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What is the plan for "modern" Document Sets?

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So it's been asked many times in the old network and never answered, so want to ask it here in the hopes that people are actually thinking about this.

 

What is the plan for "modern" Document Sets in the new modern SharePoint?

 

Right now, the experience is you are in the modern UI for the doc library, click the document set and it takes you back to the old UI, in a very disjointed experience.

 

Document Sets are the most used feature in our environment (and I think one of the most powerful/useful tools in all of SharePoint).

 

Critical success factors in my opinion:

  1. Don't take away functionality (do no harm)
    • this includes modifying the welcome page
    • documents inheriting metadata
    • multiple document content types
    • default views
  2. We HAVE to have the ability to keep modifying the landing page for each document set (including adding web parts) - we have so many solutions that add script web parts to build on the capability - (if things go the way they are now with the rest of modern SharePoint and we lose that it would be a major business impact for usability)
  3. Update the actual document view to be modern like the new doc lib

 

Things we typically add in code:

  • We typically add some buttons via script editor web part that are specific to the current document set the user is looking at
    • could be something like going to a start a workflow screen
    • likes to external systems based some metadata on the screen
  • We add a button / scripts to hide/show the document metadata view at the top, allowing users to focus on the document view and expand the metadata summary only when they want to see it
  • Custom branding (via image web parts and other OOTB capabilities) based on the type of document set
  • Analytics Event Tracking code - to see what users are doing while viewing document sets
127 Replies

Hi Brent,

 

We're looking closely at Document Sets currently.  They get significant usage in the service, and it's clear that they're in need of a UX update.  We want to make them great at what they're currently good at - managing a set of related files together.  We will keep the "bones" of the feature intact - shared metadata, distinct content types, and customizable homepage.  We'll likely add modern pages and page editing, modern library views, Flow integration, and other features that will help collaboration happen on files inside a set.  

 

Thanks for your feedback!  

 

Is there any rough timeframe on this?

I was seem to stumble upon little things that make usage for a user very weird.

I'd like to bump this thread again, since there hasn't been any information (or I haven't found them yet) on document sets at Ignite and nothing since then either. 

I've discovered a few issues with document sets and their behaviour and even some showstoppers than make working with them impossible

 

  1. Welcome Page webparts are shown twice instead of once
  2. (as already mentioned) Modern Document Libraries revert back to the old UI once you click on a document set
  3. (now starts the fun part) when you create a document in the old UI, then for example jump to word (edit in browser) and then click on the top left text navigation which takes you back to the folder where the document was created, you're suddenly in the new UI, even though you're at the exact same spot as in bullet point 2. So, all this works already and there shouldn't be any reason why clicking on a document set, except that you lose the Welcome Page. Here are the URL differences:
    1. when click a documetn set: Forms/Document%20Set/docsethomepage.aspx
    2. when returning from an Office Online App: Forms/AllItems.aspx?RootFolder=
  4. (not an document set exclusive error) when adding a required column (e.g. date/choice) with no default value you cannot save the required metadata, as it jumps to new UI and shows this error:  The file is locked for exclusive use by i:0#.f|membership|firstname.last@domain.com.
    1. this I'll have to further investigate.

 

Here is another question I asked during the AMA that didnt get traction either: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/SharePoint-AMA/When-will-we-see-Modern-Document-Sets/m-p/2903...

 

Document Sets, Search Web Parts, Publishing-Style Navigation (with audiences/permissions), and List/Library web parts are all the primary missing elements (what I would consider sharepoint staples) that are preventing us from even considering rolling out modern SharePoint at this point

 

Since Modern team sites were introduced I have 'more or less' abandoned Document Sets except for specific use cases where they are useful. They were already too hard to set up let alone add (New Document - Document Set). They are even harder to add in the new look. Folders are so much more obvious to users but their use will only replicate the file share structures on SharePoint.

Thanks for the feedback.  Document set content types are supported inside modern document libraries. The intent is that these content types show up under the New menu in modern, and clicking a document set takes you to the classic document set homepage with all functionality intact.  

 

For the bugs you specifically mentioned:

  1. I am not seeing this - you're talking about the web parts on the classic document set welcome page, right?  We haven't made any intentional changes to this page.
  2. Yes, that's the intended behavior - inside a modern document library, if you click on a document set, the UI returns to classic.  Going back to the library page takes you back to modern; I just tested this.  Do you have an environment where you're seeing otherwise?
  3. You're right, there are definitely issues with the breadcrumb.  In my environment, when I click the breadcrumb to go back to the library, I get taken to SharePoint Home!  I have logged a bug.
  4. I can't get a repro on this bug.  Required properties are working fine on my end.  If this continues, call support.

  

Now, even if this experience was totally bug free, we acknowledge that having classic document set welcome pages within modern document libraries is a disjoint user experience. We want to bring the document set homepage, and all the functionality inside, to the modern world.  This is on our backlog, but I can't guarantee we'll get to this item in CY2017. 

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will have to maybe create a uservoice for this if there isnt one already to try and get some public traction to help boost priority

Thanks Lincoln.

You said you 'can't guarantee we'll get to this item in CY2017'. If (as I expect) we roll out SPO to our users during 2017 replacing their SP2013 on-prem experience, the relative inaccessibility of document sets will hasten their disuse in favour of folders in our environment where Site Owners created document libraries.

Document sets will remain useful in specific cases.

 

Well, Lincoln is talking about the document set home page completely redone in the modern experience...the rest of document set stuff will be there
I'll admit, I would never put it on regular end users to try and implement document sets, but building robust/formal document management solutions (built by our SharePoint team who understand it, for our users who will USE it not BUILD it), it has always been the most valuable building block for our organization.

@Andrew Warland, i'd do a fair bit of playing with the settings to understand how to turn off the modern stuff in SPO before you really start transitioning, if you are anything like us, having "older/non prioritized" features is a must have. You won't lose anything, but you have to set defaults for tenants/libraries on whether to use the old (which contains document set functionality) or the modern (other benefits, but still missing lots of key stuff)

Thanks @Brent Ellis, we've had SP since 2012 and it's used across the organisation (of 8,000 staff) in various ways. We have remained very much OOTB since then, which has facilited upgrades. Reading what is happening to connect O365 Groups and SPO sites means on the one hand that we need to keep things fairly generic and vanila for users, but I'm sure we'll find reasons to retain existing DocSet-based libraries in specific areas. As always with SP, there is a balance of control involved - we have 'light' control (with only 2 admins) and Site Owners take responsibility for configuring their sites.

Hi All  -  Non-technical user here (but still in charge of our IT area!).    Scary but true.  

 

So, we have a current Intranet site, quite basic, and based on the "classic view".    We're keen to use SharePoint more and because we don't have legacy issues, we can switch to the "modern" version with really no issues to speak of.  

 

However, reading alot about the benefits of Document Sets, and the fact they don't exist yet with the modern experience, can anyone give guidance on how best to approach document management NOW (using modern experience) with an eye towards making sure the approach is "upgradable" if/when modern document sets becomes available?    In other words, what approach would you use in this situation to help future proof our users' experience? 

Ey Sean,
You can already use document sets in the modern libraries...but they are not modernized yet so user experience when working with document sets in the modern UI is going to be a kind of mixes stuff (Classic, modern)
Thanks Juan - Yes, I am clear on that. However, our desire is to not "mix" the classic and modern experience. Again, we have the luxury of not really having a heavily used site or strong legacy user experience. So, we want to start "clean" and this involves not having a mixed experience.
Bottom line: You CANNOT use document sets and modern, so your options are (1) go modern and lose out on the value of document sets or (2) don't use modern and use documents sets.

Unless we can build enough outside pressure within Microsoft, might as well expect this to not be addressed soon (at least not this year per earlier comments). As I've mentioned before, for most of our formal document management solutions in SharePoint we rely HEAVILY on document sets. Easily one of the most valuable features in my opinion once you figure out how they work.

So I'd recommend going with option 2. You aren't missing THAT much with modern yet other than a fancier UI. So I'd go with function over form, at least for now.

It seems they have been making some changes recently (1/2017) with the Document Set "modern' interface. It no longer defaults to Classic, but the tagging/information panel doesn't work. They even added an edit all link in the Info Panel but it just takes you to the Doc Set title. The only way I can see to edit Doc Set tags is in the Quick Edit. And the New tool bar is missing the link option. So now it is in the half-way house. At this point I need to set all Doc Sets to Classic view :-(.

 

Can someone please create a User Voice as suggested. This is having a significant impact on existing users and I'm not sure if I should be including Doc Sets in new designs.

 

Dear @Lincoln DeMaris,

 

Could you take a look at Julies comment as we're having the same issue at the moment.

Is this something that will get solved, or is the general guideline to force classic view for document sets. Previously at least modern ui worked at least half baked.

Thanks for reporting.  I'm working with engineering to get this fixed.  One of the following should be true:  1. the modern property form for document set content types should show the document set metadata or 2. the property form for document set content types should always be the classic form

Cool, thanks for the update!
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best response confirmed by Becky Bertram (MVP)
Solution
Its too early to put specifics on the roadmap - but we will update document sets. We are not being "classic Microsoft" here - there is a steady stream of requests for docsets (along with other parts of classic ECM) and I've never pretended otherwise. Fear is not part of the plan. I hope to be able to give roadmap updates at SPC or Ignite this year, if that helps.

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