SharePoint Method–Return SPList (or Create a new one)


Method that returns an existing SPList on a SharePoint web

- April 20, 2015

Rest of the Story:

Method that returns an existing SPList on a SharePoint web (based on list name) or create a new one if not found.

public static SPList EnsureList(SPWeb site, string listName, SPListTemplateType template, bool onQuickLaunch) {  
      
    SPList list = null;  
    Guid listID = Guid.Empty;  
    if (site != null) {  
        foreach (SPList item in site.Lists) {  
            if (item.Title.ToLower() == listName.ToLower()) {  
                list = item;  
                listID = item.ID;  
                break;  
            }  
        }  
  
        if (list == null) {  
            listID = site.Lists.Add(listName,"", template);  
            list = site.Lists[listID];  
            list.OnQuickLaunch = onQuickLaunch;  
            list.Update();              
        }  
    } else {  
        throw new Exception("In EnsureSiteDataList SPWeb is null");  
    }  
    return list;  
}  

Cool eh?