Cross List combines and presents data associated to a SharePoint List through Lookup columns. Lookup columns allow you to use information from a column in a second list as drop-down values for the lookup column in the parent list. Cross List uses this association to allow you to pick not just the lookup column data, but any column data from the parent list and up to two lookup lists for presentation in a single list view. You can sort the data to target relevant information for your team as well as create a printer friendly view or a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet of the list for on-the-spot reporting or analysis. Cross List allows you to choose just the information you need and display the consolidated data into one “joined” view.
Let’s assume that you have 3 lists in your SharePoint site that are used to manage a development project. The lists are:
- Cost Center List: Contains the data for different cost centers in your company.
- Projects List: Contains the projects information in your company.
- Tasks List: A standard SharePoint task list. In this list, you added two look up fields. A ProjectLink field, which is a look up that is linked to the title field of the Project list. A Cost field, which is also a lookup that is linked to the title of the Cost Center list.
Cross List allows you to aggregate and combine different fields from all three lists above into a single view, such as this example: