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List Definition Authoring Tools

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A custom list definition requires a Schema.xml file. This file defines the list schema, which includes content type associations, field, and view definitions and form and toolbar references. A list template element file references the list definition that is contained in the schema file. You can use the list template element file to create instances of new lists.

The following three types of tools can help you to create custom list definitions:

The next sections describe these tools.

CAML Query Authoring Tools

A CAML query authoring tool can help you to create custom list views that contain CAML query definitions. For more information about CAML query authoring tools, see CAML Query Tools.

Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 Tools: Visual Studio 2008 Extensions

The Visual Studio extensions for Windows SharePoint Services tool provides templates for authoring list definitions. These include a list definition project template and a list definition item template. Either can be based on a standard content type or a custom content type. For more information about Visual Studio extensions for Windows SharePoint Services, see Visual Studio extensions for Windows SharePoint Services. For more information about creating custom list definitions using the extensions, see the Visual Studio extensions for Windows SharePoint Services User Guide.

SharePoint Solution Generator

The SharePoint Solution Generator is a part of Visual Studio extensions for Windows SharePoint Services. Developers can use it to generate a site definition from an existing SharePoint site. For more information, see "SharePoint Solution Generator" in Visual Studio extensions for Windows SharePoint Services.

More Information

For more information, see Schema.xml, List Schema, and View Schema on MSDN.

For more information about creating custom list definitions, see How to: Create a Custom List Definition on MSDN.

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