Cascading list

Question

I have a list as follows:

Activity	Task
Fish	Smoke
Fish	Grill
Fish	Bake
Chicken	Sandwich
Chicken	Thigh
Chicken	Fillet

I have a Sharepoint document library, I would need an activity column and task column created in the document library. The activity column needs to display the unique values shown in the list above, and based on selection of activity, the corresponding task should be displayed.

Is it possible to get this done in SP Online?

Answer 1

Hi, I am a Microsoft user just like yourself and I will try my best to help you as much as I can. Try this:

Step 1: Create Lists for Activities and Tasks In your SharePoint site, go to 'Site Contents'. Create a new custom list named 'Activities'. Add items to this list with the unique activity names: 'Fish', 'Smoke', 'Chicken'. Create another custom list named 'Tasks'. Add a 'Title' column for the task name. Add a 'Lookup' column that references the 'Activities' list to associate each task with an activity.

Step 2: Create Columns in the Document Library Go to your document library in SharePoint. Click on 'Add column' and select 'Lookup'. Name this column 'Activity'. Set it to get information from the 'Activities' list and to show the 'Title' (or whatever field holds the activity name) column.

Step 3: Add the Task Column Click on 'Add column' and select 'Lookup' again. Name this column 'Task'. Set it to get information from the 'Tasks' list. Set it to show the 'Title' column, and in the additional column settings, set the 'Activity' column as an additional field.

Step 4: Implementing JSON Formatting (Optional) For JSON formatting, which can filter tasks based on the selected activity:

Go to the 'Task' column settings in your document library. Click on 'Column Formatting' at the bottom. Enter the JSON code to create a filtered view based on what is selected in the 'Activity' column. (You may need to refer to Microsoft documentation or community examples for the specific JSON code, as it can be complex and should be tailored to your unique setup.)

Step 5: Use SharePoint Designer or Power Automate for Advanced Cascading (Optional) If you need a more dynamic cascading dropdown that filters 'Task' options based on the 'Activity' selected:

You might need to create a SharePoint Designer Workflow or Power Automate Flow that updates the 'Task' column based on the 'Activity' selection. This setup can get quite complex and may require substantial knowledge of SharePoint Designer or Power Automate.

Step 6: Test the Setup Go to your document library and try adding a new document. Select an 'Activity' and then see if the 'Task' dropdown shows the related tasks appropriately.

For a fully functional cascading dropdown that filters in real-time as you select options, you will likely need to use Power Automate or SharePoint Framework (SPFx) extensions, as the above method using out-of-the-box features does not provide dynamic, real-time filtering without some page refresh or manual JSON customisation.

See if that helps! Please let us know if you have any questions. Microsoft Support is available for further assistance if the issue continues.

Best regards Deeksha