SharePoint Online Sites, Lists, Libraries and Permissions
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A default value is what a column holds in a new item before anyone touches it. A status that starts at Pending, a break that starts at 0, a Yes for "still in use": defaults save typing and make the starting point the same for everyone.
A required column can't be left empty when someone saves an item in the form. One switch, Require that this column contains information, turns it on, and the form takes care of the rest: an asterisk on the field, and a message if it's blank.
Single line of text stops at 255 characters. For anything longer, such as a reason, a comment or notes, SharePoint has Multiple lines of text. Its key setting is whether people can format the text, and for most lists the answer should be no.
A Person column stores people from your organization, not names typed as text. You pick each person from a list of suggestions, so a misspelt name or a wrong email address can't get in. One setting lets it hold several people.
SharePoint has one column type for dates, Date and time, and one switch, Include Time, decides what it holds: a date, or a date and a time. This guide shows both, and how to choose.
A Number column accepts any number unless you tell it otherwise. Minimum allowed value and Maximum allowed value set the range, and SharePoint refuses to save anything outside it. It's the simplest guard a list can have.
A Number column holds counts and measurements: minutes, hours, quantities, IDs. Its settings decide how the numbers look, what a new item starts with, and which numbers are allowed. This guide adds one and walks through each setting.
A SharePoint site with US settings shows a night shift starting at 10:00 PM. Hospitals, rotas and timesheets usually write that as 22:00. The site's Time format setting switches every time on the site to the 24-hour clock.
If your SharePoint site shows 7 November as 11/7/2026, it's using the US date format. The format comes from the site's Locale, in Regional settings. Set it to your country and the same date shows as 07/11/2026.
A new SharePoint site doesn't pick up your time zone or your browser's. It takes the default from the SharePoint admin center, which is Pacific Time unless an admin has changed it. One setting, in the site's Regional settings, gives the site its own time zone.
