How to Create a Cascading Drop-Down List in SharePoint 2013

Today I am going to show you how to create a cascading drop down list in SharePoint 2013. As we know, SharePoint has provided the capability to implement a cascading drop down list for forms out-of-the–box and it’s just a matter of configuration. You can follow the instructions in the article Implement Cascading Drop Down for Forms in SharePoint.

After reading the article, you will realize that you have to customize your forms using Microsoft InfoPath. But the way it was introduced in the article makes it seem like you cannot apply it to a document library. Fortunately, you have another great way to create a cascading drop down list — BoostSolutions Cascading Lookup column. This software allows you to create cascading drop down lists the same way you deal with the lookup columns in out-of-the-box SharePoint, with no code and no InfoPath forms. You can download the BoostSolutions Cascading Lookup column for a 30-day free trial here: BoostSolutions Cascading Lookup column download.

BoostSolutions Cascading Lookup is compatible with SharePoint 2007, SharePoint 2010 and SharePoint 2013. It offers a lot of great features:

1. Set composed filters on the source list to filter items in the lookup field.
2. Cross Site Lookup — It allows you retrieve information from any site in the site collection.
3. Autocomplete — Enables users to quickly find and select item from the drop down list as values are typed, leveraging both searching and filtering.
4. Multiple parent-child relationship — No limitation on number of cascading levels.
5. Conversion between SharePoint Lookup column and Cascading Lookup column (settings safety and data safety).

Try it out for yourself.