SharePoint® 2010 Administration: Instant Reference

Create Content Types

Content types allow you to package and reuse specific settings within lists and libraries. These settings include metadata columns, workflow, information management policies (e.g., when a document expires), and a document template (e.g., a form). One big advantage is that you can define these settings one time and use them on multiple libraries. If the settings need to change, you can change them on the content type once and immediately propagate the changes to all documents based on this content type. In this way, you can better organize content in a consistent way.

For example, a manufacturing company might want to capture consistent metadata such as Product ID, Revision Number, and Author for all of its product designs. ...