Forum Discussion
MicrosoftUpdate: Document Sets in Modern Document Libraries
I am pleased to announce some updates on the plan and timeline for improving the Document Set experience in modern document libraries.
In January, we communicated a March delivery date for these improvements. We apologize for missing that date. We’re now planning on rolling out this change in May. We will be making the official announcement to the Message Center very soon with exact dates. Thank you all for your patience!
This change allows organizations to use the power of document sets to group related documents together with consistent metadata and structure without having to go back and forth between classic and modern experiences.
Document sets now look and feel like ordinary folders in modern libraries, and benefit from all the cool new features in modern. This means that users can drag and drop content to upload to document sets, link to content that lives outside the document set, pin files to the top of the document set, start flows on document set items, and define conditional formatting on document set items. It also means that the Document Set experience can be customized using SharePoint Framework Extensions, just like all other modern list views.
All the content management rules you can define on document set content types are still supported. No business processes were harmed in the making of this change! Document set metadata can be viewed and edited in the details pane while in a document set. Shared metadata specified in a document set content type continues to work as it always has; values inside shared columns will be copied to items inside the document set. Columns that are identified as Welcome page columns in the content type are sorted to the top of the details pane, so that users can find them easily. Content and structure rules specified in the document set content type are also supported, including the default content and default view settings.
Document set versioning functionality will appear under the context menu on document set items in the modern list view, include “Capture Version” and “Version History.” Other document set-specific actions from the Document Set ribbon are still there, but only in classic. Just like any other modern list view page, you can click “Return to classic SharePoint” in the lower left hand corner to go back the classic document set experience back.
The one caveat is that customized document set welcome pages are not supported in modern. This change will not affect document sets that use welcome pages that have been configured with custom HTML or web parts; those welcome pages will still be displayed in classic mode, as they are today.
200 Replies
I raised a support request regarding the missing Capture Version functionality and had the following response:
I really apologize for the inconvenience caused but the "capture version" feature is still not available in modern view. You still have a workaround to use this feature in classic mode.
Despite the first post stating that Document set versioning functionality will appear under the context menu on document set items in the modern list view, include “Capture Version” it therefore seems that this functionality has not rolled out properly.
Would you please verify if this is just an oversight and advise when it will be rectified? Viewing the version history is pretty pointless if there is no way to capture a new version.
No Capture Version option available
DearLincolnDeMaris
Although the initial post said that functionality that would appear would 'include “Capture Version” and “Version History”', only Version History is currently appearing in the Modern interface. "Capture Version" is missing, although it still appears in the classic view.
When will this important element be added, please?
Thanks.
LincolnDeMarisDeMaris has this functionality be released?
Hi! I have a question about the welcome pages of the documentset.
I checked this blog: https://mnaveedblog.wordpress.com/2018/09/19/enable-modern-sharepoint-view-for-a-document-set-in-sharepoint-online/My welcome pages works only in the classic view, is that correct? Even when i copied the new view as the new welcome page.
- @WackMac50 that is correct. That blog only shows you how to get the modern experience when inside a document set. The Welcome page and its webparts are only in classic mode today. I don't think Microsoft has any roadmap information on when modern will be available for the Welcome page.
For now, any metadata you have with your document set, they are ALL listed in the detail/info pane on the right. If you have 6 to 12, it is tolerable. If you have 80+, it is difficult to control the user experience. "Edit all" is a good way to open up a cleaner interface. But if the user only has Read access to the document set, they have to use the detail/info pane on the right to view the document set metadata. There is no "View all".Hi Lincoln
Is there a way to have calculated column values display in the details/information pane for modern document sets?
I’ve tried adding the calculated columns as welcome page columns, but they don’t appear in the details/information pane.
There are certain calculated column values that my users need to copy to clipboard and paste in documents (eg case reference no), and unfortunately this can’t be done directly from the column in document libraries (although you can in lists via right click).
I was hoping to have the calculated fields appear in the document set details/information pane so my users could highlight/copy/paste that way.
- You mentioned: “This change will not affect document sets that use welcome pages that have been configured with custom HTML or web parts; those welcome pages will still be displayed in classic mode, as they are today. ”
I have a customer in this position who wants to get the modern experience. How do you safely revert back from a classic customized Welcome page to get the modern document set experience?- Hi Roland - You'll need to edit the Welcome Page by generally following these steps: 1) Within a specific Document Set's settings, click the link to "Customize the Welcome Page" 2) Click the Page ribbon at the top of the next webform, then click the "Edit Page" within that ribbon 3) Delete all web parts in zones 1-4 (to confirm all custom Web Parts have been removed) 4a) Add Image Viewer to zone 1 by clicking "Add a Web Part" within the Zone 1 box (click "Add a Web Part", then the "Media and Content" category, then the "Image Viewer" part, then press the "Add" button to add it to the selected Web Part ) 4b) Add Document Set Properties to zone 2 (under the "Document Sets" category) 4c) Add Document Set Contents to zone 3 (under the "Document Sets" category) 4d) Keep zone 4 empty 5) Click the "Stop Editing" button back on the Page ribbon to confirm the updates. I've asked Lincoln and Co to consider adding a button in the future that reverts the Welcome Page back to this default to save these steps, which you'll need to perform for each Document Set content type for each library previously using the classic view.
- Thanks Mark, I was able to complete the project today using these tips.
This is very cool and we're slowly testing this in our production environment.
I found of the limit today; you can't MOVE TO or COPY TO a document set to another location...for now. Hopefully they will add this feature soon!
Sebastien Gagne LincolnDeMaris
The MoveTO and CopyTO buttons are still not working properly, even though Lincoln stated this was "near the top of the roadmap activities". But currently a document set can only be moved/copied to another document SET instead of a library.
If a target library is configured to accept the same Document Set Content Types, it should be available as a target library for MoveTO/CopyTO. Basically a no-brainer, as the existing MoveTo/CopyTo don't make sense at all.
LincolnDeMaris could you please provide a status update? Or somebody else from the MS product team?
JanKlooster , One way I found to move document set between librairies is to create a folder into the source library, move the document sets into the folder. Then you can move the folder into another library (document set content type needs to be available) and then you can move the documents sets inside the folder at the root of the library.
UPDATE: I found however that the document set metadata does not get transfered. It sets back to folder (even if we see the document set icon). Need to set the content type back to document set and fill the metadata.
LincolnDeMaris please could we have an update on when Modern Document Sets are going to be roller out? The roadmap site shows that this has been moved back to Q2-2019.
Thanks.
LincolnDeMarisstuarttaylor They are fully rolled out.
Hi LincolnDeMaris,
I've noticed an odd behavior of the breadcrumbs when using a document set.
I have create a view "Filtered View" (not set to default) and added some filters.
I have also configured the document set welcome page to use the "Filtered View" as its default view.
When I opened the document library and switched to "Filtered View", my filtered document set list will show and when I click on a document set it will also open using "Filtered View" as the document set's default view.
But when I click the Document library link on the breadcrumbs to navigate back, the view will change to the document library default view "All Documents" not "Filtered View".
Note: This behavior does not occur on Folders and Folders inside document sets.
Please advise.
I have 02 tentants with Document Sets configured with custom metadata. Now in the 1st tenant, when I create a DS from a library (modern view) it shows a form along with the custom metadata, that's ok, but when I do the same action in the 2nd tentant, it just shows Title but no custom metadata, besides, it also shows 2 save buttons but only one of them seems to works.
I can edit DS properties after save it, but is not suitable:
1st Tenant:
2nd Tenant:
- Removing the Welcome Page functionality of displaying a document sets properties is causing issues for users in my company. Users are familiar with all relevant data being displayed when opening a document set and even being able to print this page off, rather than having to scroll endlessly to see all the properties in the details pane.
Is an updated "Welcome Page" in the works? Or is there a workaround for this?- Chosen_One, I am encountering a similar issue with the UI presentation of the metadata in a modern document set library. re: Workaround, We are using Nintex Forms so we can "explode" out of the detail pane. I haven't tried to find another way as a workaround. Maybe someone from the community has a suggestion?
But with the modern document set, users with Read access cannot see all metadata. ("Edit all" is available but not "View all", like the classic document set).
With the modern document set, the welcome page fields show up in the detail pane, which is OK. However, if the user has read access to a document set they won't get the "Edit all" link in the detail pane. This means if a metadata column is not on the welcome page then they do not have access to view the metadata. Nintex Forms is being used to present all the metadata and works under classic using the "View All Properties" and "Edit Properties". There are over 4 printed pages of information ("Properties") for a document set. The modern document set makes it difficult to adopt the setup.
Could you provide more information on when the welcome page will be modernized OR if a "View all" will be introduced in the detail pane?
We want to leverage the new modern UI (site and library/list) but having a hybrid experience will only complicate usage for users. Should we stick with classic for everything? What are Microsoft's plans for keeping classic around (even though no new features are being added to classic)?
Our project has been waiting for the modern document set update, since Q4 2018. The update is throwing a wrench in our plans/budget; there was no information (O365 Roadmap) in what the modern document set will be like or that there won't be support for a modern welcome page.
Any information you have to share is appreciated. I understand I could go to User Voice but I'd prefer to get some information direct from Microsoft. Items in user voice gets "lost" because a lack of votes pushes the suggestion down the list and no one ends up seeing it.
Thank you.
Just wondering when Australian tenants will get this feature? I'm working on a customer who has a Geo-Location set and we are still seeing classic document sets despite changing view settings as suggested by https://mnaveedblog.wordpress.com/2018/09/19/enable-modern-sharepoint-view-for-a-document-set-in-sharepoint-online/
