Tracy van der Schyff

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#Office365Challenge – Adding metadata in Document Libraries is what changes it from normal repositories with folders to categorized content that works for you. I’m not saying folders are wrong – especially in “big data” environments, but on daily working document level – it’s the way to go.

All libraries are created with the default columns for example: File size, Create / Created by, Modified / Modified by etc. The column I add most of all in Document Libraries would be document type. Keep in mind there are many ways to do this, go read about content types as well. In this post we’ll only focus on adding categories on the specific document library.

To add a new column, go to Library Tab > Library Settings:

On the Settings page you will first see the settings, then the columns on the app and the views at the bottom. Below the columns you’ll see “Create a Column”. Click on this:

SharePoint has ‘predefined’ columns you can use:

I’ve used the choice column. I made the column compulsory, added the (A-Z) choices, chose dropdown (as it’s longer than 3 in which case I’d use radio buttons) and cleared the default value. We’ll talk more about column validations in another post. Click OK to add the column:

Navigate back to the library and add a document. You’ll see that SharePoint now asks you to complete the document type (as opposed to putting the document in a specific folder):

After upload you’ll see the properties linked to the document in the library:

Tomorrow we’ll start looking at using these properties for reporting and views.

Overview of my challenge: As an absolute lover of all things Microsoft, I’ve decided to undertake the challenge, of writing a blog every single day, for the next 365 days. Crazy, I know. And I’ll try my best, but if I cannot find something good to say about Office 365 and the Tools it includes for 365 days, I’m changing my profession. So let’s write this epic tale of “Around the Office in 365 Days”. My ode to Microsoft Office 365.

Keep in mind that these tips and tricks do not only apply to Office 365 – but where applicable, to the overall Microsoft Office Suite and SharePoint.