How to use [Created By] in a column?

Question

SP 2007, calendar list. Want to add a column that gets its default value from "Created By" but then allows that to be edited. This is what I tried:

Create column
Give it a name
Leave type set to Single line of text
Change Default value to Calculated Value
Enter =[Created By]
Click OK

SP throws this error:

One or more column references are not allowed, because the columns are defined as a data type that is not supported in formulas.

Is there another way to do what I need?

@Steve: Click the tick next to the best answer to give your thanks. Cheers! — Alex Angas, Feb 11 '10 at 05:16

score 9 · Answer 1 · edited Aug 13 '12 at 22:56

9

Try to insert

=[Me]

Also look at my answer to a similar post here:

Calculated value for Title field?

edited Aug 13 '12 at 22:56

Chris Jaynes

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answered Feb 10 '10 at 23:02

Anders Rask

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That did it! Thanks much. I feel like such a SP newbie. – Feb 10 '10 at 23:14
When someone edits the properties the column will then be updated with that current user, which may not be the person who created it. – Oct 05 '11 at 16:19
@Stein I went ahead and converted your answer to a comment. With a bit more reputation, you will be able to post comments everywhere. – Kit Menke Oct 06 '11 at 13:49
@Stein - this is for the Default Value - not a calculated column, so only applies when the record is first created. – Ryan Jan 31 '12 at 13:12

score 2 · Answer 2 · edited Aug 11 '11 at 12:30

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This will do the trick:

=[Me]

“Today”, “Me” and SharePoint

edited Aug 11 '11 at 12:30

Stu Pegg

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answered Feb 10 '10 at 23:15

I wish it would display the person's full name rather than the login, but it's good enough for what I need. – Feb 10 '10 at 23:31

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 10 '14 at 15:28

1

I created a column - "Creator" - Person/Group In the sharepoint designer, I made a "When new item is created" workflow to update the "Creator" as "Created By".

answered Oct 10 '14 at 15:28

Abu

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score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Nov 21 '11 at 20:55

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I would create a SharePoint Designer workflow to populate the "editable created by" field with the "created by" field whenever an item is created and skip calculated columns altogether.

answered Nov 21 '11 at 20:55

Cory M

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score -2 · Answer 5 · answered Feb 11 '10 at 17:12

-2

Me will display the value for the current user only. If the item was not created by "Current User" even then this column will be displaying Current User's name which is incorrect in this scenario. You cannot use "Created By" column as it is not supported by SharePoint calculated field mechanism.

answered Feb 11 '10 at 17:12

Namwar Rizvi

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well the person that creates the item should be current user, right? "Me" will display as domain\account. The user can then choose to accept his own login that is suggested as default, or type in another value. – Anders Rask Feb 11 '10 at 20:40
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Easy to see why you would think this, Namwar, but calculated columns are calculated on item save, and then stored as text (to prevent excessive load on the server). Therefore, a "Me" column will always contain the name of the user who last edited it. Yes, it's a bug rather than a feature, but it's a convenient one. – Mike Redden Aug 11 '11 at 12:24

score -2 · Answer 6 · answered Nov 21 '11 at 20:45

-2

Using =[Me] generates an error in SP 2010 anyway.

Just change the name of the createdby column to whatever: Requestor - Signee whatever you need that works.

answered Nov 21 '11 at 20:45

Crjangel

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-1 The OP mentions that the column should be editable. Also, I'm not sure why you think =[Me] in a default value causes an error, perhaps you have an unrelated issue? – Stu Pegg Nov 22 '11 at 10:42

How to use [Created By] in a column?

6 Answers6