SharePoint Online: Rename a Column in List using PowerShell
When we create a new list or library in SharePoint Online, the “Title” column gets created automatically. SharePoint doesn’t allow us to delete this title column. However, we can change the “title” column name to something relevant, such as “Project Name” in the “Projects” list.
How to Rename a List Column in SharePoint Online?
Have you ever needed to rename a column in a SharePoint Online list? Maybe the column’s name doesn’t fit the data that’s being stored, or you want to make it more user-friendly for people who will be using the list. In this blog post, we’ll walk you through the steps to rename a field in a SharePoint Online list. We’ll also show you how to use PowerShell to rename a column in a SharePoint Online list.
Here is how to rename a List column in SharePoint Online:
- Navigate to your target SharePoint Online list >> Go to the List settings page.
- Pick any column such as “Title” from the “Columns” section. You’ll get the Edit Column page.
- Now you can rename the field at “Column Name” and hit the “OK” button to save your changes.
Rename a Field in SharePoint Online Modern Experience:
Renaming columns in the Modern User interface is much simpler than classic. Here is how to change the name of a field in modern UI:
- Mouse over the field name and click on the little drop-down menu to get its context menu.
- In the context menu, choose “Column settings” >> and then “Edit”
- In the “Edit column” pane, Set the “Name” field for the column and hit the “Save” button on the bottom to save your changes.
PowerShell to Rename SharePoint Online List Column:
Here is the PowerShell to change the field title in SharePoint Online.
#Load SharePoint CSOM Assemblies
Add-Type -Path "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\16\ISAPI\Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.dll"
Add-Type -Path "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Web Server Extensions\16\ISAPI\Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.Runtime.dll"
Function Rename-ListColumn()
{
param
(
[Parameter(Mandatory=$true)] [string] $SiteURL,
[Parameter(Mandatory=$true)] [string] $ListName,
[Parameter(Mandatory=$true)] [string] $ColumnName,
[Parameter(Mandatory=$true)] [String[]] $NewName
)
Try {
$Cred= Get-Credential
$Credentials = New-Object Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.SharePointOnlineCredentials($Cred.Username, $Cred.Password)
#Setup the context
$Ctx = New-Object Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.ClientContext($SiteURL)
$Ctx.Credentials = $Credentials
#Get the List
$List = $Ctx.Web.Lists.GetByTitle($ListName)
$Ctx.Load($List)
$Ctx.ExecuteQuery()
#Get the column to rename
$Field = $List.Fields.GetByInternalNameOrTitle($ColumnName)
$Field.Title = $NewName
$Field.Update()
$Ctx.ExecuteQuery()
Write-Host "Column Name Changed successfully!" -ForegroundColor Green
}
Catch {
write-host -f Red "Error Renaming Column!" $_.Exception.Message
}
}
#Parameters
$SiteURL="https://crescent.sharepoint.com"
$ListName="Projects"
$ColumnName="Titles"
$NewName="Project Title"
#Call the function to rename column
Rename-ListColumn -SiteURL $SiteURL -ListName $ListName -ColumnName $ColumnName -NewName $NewName
PnP PowerShell to Update Field Title and Description in SharePoint Online:
Let’s look at how to use PnP PowerShell to rename a column in a SharePoint Online list:
#Config Variables
$SiteURL = "https://Crescent.sharepoint.com"
$ListName = "Team Projects"
$FieldName= "ProjectStatus" #Internal Name
#Get Credentials to connect
$Cred = Get-Credential
Try {
#Connect to PnP Online
Connect-PnPOnline -Url $SiteURL -Interactive
#Set Field Title and Description
Set-PnPField -List $ListName -Identity $FieldName -Values @{Title="Status";Description="Status of the Project"} -ErrorAction Stop
Write-host -f Green "Title and Description Updated for Field '$FieldName'"
}
catch {
write-host "Error: $($_.Exception.Message)" -foregroundcolor Red
}
Renaming columns from SharePoint UI and programmatically using PowerShell and C# is explained in other articles:
