SharePoint List Title Column [Remove or Hide Title Column With Examples]

When you create a new SharePoint list, a Title column appears by default. In many cases, this column doesn’t match your actual data structure, especially if you’re using fields like Project Name, Task, or Customer ID. In this type of case, we need to rename the title column in the SharePoint Online list.

In this SharePoint tutorial, I will cover:

• How to hide the SharePoint list Title column (from the form and the list).
• Make the SharePoint Online list title columns optional.
• Create our clickable column that behaves like the Title column in SharePoint Online.

SharePoint List Title Column

In a SharePoint list, the Title column is a default field that comes with every list, whether you want it or not!

It’s a Single line of text column and is used as the primary name for each item in the list. For example, if you’re creating a task list, the Title might be used as the task name. It’s also the field that appears as a clickable link in list views by default, which opens the item’s display or edit form.

Important Point:

• SharePoint treats it as a required field by default; however, you can change this setting.
•  The Title column is used in the SharePoint list view settings in three ways: displaying the Title in text format, as text (linked to an item), and as text (linked to an item with an edit menu).

Check the screenshot below SharePoint List title column:

Rename SharePoint List Title Column

In this example, I’m using a SharePoint list called “Project Requests“. Since the default Title column didn’t make sense for this list, I renamed it to Request Title so it better reflects the type of data I’m collecting.

Now follow the steps below:

1. Go to your SharePoint list. Then select the title column. Select Column settings, and click “Rename.”

2. It will display a dialog box with the option “Rename column“. In the box provided, enter a new name for the column, then click “Save.”

3. Then, you can see that the Title column has been renamed.

Note:

After renaming the Title column, only its display name changes; the internal name remains Title.

Make the Title Column Optional in SharePoint Online List

By default, SharePoint makes the Title column a required field, meaning you can’t leave it blank when adding a new item. But what if you’re using your own column, like “Task Name” or “Project Title”? In that case, the Title field may be blank.

Suppose you’re working with a SharePoint list named “Employee Tasks.” You’ve already created a column called Task Name to store the actual task titles.

You don’t want to force users to enter anything in the Title column; you want to leave it blank.

Let’s see how we are making the Title column optional:

1. Go to your SharePoint Online list. Click the Settings (gear icon) in the top-right corner. Choose List settings.

2. Under General Settings, click “Advanced settings.” Then, choose “Allow management of content types?” as Yes and click OK.

3. Return to the settings page, then click on the “Item” link under the content types section.

4. Then, on the List Content Type page, click Title and select Optional (May contain information), then click OK.

The Title column is now optional, and your users do not need to enter a value in it.

Remove the SharePoint List Title Column (Make It Invisible)

Suppose you’re working with a SharePoint list called Project Tracker. You’ve already added your own column, like Project Name, and no longer need the default Title field.

You want to remove the Title column from both the form and the view so that users no longer see it.

Remove the Title Column from the SharePoint List Form

If you’re using the default modern form, follow these steps:

1. Go to your SharePoint list. Click the + Add new item button to open the form.
2. At the top-right of the form, click Edit form -> Edit columns.

3. Then, uncheck the Title column. Click Save.

Now, the Title field won’t appear when users create or edit an item

Remove the SharePoint List Title Column from the Default View

You’ll also want to hide the Title column from the list view so it doesn’t show up in the list table.

1. Open your SharePoint Online list. Click the dropdown arrow next to the Title column name.
2. Select Column settings -> Hide this column.

Or another way:

1. Go to List settings -> Views -> Click on your view (like All Items).

2. Uncheck the Title column from the list of columns shown. Click OK.

Now, the Title column is also completely hidden from the list view.

Note:

When you remove (hide) the Title column from view, the change applies only to the current view. If you have multiple views (like “All Items,” “By Department,” or custom views), you’ll need to hide the Title column separately in each view.

Also, this method works the same for any column in your list not just the Title column.

Can We Delete the SharePoint Online Title Column?

No, SharePoint won’t let you delete the Title column because it’s part of the list schema. But as you’ve seen above, you can rename it, make it optional, and hide it completely from views and forms. So it’s as good as removed!

Check Out: Delete a SharePoint Online Site Using PowerShell

SharePoint List Custom Column That Acts Like a Title Column

In our Project Tracker SharePoint Online list, we already removed the default Title column from the form and view. Instead, we’re using a custom column called Project Name to store the project titles.

Now, we want the Project Name column to behave like the original Title column, meaning:

• When clicked, it should open the item’s Edit page
• It should appear as a clickable link in the list view

To do this, follow the steps below:

1. Open your Project Tracker list. Ensure you have a single-line text column named ‘Project Name‘.
2. In the list view, click the drop-down arrow next to Project Name.
3. Select Column settings -> Format this column.

4. Click on Advanced mode. Paste the following JSON:

{
  "$schema": "https://developer.microsoft.com/json-schemas/sp/v2/column-formatting.schema.json",
  "elmType": "a",
  "attributes": {
    "href": "='EditForm.aspx?ID=' + [$ID]",
    "target": "_self"
  },
  "style": {
    "color": "#0078d4",
    "text-decoration": "none",
    "font-weight": "500"
  },
  "children": [
    {
      "elmType": "span",
      "txtContent": "[$ProjectName]"
    }
  ]
}

Note:

Replace Project Name with your column’s internal name if it’s different (no spaces or special characters).

5. Click Save.

6. Now, in your list view, the Project Name will appear as a blue clickable link. Clicking it will open the item’s Edit form, just like the default Title column used to.

Read more: SharePoint List View Formatting by JSON

In this SharePoint tutorial, I explained how to rename the title column to match our SharePoint list requirement, make it optional, or completely hide it from forms and views if you’re using your own column.

And if you want to replace it entirely, you can create a custom column like Project Name and use JSON formatting to make it behave just like the Title column, a clickable link that opens the item’s edit form.

You may like the following tutorials:

• SharePoint List Calendar View Formatting
• Customize SharePoint List Form Layout using JSON Code
• SharePoint List View Formatting by JSON Using Lookup Value
• Gantt Chart View in SharePoint Online Modern List Using JSON

Bijay Kumar

After working for more than 18 years in Microsoft technologies like SharePoint, Microsoft 365, and Power Platform (Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power BI), I thought will share my SharePoint expertise knowledge with the world. Our audiences are from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, etc. For my expertise knowledge and SharePoint tutorials, Microsoft has been awarded a Microsoft SharePoint MVP (12 times). I have also worked in companies like HP, TCS, KPIT, etc.