Get started with Lists in Teams

If your team has info to track, work to organize, or workflows to manage, the Lists app can help. Create a list of company assets to keep track of, for example, or incidents in a work area, or patients in a hospital wing. Customize the list to match how you work and share it so the whole team can keep informed and contribute.

If you've worked with Lists in SharePoint, Lists in Teams will be familiar. If not, we have step-by-step instructions. In either case, this article will get you started with Lists in Teams.

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Introduction

Team members create lists—from scratch, from a handy template, from an existing list, CSV, or Excel workbook—in the desktop or web version of Teams. On mobile devices, team members can view and edit lists but not create or add them. All lists are saved to SharePoint and can be accessed and edited from SharePoint as well as from Teams.

Note: Guests can't create lists.

Added lists appear as tabs along the top of channel pages.

Add a new list to a Teams channel

In your channel, select Add a tab at the top of the page.
In the Add a tab dialog box, select Lists (you may have to use Search to locate it), and then select Save.
Select Create a list on the Teams page. You'll see your options for list creation.

To create a list from scratch

Select Blank list, and then select Save.
Enter a list name. If you'd like, also enter a description and choose a color and icon.
Select Create.

To create a list from a template

Templates offer pre-formatted lists for common info-tracking situations.

Under Templates, select a template to view. Determine if it generally matches your needs. You can still customize your chosen template.
If the template looks good, select Use template at the bottom of the page.
On the next page, enter a list name. If you'd like, also enter a description and choose a color and icon.
Select Create.

To create a list based on an existing list

Use the column headings, views, and formatting from another Teams list as the basis of your new list.

Select From existing list.
Select a team, select a list, and select Next.
Enter a list name. If you'd like, also enter a description and choose a color and icon.
Select Create.

To create a list from Excel

When you create a list from Excel, the worksheet headings become columns in the list, and the rest of the data becomes list items. For related information, see the SharePoint article Create a list based on a spreadsheet.

Select From Excel.
Locate and select the Excel file you want to use and then select Next.
Follow the instructions on the Customize page.

Add a list from a different team or SharePoint site

If you have an existing list and the necessary permissions, you can add the list as a tab in a channel so everyone who visits the channel can easily view it. Only lists that are stored in SharePoint can be added—personal lists aren't supported.

Note: When you select Add an existing list you'll see only "standard" lists in the bottom half of the page. To check whether a list is standard, go to the team's SharePoint site and select Site contents on the left. In the contents list, the Type column indicates "List" for the standard lists.

Add a list from another channel in the same team

In your channel, select Add a tab at the top of the page.
In the Add a tab box that opens, select Lists (you may have to use Search to locate it), and then select Save.
Select Add an existing list.
On the next page, under Select a list from the site, select the list you want to add. The selection includes all the lists in that team that you have access to.

Add a list from a different team

Provide the channel with a related list from a different team that you're a member of.

Note: Adding an existing list from a different team doesn't automatically give your team members access to the list. For more information, see Lists in SharePoint in the admin article.

In Teams, go to the team site containing the list you want to add and open the list.
At the top left of the list, select and then select Open in SharePoint.
Copy the URL of the SharePoint page.
Go to the channel that you want to add the list to and select Add a tab at the top of the page.
In the Add a tab box that opens, select Lists (you may have to use Search to locate it), and then select Save.
Select Add an existing list.
On the Add an existing list page, paste the SharePoint URL under Paste a link to a SharePoint list to pin.

Add a list from SharePoint

Your team can view and comment on the list but not edit it.

Note: SharePoint custom list views aren't transferred to the list in Teams. The list appears in the default view.

In SharePoint, locate the list you want to add and copy its URL.
In Teams go to the channel of your choosing and select Add a tab at the top of the page.
In the Add a tab dialog box, select SharePoint Lists (you may have to use Search to locate it), and then select Add a list from any SharePoint site.
Under Paste a link to a SharePoint list, paste the URL you copied in step 1 and select Save.

Add list links in a chat

You can add links for lists, list items, and forms to chat messages in Teams. When you copy the link, a file preview appears with the link.

To add a link to a list:

In Microsoft Lists, go to the list you want to copy.
Select Copy link. If necessary, set permissions under Settings for who has access to the list.
In Teams, in the chat compose box where you want to add the list, press Ctrl + V to paste the link.

To add a link to a list item:

Next to the list item you want to copy, select More actions... > Copy link.
Select Copy link. If necessary, set permissions under Settings for who has access to the list.
In Teams, in the chat compose box where you want to add the list, press Ctrl + V to paste the link.

To add a link to a form:

In the menu bar, select Forms, and select the form you want.
Select the link button > Copy link.
In Teams, in the chat compose box where you want to add the list, press Ctrl + V to paste the link.

Want to know more?

For IT admins

Manage the Lists app for your organization in Microsoft Teams