type can be a target if lookups are enabled. For more information, see the EnableLookup property of the SPFieldComputed class. The Calculated field type can be a target if the output is text. For more information, see the OutputType property of the SPFieldCalculated** class.
ShowInDisplayForm	Optional Boolean. TRUE to display the field in the form for viewing the item.
ShowInEditForm	Optional Boolean. TRUE to display the field in the form for editing the item.
ShowInFileDlg	Optional Boolean. This attribute is valid only for fields within document library schemas. If FALSE, the field does not show up in the property dialog box for saving forms that appears when saving from client applications. For example, the Title field has this attribute because this is set directly in the document being saved to the document library.
ShowInListSettings	Optional Boolean. TRUE to display the column on the page for customizing list settings.
ShowInNewForm	Optional Boolean. If FALSE, the field does not show up in a Fields enumeration when the display mode is set to New. Fields with this setting do not show up in the default New Item page for a given list. In particular, this is used to hide fields on the page for uploading documents to the document library.
ShowInVersionHistory	Optional Boolean. TRUE to display the column on the page for viewing list item versions.
ShowInViewForms	Optional Boolean. TRUE to specify that the field is displayed in pages that are used to view list data. This parameter does not apply to modern UI.
Sortable	Optional Boolean. TRUE if values in the field can be sorted.
SourceID	Optional Text. Contains the namespace that defines the field, such as http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/v3 or the GUID of the list in which the custom field was created.
StaticName	Optional Text. Contains an internal name of the field that might not be unique within a field collection. However, unlike the Name attribute, which might be amended to ensure its uniqueness, the value of the StaticName attribute is assigned to the field exactly as you have defined it. You can later use this value in code to get a reference to the field by calling the TryGetFieldByStaticName method.
StorageTZ	Specifies how date/time values are stored. When StorageTZ is set to UTC, the date/time is handled as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). To denote that a date/time value refers to "abstract" time, meaning that the date/time is stored in the database as entered by the user without conversion or storage of the local time zone, omit the StorageTZ attribute.
StripWS	Optional Boolean. TRUE if white space is removed from the beginning and end of field values.
SuppressNameDisplay	Optional Boolean. TRUE to not display the name of the user in a User field.
TextOnly	Optional Boolean. If TRUE, the field can contain only Text values.
Title	Optional Text. Contains the title of the field that is displayed in the user interface.
Type	Required Text. The data type of the field (unless the Field element is a child of ProjectedFields). Note: In the Technology Preview release of Microsoft SharePoint Foundation 2010, the Type attribute has a different meaning and only one possible value ("Lookup") when it is a child of ProjectedFields. For more information about this use of Type, see ProjectedFields Element (View). SharePoint Foundation includes the following data types by default: AllDayEvent: Specifies an all day event. Corresponds to the bit SQL data type. Attachments: Stores the URLs for attachments. Corresponds to the bit SQL data type. Boolean: Used to store a TRUE/FALSE value (stored in the database as 0 or 1). This field is sortable and groupable. Corresponds to the bit SQL data type and represented by the SPFieldBoolean class. Calculated: Specifies a field whose value is calculated based on other columns. Corresponds to the sql_variant SQL data type and represented by the SPFieldCalculated** class. Choice: Allows the user to specify a predetermined set of values that can be used to enter data into the field. The Choice and Lookup types are the most important fields for sorting and grouping. The BaseType and Format attributes can be used for choice fields. This field is sortable and groupable. When a value is given for a choice option, then that value is used as the submitted value for the field selection. When no value is given, that choice is submitted as the text value of the choice. In all cases, the text value of the choice is what is displayed in the UI (drop-down list or radio button text). The order in which choices appear in the editing UI is always the order that items are specified within the CHOICES element. Use the MultiChoice type to specify a Choice field that implements check boxes and allows the user to select multiple values. Corresponds to the nvarchar SQL data type and represented the SPFieldChoice class. Computed: Specifies a field that depends on another field for its contents. For example, a LinkTitleNoMenu field amounts to surrounding a Title field value with a hyperlink. Represented by the SPFieldComputed class. ContentTypeId: Contains a content type ID. For information about the format of content type IDs, see Content Type IDs. Corresponds to the varbinary SQL data type. Counter: Generally used only for the internal ID field. Its integer value is set automatically to be unique with respect to every other item in the current list. The Counter type is always read-only and cannot be set through a form post. This field is sortable but not groupable. Corresponds to the int SQL data type. CrossProjectLink: Used to connect an event in a SharePoint list with a Meeting Workspace site; refers specifically to the field type of the checkbox used in New and Edit Item forms to create a Meeting Workspace site for the item. Corresponds to the bit SQL data type and represented by the SPFieldCrossProjectLink class. Currency: Allows for a currency value to be entered. Each currency field is tied to a specific locale's currency. In all other respects, it is treated like the Number field type. Use the LCID attribute to indicate a currency of a specific locale. The Decimals, Max, and Min attributes can be used for currency types. This field is sortable and groupable. Corresponds to the float SQL data type and represented by the SPFieldCurrency class. DateTime: Allows for storage of a fully qualified date or time of day. Use the Format attribute to specify date formatting, and use the StorageTZ attribute to determine how date/time values are stored. This field is sortable and groupable. For Display mode, the order of date formatting derives from the regional settings ("M/D/Y" or "D/M/Y"). In Edit mode (or in New mode for Default element value), date/times are rendered in universal format: M/D/Y hh:mm am/pm. Corresponds to the datetime SQL data type and represented the SPFieldDateTime class. File: Contains a file. Corresponds to the uniqueidentifier SQL data type. GridChoice: Contains a rating scale for surveys. Corresponds to the ntext SQL data type and represented by the SPFieldRatingScale class. Guid: Allows for globally unique identifiers (GUIDs). Corresponds to the uniqueidentifier SQL data type. Integer: Allows for positive or negative integer values. The Commas and NegativeFormat attributes are used to specify integer formatting. Corresponds to the int SQL data type. Lookup: Behaves very similarly to a Choice field, except that the available options come from another list rather than being a hard-coded selection of values. The List and ShowField attributes can be used for Lookup fields. This field is sortable and groupable. For sorting and grouping, use the DisplayField value (Title, by default) rather than the foreign key stored in the list. Corresponds to the int SQL data type and represented by the SPFieldLookup class. LookupMulti: A Lookup field that can contain more than one value. Parent type: Lookup. ModStat: Contains content approval status. Possible values include Approved (default), Rejected, and Pending (stored in the database as 0, 1, or 2, respectively). Corresponds to the int SQL data type. MultiChoice: Specifies a Choice field that implements check boxes and allows the user to select multiple values. Corresponds to the ntext SQL data type and represented by the SPFieldMultiChoice class. MultiColumn: A Note field that emulates a field containing multiple values. For an example of a multicolumn field type, see Custom Field Type Definition. For information on multicolumn fields, see Custom Multicolumn Field Classes. Parent type: Note. Note: Allows users to enter multiple lines of text. This field is not sortable or groupable. All text is defined to be straight ASCII characters without HTML markup. Anything that looks like HTML markup or a URL is simply quoted (for example, Server.HTMLEncode) to look like straight text. The control for editing this format is a simple TEXTAREA block. Use the NumLines attribute to specify the number of lines to display. Corresponds to the ntext SQL data type and represented by the SPFieldMultiLineText class. Number: Allows for a floating point number to be entered. This field is sortable and groupable. Numbers entered are parsed according to the current locale settings for decimal points and thousand separators. Negative numbers can be indicated by wrapping them in parentheses or by using a negative symbol. The following attributes can be used in conjunction with the Number attribute to specify number formatting: Decimals, Div, Max, Min, Mult, and Percentage. Corresponds to the float SQL data type and represented by the SPFieldNumber class. PageSeparator: Inserts a page break in a survey list. Represented by the SPFieldPageSeparator class. Recurrence: Used to edit and define the recurrence pattern for an item in an events list. Corresponds to the bit SQL data type. Text: A single line of text entered in an edit box. This field is sortable and groupable. Use the MaxLength attribute to set a maximum number of characters allowed. Corresponds to the nvarchar SQL data type and represented by the SPFieldText class. ThreadIndex: Contains the ID that indicates the relative position of a message within a conversation thread. Corresponds to the varbinary SQL data type. Threading: The Threading field type is used in the creation and display of threaded discussion-like views. Any list can contain a threading column, but a special UI is generated when it is used. (It is never displayed as a standard editable field in a form nor as a normal column in a view.) If a sort is performed on a threading field, a pre-order traversal of all the records in a parent-child relationship is returned. This is accomplished by saving the concatenation of the creation date and ID number of all the parent records of a particular record. Corresponds to the varchar SQL data type. URL: Used to create a freeform hyperlink. A URL field is displayed as Description. If no description is given, it is displayed as URL. The URL text is itself stored in the URLs (DocMd) table, which stores all the URLs in SharePoint databases on the server. This is done so that any URLs that are local on the server can be updated through link fixup when their destination moves. When a record with a URL field contained within it is deleted, the corresponding referenced record from the URL table is also deleted. This field is sortable and groupable. (The sort is defined according to the textual description rather than the contents of the URL; if no description is given, it sorts the same as blank.) When Type is URL, the LinkType attribute can be used to specify the type of link. Corresponds to the nvarchar SQL data type and represented by the SPFieldUrl class. User: A Lookup field that references the UserInfo database table. Corresponds to the int SQL data type and represented by the SPFieldUser class. UserMulti: A User field that can contain more than one value. Parent type: LookupMulti. WorkflowEventType: Specifies a workflow event type as represented by theSPWorkflowHistoryEventType enumeration. Parent type: Integer. WorkflowStatus: Specifies workflow status as represented by the SPWorkflowStatus enumeration. Corresponds to the nvarchar SQL data type.
UniqueId	Optional Text. Not intended to be used directly from your code.
UnlimitedLengthInDocumentLibrary	Optional Boolean. TRUE to allow unlimited field length in document libraries.
URLEncode	Optional Boolean. TRUE to convert special characters, such as spaces, to quoted UTF-8 format, for example, %c3%ab for character ë.
URLEncodeAsURL	Optional Boolean. Like URLEncode, but TRUE to specify that the string to encode is a path component of a URL so that forward slashes ("/") are not encoded.
UserSelectionMode	Optional Text. Specifies whether only the names of individual users can be selected in a user field on an item form, or whether the names of both individuals and groups can be selected. The following values are possible: 0: Only the names of individuals can be selected. 1: The names of both individuals and groups can be selected.
UserSelectionScope	Optional Integer. Specifies a scope for selecting user names in a user field on an item form. If the value is 0, there is no restriction to a SharePoint group. If the value is greater than 0, user selection is restricted to members of the SharePoint group whose ID equals the value that is specified.
Viewable	Optional Boolean. TRUE to specify that the field is added to the default view. The default value is TRUE.
Width	Optional Integer. Specifies the width in pixels of the images that are displayed for users in the User Information list.
WikiLinking	Optional Boolean. TRUE to specify that wiki links, which appear in the form of double brackets ([[…]]), become translated into HTML links, which use the <a> tag.
XName	Optional Text. Used internally in XML forms to identify fields that have been added, deleted, or modified. This attribute is not intended for public use.

Child elements

• CHOICES
• Default
• DefaultFormula
• DisplayBidiPattern
• DisplayPattern
• FieldRefs
• Formula
• FormulaDisplayNames
• MAPPINGS

Parent elements

• Elements

Remarks

Important

When defining a custom field, you must specify the ID, Type, Name, DisplayName, and Group attributes for the field to appear correctly in Microsoft SharePoint Foundation. Statement completion in Microsoft Visual Studio erroneously indicates that you need only the first three of these attributes when in fact all five are required.

Example

The following example shows an element manifest for a Feature that creates three site columns.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Elements xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/sharepoint/">
  <Field ID="{060E50AC-E9C1-4D3C-B1F9-DE0BCAC300F6}"
          Name="Amount"
          DisplayName="Amount"
          Type="Currency"
          Decimals="2"
          Min="0"
          Required="FALSE"
          Group="Financial Columns" />

  <Field ID="{943E7530-5E2B-4C02-8259-CCD93A9ECB18}"
          Name="CostCenter"
          DisplayName="Cost Center"
          Type="Choice"
          Required="FALSE"
          Group="Financial Columns">
    <CHOICES>
      <CHOICE>Administration</CHOICE>
      <CHOICE>Information</CHOICE>
      <CHOICE>Facilities</CHOICE>
      <CHOICE>Operations</CHOICE>
      <CHOICE>Sales</CHOICE>
      <CHOICE>Marketing</CHOICE>
    </CHOICES>
  </Field>

  <Field ID="{1511BF28-A787-4061-B2E1-71F64CC93FD5}"
          Name="DateOpened"
          DisplayName="Date Opened"
          Type="DateTime"
          Format="DateOnly"
          Required="FALSE"
          Group="Financial Columns">
    <Default>[today]</Default>
  </Field>
</Elements>

See also

• Field definitions
• Columns
• Field element (List)