How to get Column names from a SharePoint list?

Question

I created a List and added three columns to it. When I look at the list in my "List Settings" page, I see the three columns I created and some default ones as well (Title, Created By and Modified By). When I view the Items in the list I just see the columns I created.

My issue is that when I try to get a list of columns for my list from code I get a whole slew of other ones that I don't see anywhere (Version, Attachments, Item Child Count, etc.)

Here is the code I am using to get this list:

        List<string> visFields = new List<string>();
        foreach (SPField field in myList.Fields)
        {
            if (!field.Hidden)
            {
                visFields.Add(field.Title);
            }
        }

        return visFields;

Is looking at the fields the wrong way to go about this? How can I get the same list of columns that is displayed when you view the items in the list?

Solution

You want to get the DefaultView for your list (SPList.DefaultView), then inspect the ViewFields element.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/microsoft.sharepoint.spview.viewfields.aspx

Comments

[Abe Miessler]

Perfect, this is just what I was looking for.