Unable to Delete Site Content Type (Plus Management of Site & List Content Types & Site Columns)

Question

I have taken on the administration of a state agency division's SharePoint, which recently migrated from SP 2010 on-prem to the cloud (M365/SPO).

There are user-defined site columns and site content types everywhere and my experience in SP administration must not be as good as I think it is.

Anyway, I was experimenting with "consolidating" separate doc libs into one document library, with each of the formerly doc libs being a Document Set content type within the new doc lib. So I was creating these content types from a root/parent Document Set, and adding what are already numerous (and too many) Site Columns to it for the metadata. There is also an attempt to experiment with adding Site Columns that are of the Managed Metadata type, but that could have pros and cons to it, particularly with creating views and using app/lib searches.

I created one content type however that actually did not contain a Document Set type with it, and this Site Content Type became a List Content Type. I tried to delete the List Content Type, but it refuses, saying it is in use. The only place it could exist is within the one doc lib I created for these document set types, and I even deleted the doc lib so that the Site Content Type could not possibly be an in-use List Content Type.

But I am still getting the error when trying to delete the Site Content Type.

Not sure how I can track down a List Content Type (Site Content Type In a List/Lib) that is in use where I don't see it.

And I have another goal to see how Site Columns and Site Content Types should be created and managed (and the grouping of Site Content Types) so they do not get out of hand, as is the case with the SP sites (not site collection) I am administering.

Answer 1

Hi @mavi gozler

The content type was added to the available content types for your Pages Library. Go to Pages > Library ribbon > Library settings > Content types section. Click on the content type name there and then delete.

That will remove it from the Pages library. Then you can go into Site Settings > Content Types and delete it there.

In addition, there is no special way to manage site column and site content type. What I can advise you is to delete unnecessary content regularly.

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