SharePoint Content Type Cheat Sheet
- by Bil Simser
PrincipleAny application or solution built in SharePoint must use a custom content type over adding columns to lists. The only exception to this is one-off solutions that have no life-cycle, proof-of-concepts, etc.Creating Content TypesWeb UI. Not portable, POC onlyC# or Declarative (XML). Must deploy these as FeaturesRuleDo not chagne the base XML for a Content Type after deploying. The only exception to this rule is that you can re-deploy a modified Content Type definition only after completely removing it from the environment (either programatically or by hand).Updating Content TypesUpdate and push down to child typesWeb UI. Manual for each environment. Document steps required for repeatability.Feature Upgrade. Preferred solution.C#. If you created the content type through code you might want to go this route. Create new modified Content Types and hide the old one. Not recommended but useful for legacy.ReferencesCreate Custom Content Types in SharePoint 2010 (C#)Content Type Definitions (XML)Creating Content Types (XML and C#)Updating ApproachesUpdating Child Content TypesAgree or disagree?
