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I want to create a list with tasks, subtasks of these tasks, etc. It should also be possible to add new tasks to a specific level in the hierarchy.

The only thing I could find is the Managed Metadata Service, but I don't understand how it works and if it is the right solution.

What is the best way to do this?

Thanks in advance!

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3 Answers

up vote 3 down vote

SharePoint isn't really that hierarchical, it is all based on flat lists. That being said let me show you some hierarchy:

  • You can have related lists. So you could have task list 1 which references task list 2. Now could have One main task in task list 2 which is being referenced from multiple "sub tasks" in task list 1
  • You can use the regular task list for "successors" of your tasks. It shows you a list box where you can choose which tasks are the successor of the current task and that way have hierarchy, you can't visualize this in e.g. a treeview though
  • You could use the "task groups" content type which groups multiple tasks together so you could have one overarching task
  • you could use folders and have tasks within these folders and based on your needed hierarchy you could nest the folders deeper

I don't really see how the Managed Metadata Service (MMS) helps you as you are talking about tasks - the MMS is for metadata which could be hierarchical. Say you have the metadata "color". Nested beneath that could be "green, yellow and orange". Under "yellow" you could have "bright yellow, light yellow, sun, egg" or something like that.

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Thank you for your answer. I see MMS is not relevant. The presentation of the hierarchy is important for what I want, the best solution having a + button to expand the (sub)list. Folders are not an ideal solution. Is one of your suggestions suitable for this? – Alex Mar 29 '12 at 8:37
One way to get + buttons to expand stuff is by using the MMS which is not suitable as you say. Another way is the Group by feature in a view. You could group by content type or some other feature to get groups, however this would not give you hierarchy - only groups and + – moontear Mar 29 '12 at 9:09
up vote 1 down vote

You can create two lists joined with look up column. To have data integrity, you can configure restrict or cascade delete in the lookup column.

If you want to view the hierarchy on single page,You can store tasks and sub-tasks in a same list (using different content type for each) and then add "Group by" to the task column in the list view.

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As I am new to Sharepoint, could you give a simple example of how (and where) I can realise your second option? – Alex Mar 29 '12 at 9:00
You can create two contenttypes- one for task and another for subtask. See here how you create in UI : learningsharepoint.com/2010/10/22/… . After you added both content types to a list, go to view settings and add Group by Task column – Amit Kumawat Mar 29 '12 at 9:22
All right, I will try this. Thank you for your time!:) – Alex Mar 29 '12 at 9:27
up vote 1 down vote

A better and simpler solution might be to make use of folders instead.

Folders are list items as well and you can associate fields like % Complete, Assigned To, and so on to them as well.

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