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Posted: October 7th, 2009    By: Devin Walker   

Have you asked yourself the question: How do I remove the ‘title column’ from a Sharepoint list?  It can be annoying trying to figure out how to remove this column from default lists.  Often, site admins want their audiences to click on “New Item” in a Sharepoint list and not have to fill out the default ‘Title’ column content type.  I will show you how to remove this from the view.

  1. To begin we see in our example SharePoint list view there is no “Title” column in our default view.  If there is, and you want it gone simply modify the view and uncheck the option box pertaining to the “Title” column. Here is how my sample list looks, yours may look different:
    SharePoint List with Title Column Hidden
  2. The columns are all displaying correctly in our view, but when we click to insert a new item we see:
    SharePoint List
  3. Now to hide the title column, whichever order it is in we will go back to our list by either clicking the back button in our browser or using the breadcrumbs at the top of the page.  Once in our list window, click the Settings tab and click List Settings.
    SharePoint List Settings
  4. Now from the List Settings page select Advanced Settings under the General Settings Section
    SharePoint General Settings
  5. Let’s specify to allow the management of content types on this list by selecting the Yes option button and clicking the Ok button to apply our modification.
    Allow Management of Content Types
  6. By allowing management of content types we are now allowed to specify what items will be seen in the “Item”.  For this tutorial we want to change the “Title” Column.  Do this by clicking on the “Item” link in the Content Types section that is now available thanks to our previous modification. 
    SharePoint List Configuration
  7. In the Item content type you can see all the columns presented when a user wants to add a new list entry.  The Title column is marked as required in this instance. 
    SharePoint Title Column Step 7-a
    To change this click on the name “Title” link and change the Column Setting to Hidden.
    SharePoint Remove Title Column Step 7-b
    Click the OK button to apply the changes and navigation back to your list and add a new entry.  You should now see that the “Title” column is hidden from view. 
    SharePoint Remove Title Column Final Step

Important Notes:  Changing the “Title” column name or field type is NOT recommended.  The title column is included by default, and tampering with the field will just cause you headaches.  Keep the field as it is and just hide it like I just showed you and remove it from any default views.

Also: it is best practice to not leave the the option to manage content types selected.  You can change this to “No” and the title column will still be hidden in the form.

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24 Responses to 'How to remove the “title” column from a SharePoint list'

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  1. Thanks for post, but somehow I have next issue:
    If i create document library with one (or more) required fields, from site columns, title is always showing up (in new document), doesn’t matter what I do.
    If I check Title as: required, it is required. If i check optional, it is showing as optional. If I check hidden – it is showing as optional again! Any idea?

    brano

    4 Nov 09 at 5:07 pm

  2. That’s strange! If I understand you correctly, the column should be hidden if you have have “Allow management of content types” selected as Yes within that document library’s settings. Hope this helps! Thanks for the comment

    Devin Walker

    4 Nov 09 at 6:42 pm

  3. Very helpful tips on how to remove Title from the user form. Thakns a lot!
    However, I had had user Alert on that list.

    Now that Title is blank and hidden the Alert email shows following:

    “Item ID15 has been added
    Modify my alert settings:View Item ID15:View …”

    This ID can be annoying to users. Is there any way to get rid of that in the email alert?

    VJ

    1 Dec 09 at 9:34 pm

  4. That’s interesting, I’ve yet to hear this one before but it makes sense. Hmm, how is the alert email being sent out? Is there a way you can edit the email text using SharePoint Designer? Let me know.

    Devin

    Devin Walker

    2 Dec 09 at 12:13 am

  5. Thanks….it resolved my issue :)

    Pranay Jaiswal

    2 Dec 09 at 5:12 pm

  6. This is a great post. I have a request to show the Item ID after a list item is created. I tryed your solution above but I don’t see the ID field. Is it possible to show the Item ID without using SharePoint Designer?

    Vonnie

    21 Dec 09 at 2:51 pm

  7. Yes, you can add the column by navigating to your list, click Settings > List Settings. Once on the Customize List page there should be a Columns section and below that Add from existing site columns. Click that link and add the Item ID column to the view. Let me know if this works for you!

    Devin Walker

    21 Dec 09 at 3:09 pm

  8. I had tried that too. There is no field Item ID or ID.

    Thanks
    Vonnie

    Vonnie

    21 Dec 09 at 3:16 pm

  9. Hmm, perhaps I’m not understanding the purpose of this column. I thought it was a standard column already included. If that’s not the case you will have to create a new column to capture that data. Let me know if that works, otherwise shoot me an email and we can further troubleshoot. :]

    Devin Walker

    21 Dec 09 at 3:26 pm

  10. [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by EndUserSharePoint, Christina Wheeler. Christina Wheeler said: RT @EUSP: Good entry level site admin article: How to remove the “title” column from a SharePoint list by Devin Walker: http://bit.ly/7necs8 [...]

    Tweets that mention How to remove the 'title' column from a Sharepoint list | Articles and Tutorials -- Topsy.com

    2 Jan 10 at 10:34 pm

  11. Social comments and analytics for this post…

    This post was mentioned on Twitter by Romout: How to remove the “title” column from a SharePoint list – http://b2l.me/4y87...

    uberVU - social comments

    2 Jan 10 at 11:06 pm

  12. Thanks, this was perfect. I was starting to pull my hair out trying to get rid of that field.

    Michael

    21 Jan 10 at 1:08 pm

  13. very good , I search so long , thank you in advance !

    tomo

    22 Feb 10 at 9:28 pm

  14. You know, I searched a lot for this, thank you so much for posting this…
    Sharepoint is such a pain the ass

    New

    25 Feb 10 at 8:50 am

  15. Very useful, thanks!

    Bfromb

    8 Mar 10 at 5:56 am

  16. my God, i thought you were going to chip in with some decisive insght at the end there, not leave it with

    ffxiv gil

    8 Mar 10 at 9:19 am

  17. Great tip. Thank you. I’ve been banging my head against the wall trying to figure out how to get rid of the “title” field. Thanks again!

    -bill

    Bill

    9 Jun 10 at 8:58 am

  18. Thanks! One question: Will this only remove the “title” column of the list I’m currently working on, or will it remove all “title” columns from all lists of the web site?

    Gina

    Gina

    18 Jun 10 at 12:53 pm

  19. Oh, please disregard my last post. I see that it doesn’t affect other lists now. Thanks.

    Gina

    Gina

    18 Jun 10 at 1:08 pm

  20. thank you very much, this was a lot of help

    phil s

    7 Jul 10 at 1:31 pm

  21. I am in the calendar on sharepoint and I have followed your steps. When I get to the end, where I need to click the “Title” link, I go to click the “All Day Event”, “Recurrence”, or “Workspace” links because I actually want to get rid of those instead. Those three only do not appear to be links, and so I cannot access a page to turn them off!

    your help is very much appreciated.

    Mareo Raft

    16 Jul 10 at 11:55 am

  22. Many thanks – great post. I was beginning to climb the walls in my office with frustration with the column.

    Moya

    2 Aug 10 at 3:29 am

  23. Super! Very clear explanation. Thanks a lot Devin.

    Cees

    26 Aug 10 at 7:02 am

  24. Hi,

    How can I create a heading in sharepoint list – meaning it will be a column which does not require inputs?

    thanks

    kind regards
    Mzamo

    mzamo

    30 Aug 10 at 7:27 am

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