Tip: Quickly Import List and Library Templates into SharePoint

Introduction

Importing a list or library in Microsoft SharePoint 2010 is different than in SharePoint 2007.  For one thing, you won't find the usual Manage list template gallery in the Site Administration page:

Instead, you'll see a different link, List templates:

Clicking the List templates link takes you to a page listing any custom templates you may have, but does not seem to provide any means of loading them.

If you search online, you may find one or more articles that state that the only way to now upload templates to SharePoint 2010 is using PowerShell [1].  However, there is a very simple way of uploading custom lists and libraries to a SharePoint 2010 collection that doesn't require scripting or anything complicated.  The following procedure shows you how.

Procedure

On any page of your site collection, go:

Site Actions > Site Settings > Galleries > List templates

This takes you to the All Templates listing, as shown above.  On this page, click the Documents tab to view the Documents ribbon.

Then, on the Documents tab, click Upload Document on the Documents ribbon.  Navigate to your list or library template, and then upload.  That's it.

You can also accomplish the same thing by selecting the Library ribbon, and then clicking the Open in Explorer button.

Summary

This tip showed you how to quickly upload custom list and library templates into a SharePoint 2010.  Use this method to migrate lists and libraries and their content from one SharePoint 2010 site to another.

Happy computing!

References

1. Import a list or document library in SharePoint Server 2010