What are your best ideas to automate metadata management

[Erik Wettergren]

I'm struggling to find ways to improve user adoption and simplify adding/editing metadata to documnets in SharePoint libraries.

So far I've mostly tried to learn how to use what's allready built into SP but I find it rather frustrating that there is little or no automation to be found.

I'm testing out Flow and so far I've setup a simple Flow that adds a few basic meta data when a file is uploaded. But what else can be done and how?

E.g. is there a way to use Flow to go through a folder structure and apply the folder names as metadata to a file?

or is there any way to use AI to identify similarities to other docs and suggest metadata that the user just can accept or reject?

Greatly appreciate all input on how to simplify or autmate the metadata management in document libraries.

[#2]

Erik,

I do not believe there is a silver bullet to achieve this. You may have to resort to combining various solutions. The below list provides some ideas, the list is not exhaustive.

- when the source content contains metadata (e.g. subject in an email, title in a Word file, keyword in a PDF file or GPS coordinates in a jpg file) it will be useful if that metadata becomes available in SharePoint columns. So having a solution that can extract metadata from different file types during uploading will help.
- make use of the context. For example, if a user is working in finance and uploading a document then setting the default metadata value for function to finance will reduce effort for the user.
- remember previously entered metadata (on a per user basis).
- deploy tools to convert folder structures into metadata (i.e. flatten folder structures)

Paul | SLIM Applications

[#3]

Although the search functionality is greatly improving metadata (IMHO) is still KING!

It is my goal to bother the user as little as possible with filling in all kinds of metadata. I do this by creating some sort of folderstructure and then use default values (a feature of a document library) as much as possible,.

My personal best practice is to differentiate between the following 2 roles:

• Content creators
• Content users

The content creators (#duh) create new content.

The content users (#duh) use (thus search for and perhaps update) content. 

Mind you: these are roles. One person can use both roles ;)

Content creators see the folders I mentioned above and create documentation in those folders, or drag/drop documents into these folders. This way the documents automagicly make use of the default values.

Content users can the use the metadata when searching for content, or filter document libraries using that same metadata.

#hopethishelps!

[#4]

Thanks Paul some interesting ideas there. Any idea on how to achieve those. For example how can you teach SharePoint to remember a users previously entered meta?

[#5]

Thnaks Sander, I too have been looking into this way of doing it and it surely have some merits. The biggest drawback however is that for us, when migrating lots of documents from many 1000 folders, it would mean an almost impossible feat to go inte library settings and specify default values.

It is definitely useful going forward, but for moving all the old stuf I was kind of hoping for a way for SharePoint (or Flow) to find the name of each folder and add that as meta to the files it holds.

[#6]

Hi

when migrating such volumes I would advise no or a bare minimum of metadata.

You are most likely migrating from:

- a file share

- another system

Then it depends where you are migrating to:

- SharePoint team - department or project sites then you could be thinking of adding project metadata to the documents using your migration tool of choice.

- Microsoft Teams -..... well - no meta data here :)

It is always a struggle. My rule of thumb: how will your users (all the different persona's) find the information they need…. 

if you need anything else just let me (us) know ;)

[#7]

SharePoint is great at ingesting content but uploading content without metadata effectively means you are using SharePoint as a web-based file share. One area where there is room for improvement is in the area of metadata.
Caching of previously entered metadata is not supported out-of-the-box eventhough it will greatly simplify the user' task. 3rd party solutions are emerging with the capability. See https://directory.collab365.community/office365-sharepoint/best-document-management-tools-for-sharep...
For example, my company has developed a browser-based tool named SLIM Companion Explorer that enhances metadata support (e.g. caches content-types used, map source properties, ...). Being able to re-use metadata in SharePoint whether it is retaining the original modify date, extracting a property from a PDF file, capturing the email subject, .. is going to be key.

[#8]

well we have some various situations and different needs depending on several factors.

One thing in common though is that we're migrating from SharePoint 2010 (too old for MS migration tool) and essentially organized with a typical fileshare folder structure to SharePoint Online and preferrably organized with metadata rather than folders.

[#9]

thanks for the link - some interesting options there.