Need advice on content types and libraries in sharepoint online

[Erik Wettergren]

We have some libraries that contain several metadata columns. However, when users upload new documents to this library then some of these columns are not available to edit for this document. The reason is that these columns are added to this library as a consequence of being part of specific content types and is not part of the default "document" content type.

Site Columns, however, are available for all new documents.

How can we make all columns in a library available for all documents - regardless of content type?

Or... should we edit the default document content type to hold our custom columns?

What is possible? What is preferrable?

[#2]

My advice here is to create your custom content types and add them to your document libraries

[#3]

Hi and thanks for the advice!

We do have a few custom content types defined for that library - it is from those we have gotten the columns that people whish to use for adding metadata to their docs.

However, the problem arises when the uploaded document doesn't naturally fit any of the available content types (other than default "documents") but thay still wish to use those columns.

Columns difined specifically for this library will be available but none of those that comes from custom content types.

So, what we would need is a "catch all" content type that holds all those columns and is applied by default when uploading to that library. Either by changing "documents" or by creating a new custom one (and make that default).

Or, make the library itself somehow "inherit" those columns so they are available to all docs in the library regardless of which content type they have.

Interestingly enough I just realized that using "Quick Edit" will have that effect - i.e. custom content type columns can be added to a document even if it can't be added through the "normal" edit panel that you'd use for individual documants.