SharePoint Content Types Are the Bee’s Knees

A student at USPJ Academy asked this question in a forum thread the other day:

Can someone explain the advantages of using Custom Content Types in a List/Form Library as they pertain to making the rollup of data in a DVWP easier?  I am not sure if this is true, but someone here at  work mentioned this as being a good general approach.

They can help with DVWP filtering, but they are much, much more important than that.

  • Content Types allow you to enforce consistent metadata structures across lists.
  • Lists inherit Content Type metadata structure changes.
  • You can attach workflows to specific Content Types.
  • SharePoint is “Content Type”-aware, and manages the forms for multiple Content Types on a single list automagically for you.
  • Content Types are constructed from Site Columns which are centrally maintained, so all Content Types can be updated with new metadata options (Office, Product Line, etc.) instantly.
  • Content Types inherit either from base content types (like Document, Item, Event, etc.) or you can set them up to inherit from your own custom Content Types.
  • Content Type inheritance is hierarchical.

I’m sure I’m missing some things, but they really are the bee’s knees. Another thing you can quote me on.

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