# Client Matter — Matter list title columns
The MattersList (and ClientsList) uses three separate columns to represent a matter's name. Each column serves a distinct purpose.
# The three columns
# MatterName
Stores the plain matter name exactly as supplied in the provisioning input (MatterName field). It is written as part of the matter's properties and is never combined with the code.
This column is read back when an existing matter is being updated, to detect whether the name has changed. The stored value becomes the "previous name" used in the My Matters rename logic (step 11 of the execution flow).
This column is read back when an existing matter is being updated, to detect whether the name has changed. The stored value becomes the "previous name" used in the My Matters rename logic (step 11 of the execution flow).
The equivalent column for the client list is ClientName.
# Title
The formatted display title shown to users in the SharePoint list. It is computed by GetTitle() from MatterCode, MatterName, and the MatterListTitleFormat configuration (see Title format below). The Title column may or may not include the code, depending on the format chosen.
# NormalizedTitle
A Unicode-normalized, lowercased, diacritics-stripped version of Title. It is written automatically alongside every Title update and is used by the service for case- and accent-insensitive lookups.
# Title format
The Title column value is assembled by GetTitle() using the TitleFormat enum:
| Format value | Title result | Example |
|---|---|---|
Name | Name only | Contract review |
Name_Code (default for matters) | {Name} ({Code}) | Contract review (10332) |
Code_Name | {Code} {Name} | 10332 Contract review |
Code | Code only | 10332 |
Custom | Dynamic expression | Contract review (10332) – Smith |
When both code and name are identical, only the name is used regardless of format.
# Configuration properties
All properties live under SettingsCfg.Provisioning.
| Property | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
MatterListTitleFormat | TitleFormat | Name_Code | Format used for the matter list Title column. |
MatterListTitleFormatCustom | string | — | Custom dynamic expression for the matter title. Setting this automatically switches MatterListTitleFormat to Custom. Example: {MatterName} ({MatterCode}) – {Responsible}. |
ClientListTitleFormat | TitleFormat | Name | Format used for the client list Title column. |
ClientListTitleFormatCustom | string | — | Custom dynamic expression for the client title. Setting this automatically switches ClientListTitleFormat to Custom. |
Custom expressions support all dynamic name placeholders from the matter's properties. See Dynamic Name for the full syntax.
# MatterName and the My Matters list
When a matter is updated, the service reads back the current MatterName column from the existing list item before writing the new values. This becomes the "previous name". If MatterName is empty or the column does not exist, the service falls back to reading Title and stripping the code prefix from it.
The previous name is then compared to the new MatterName in step 11 of the execution flow. If they differ, the corresponding My Matters list entry is renamed to the new name (after stripping any client name prefix from the old value to avoid double-prefixing).
# Effect of TitleFormat on document library matching
When the matter is a document library (MatterDocLib or ClientSiteCollection_MatterDocLib designs), the service matches the existing library by its title. If TitleFormat is Name or Custom, the library title is treated as a plain name and match-on-title is disabled (the code is not used as part of the match). For all other formats the code is part of the title and participates in matching.
# Related links
- Client Matter — Execution flow — step 10 (design handler creates/updates the list entry) and step 11 (My Matters rename)
- Dynamic Name — expression syntax for
Customtitle format