SharePoint Online: Save List as Template Missing? Here is how to enable it!

Problem: “Save List as Template” and “Save document library as template” are missing in SharePoint Online modern sites!

sharepoint online save list as template missing

Root Cause: We don’t get the “Save list as Template” link on the list settings page in sites with custom script disabled. To enable the save list as a template in SharePoint Online, we should enable the custom script for a site!

URL shortcut for Saving list as template: https://YourDomain.sharepoint.com/_layouts/15/savetmpl.aspx?List={LIST-GUID}

Solution:

Enable Custom Scripting at SharePoint Admin Center and Site Collection Levels to enable list templates!

How to Enable Custom Script in SharePoint Online?

To allow custom script in SharePoint Online, follow these steps:

  1. Sign in to Office 365 and go to the SharePoint Online Admin Center.
  2. Click on Settings from the left navigation >> Scroll down to the “Custom Script” section
  3. Under the Custom Script section, Set “Allow users to run custom script on personal site” and “Allow
    users to run custom script on self-service created sites” options. 
    enable custom script sharepoint online powershell
  4. Click on “OK” to save your changes.

This enables custom scripts in SharePoint Online. However, this change may take up to 24 hours to reflect. To enable scripting on a particular site collection immediately, use this PowerShell script through SharePoint Online Management Shell.

Enable Custom Scripting at Site Collection Level

Let’s use PowerShell to fix the save list as template missing in the SharePoint Online issue.

#Variables for Admin Center and Site Collection URL
$AdminCenterURL = "https://crescent-admin.sharepoint.com/"
$SiteURL="https://crescent.sharepoint.com/Sites/marketing"

#Connect to SharePoint Online
Connect-SPOService -url $AdminCenterURL -Credential (Get-Credential)

#Disable DenyAddAndCustomizePages Flag
Set-SPOSite $SiteURL -DenyAddAndCustomizePages $False

This fixes the save list as a template not available issue in SharePoint Online! BTW, You need site owner or site collection Administrator permissions to save a site as a template.

sharepoint online save list as template not available

Also, on document libraries, it brings the “Save document library as template” back!

Save document library as template missing in sharepoint online

Instead of saving the list as a template and creating new list instances from it, You can also use How to Create a New List from an Existing List in SharePoint?

Update: The Group-connected Root site’s “Documents” (Shared Documents) library comes with the “Save document library as template” disabled by default, even if the custom scripts are enabled. Alternatives?

  1. Use the “Create list from existing” Feature: How to Create a New List from Existing List in SharePoint Online?
  2. Use the PnP Provisioning Engine: How to Copy a List or Document Library in SharePoint Online using PnP PowerShell?

Salaudeen Rajack

Salaudeen Rajack - Information Technology Expert with Two-decades of hands-on experience, specializing in SharePoint, PowerShell, Microsoft 365, and related products. He has held various positions including SharePoint Architect, Administrator, Developer and consultant, has helped many organizations to implement and optimize SharePoint solutions. Known for his deep technical expertise, He's passionate about sharing the knowledge and insights to help others, through the real-world articles!

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