A SharePoint list comes in two flavors, native and external:
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A native list has all its features and data built into SharePoint Products. There are a variety of default lists, such as Announcements, Calendars, and Tasks, custom lists that you can start from scratch, and the widest variety of features available.
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An external list also has its features built into SharePoint Products, but the data is stored in a data source outside of SharePoint Products, such as a database. Someone, such as a business analyst, must first create the external list. Once created, an external list has many of the same features as a native list, but there are some differences that you should know about. They are listed in the following sections.
For more information, see Find content about external data.
In this article
Comparing list feature differences
Native List Feature |
Supported in External Lists? |
More information |
Basic operations |
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Yes |
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Yes |
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Yes |
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Yes |
For more information, see Comparing list view differences. |
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No |
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No |
These features only work with client-side rendered list views |
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Yes |
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Yes |
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No |
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Yes |
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Yes |
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No |
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No |
A developer can create an alert in the external data source by using the Event Framework. |
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No |
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Yes |
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Yes |
The list limits and thresholds are different. |
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No |
Use the Business Data Web Parts instead. |
Column operations |
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Yes |
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No |
Can be defined in the external data source and the external content type. |
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No |
Can be defined in the external data source. |
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No |
Can be defined in the external data source. |
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No |
Alternatively, you can associate two or more external lists when you define an external content type. |
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No |
Can be defined in the external data source and the external content type. |
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No |
Can be defined in the external data source. |
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No |
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No |
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No |
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Client operations |
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Yes |
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Yes |
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Yes |
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Yes |
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No |
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No |
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Additional operations |
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No |
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No |
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No |
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No |
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No |
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No |
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No |
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No |
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Yes |
Making external list data appear in search results requires advanced configuration. |
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No |
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No |
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No |
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No |
Comparing column type differences
Native List column type |
Supported in External Lists? |
More information |
Single line of text |
Yes |
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Multiple lines of text |
Yes |
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Number |
Yes |
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Currency |
Yes |
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Date and Time |
Yes |
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Yes/No |
Yes |
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Choice |
No |
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Lookup |
No |
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Person or Group |
No |
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Hyperlink or Picture |
No |
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Calculated |
No |
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Managed Metadata |
No |
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Full HTML Content with Formatting and Constraints for Publishing (Publishing HTML) |
No |
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Image with formatting and constraints for publishing (Publishing Image) |
No |
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Hyperlink with formatting and constraints for publishing (Publishing Hyperlink) |
No |
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Rich media data for publishing |
No |
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Summary Links data |
No |
Comparing list view differences
Native List view option |
Supported in External Lists? |
More information |
All View types |
No |
In an external list, only the Standard View and Custom View in Designer is supported. |
Select or clear columns to display |
Yes |
In the external content type of the external list, you can also specify the Title column. |
Define a view audience (Public and Personal) |
Yes |
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Define a local filter operation |
Yes |
External lists may also have one or more Data Source Filters defined in the external content type that filter the data at the external data source to help improve performance. |
Define a local sort or filter operation |
Yes |
External lists may also have a pre-defined sort operation in the external content type that pre-sorts the data at the external data source to help improve performance. |
Define a Tabular View |
Yes |
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Create a Group By operation |
Yes |
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Define Totals |
Yes |
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Update a Style |
Yes |
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Item Limit |
Yes |
External lists may also have a Page Number defined in the external content type that limit the data at the external data source to help improve performance. |
Create Folders |
No |
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Create a Mobile view |
Yes |