Universal Lists: Overview of Methods

Universal lists are a tool for creating and managing structured information. They allow you to create customizable tables with various types of fields: text, number, date, file, and others.

Universal lists integrate with Bitrix24 modules, enabling data processing automation and access management. Imagine a list of employee vacation requests. A workflow is set up for the list, and access permissions are configured so that only the manager and HR department staff can modify the requests. As a result, when an employee submits a vacation request, the HR manager automatically receives a notification to review and approve or decline the request.

Each list represents an information block. Use the group of methods lists.* to work with lists.

Quick navigation: all methods

User documentation: Create and configure a list

Structure of a Universal ListStructure of a Universal List

SectionsSections

Sections group items like folders. This helps establish a hierarchy. For example, the section "Legal Documents" -> subsection "Lease Agreements." To work with sections, use the methods lists.section.*.

ItemsItems

Items are the rows of the list that store the main information. For example, the data of a contract, request, or certificate. An item can be placed in a section. Methods for working with items are lists.element.*.

FieldsFields

Fields define what data is stored in each item. You specify the field type: text, list, date, file, and others. You can create, modify, and delete fields through the methods lists.field.*.

The set of fields is unique for each list. All available types can be found in the description of the FIELDS parameter of the method lists.field.add.

Information in universal lists can be linked to CRM and Drive through fields of the following types:

• Link to CRM entities,
• File (Drive).

Read about the specifics of these types in the article Universal List Fields: Overview of Methods.

Sequence of Working with a ListSequence of Working with a List

The recommended order of working with a list:

1. Create a list using the method lists.add. Specify the code IBLOCK_CODE, type IBLOCK_TYPE_ID, and name NAME of the list.

2. Add custom fields through the method lists.field.add to define the data structure of future items.

3. If necessary, create sections using the method lists.section.add to organize the hierarchy.

4. Populate the list with items using the method lists.element.add. Fill in the created fields and link items to sections.

Overview of MethodsOverview of Methods

Scope: lists

Who can execute the method: depends on the method

ListsLists

Method	Description
lists.add	Creates a universal list
lists.update	Updates a universal list
lists.get	Returns data of a universal list or an array of lists
lists.delete	Deletes a universal list
lists.get.iblock.type.id	Returns the identifier of the information block type

ItemsItems

Method	Description
lists.element.add	Creates a list item
lists.element.update	Updates a list item
lists.element.get	Returns an item or a list of items
lists.element.delete	Deletes a list item
lists.element.get.file.url	Returns the file path

FieldsFields

Method	Description
lists.field.add	Creates a list field
lists.field.update	Updates a list field
lists.field.get	Returns field data
lists.field.delete	Deletes a list field
lists.field.type.get	Returns available field types for the specified list

SectionsSections

Method	Description
lists.section.add	Creates a list section
lists.section.update	Updates a list section
lists.section.get	Returns a section or a list of sections
lists.section.delete	Deletes a list section

An information block is a special object for storing news, services, articles, product catalogs, and other data with a clear structure.