Beginning SharePoint® 2007: Building Team Solutions with MOSS 2007

6.3. The Anatomy of a Content Type

The magic of SharePoint is making its various pieces fit your business situation, and nowhere is that more evident than in content types. Content types all have properties, the basic ones being the name, description, and grouping category. In addition, you have properties associated with templates, workflow, site columns, and policy management as well as settings for the document information panel. You can define and redefine these properties to fit your business situations, but to do that, you need an understanding of how to work with them. For example, you can change a content type name to reflect a change in process, but it's important for you to make the name consistent and intuitive when you redefine it. In this section, you learn about the various content type properties and how to work with them.

6.3.1. Name and Description

Because the name displays on all the buttons and labels associated with the content, you should assign a clear and descriptive name. For example, users should intuitively know what name to select when they click the button for creating a new item in a document library. You should consider who will work with this content type and make sure that they understand exactly what they are creating when they select a name. This is especially critical when you work with the automated workflows, templates, and policies. For example, if your company sells multiple product lines related to aerospace and transportation, and you ...