Thursday, April 28, 2011

Limitations of External list using BCS in SharePoint 2010

There are a many features that are missing when you create an External List based on an External Content Type:

1. Workflows cannot be associated with external lists
2. Cannot create Information Management Policies
3. LINQ to SharePoint spmetal.exe does not support external lists
4. No versioning
5. No Inline Editing or Datasheet View
6. No ratings
7. No alerts
8. No attachments
9. No REST access through ListData.svc to External Lists
10. No RSS Feeds
11. No Item Level Permissions
12. No item or field level validation
13. No Lookups
14. No ability to Export to Excel, Create Visio Diagram, Open with Access or Open with Project

2 comments:

  1. Adding to list above:
    No Check In, Check Out
    Cannot use SharePoint Content Types
    No Managed Metadata columns for ECT

    But there are many advantages too. Ur next blog post be on External List advantages over regular list to give a balanced view.

    ReplyDelete
  2. No REST access through ListData.svc to External Lists.

    Any alternative for this please.

    ReplyDelete