SharePoint filters pane updates – filtering and metadata navigation for lists and libraries
Published May 31 2017 11:16 AM 78.7K Views
Microsoft

As we continue to update user experiences and customizability in SharePoint document libraries, we are pleased to announce the inclusion of metadata-driven filtering to the filters pane, originally introduced in late 2016. 

 

The filters pane provides a powerful way to find content in modern lists and libraries. Columns configured in metadata navigation settings will now appear in the filters pane automatically. The pane also uses machine learning to suggest the most likely columns to be used for filtering.

 

You can also permanently add chosen columns to persist in the filters pane view. Clicking the options menu (“…”) next to the name of each field in the pane, opens a context menu that lets a user pin the field permanently to the filters pane.

 

The filters pane allows you to filter on one or more column values, and if the column is based on Managed Metadata term hierarchies, you can also filter on parent terms in addition to single terms.

 

Filters pane with metadata hierarchyFilters pane with metadata hierarchy

Starting in June, we will roll out the updated filters pane to support metadata navigation in modern lists and libraries.   For more details, please see our help article,  Use filters to change your view of files or list items.

 

Classic document libraries have used page elements on the left side of each page to enable hierarchical “drill-down” and “Key Filters” on live view of document libraries.  However, the classic metadata navigation elements are incompatible with modern user experiences. The updated filters pane now makes metadata navigation compatible with modern list and document library experiences.

 

Any metadata navigation configured in classic lists/libraries will be automatically added to the filters pane for modern lists and libraries.

 

This will unlock modern experiences for thousands of users who were previously restricted to classic experience on these lists and libraries because of the lack of metadata navigation support.  Prior to this change, lists and libraries would automatically fall back to classic mode when this feature was enabled.   Now, these lists and libraries will stay in modern mode and reflect the metadata navigation configuration in the filters pane.    Administrators can choose to remain in classic mode in advance of the rollout by implementing the steps in this support article, Switch the default experience for lists or document libraries from new or classic

 

We expect to start the rollout of this feature around June 12, 2017.  Please continue to watch the TechCommunity for the latest rollout news.  Thanks.

 

65 Comments
Copper Contributor

 This is great news!!!

 

Will functionality be introduced to enforce metadata on document upload for modern libraries?

 

Many thanks

Steel Contributor

Great news.

 

What about document sets, will these be adjusted to the modern library settings any time soon?

Let's go modern

Copper Contributor

Really look forward to using this. Great job!

 

My only concern, how does this work with over 5000 items in a library? When I save a view, will the threshold be applied and my view fail or will it work as expected?

Iron Contributor

The filters pane is slick, and this is great news. Is there a reason that the Date Modified (or any date column filter) doesn't have a ending date slider control as well (or a date range option under "Select specific dates")? Our users often need to find items within a certain date range, not only a filter that excludes older items.

 

Thanks for your hard work!

Microsoft

Hello! I am the Program Manger for the Filters Pane feature. Thanks for all the questions and feedback :) 

 

@Steve Johnson - this feature will not be introducing functionality to enforce metadata during document upload. That is a seperate feature - watch the Tech Community blogs for more info! 

 

@Philine von Guretzky - having docsets adjusted to the the modern settings is a priority. This feature focuses on the metadata navigation being brought into the modern UX.

 

@Skeg - this works with large lists when the selected filtered columns are indexed. We are working on auto-indexing and will announce asap when it is ready. 

 

@Ryan Helmer - this request in our backlog! Range selection is awesome. 

 

Best,

Miceile 

Microsoft

Also @Skeg the filters pane *limits* what is alrady in a standard view.  Intelligent indexing, as announced last month, will improve the perfrom and increase the effective thresholds for working with data in large lists - look for this in the second half of 2017.  Thanks.

Brass Contributor

Hi @Miceile Barrett, without enforcing mandatory metadata upon upload we can't use the modern UI.  Any help to push through that change would be much appreciated.  We love the modern UI, but don't use it at all within our company.

Brass Contributor

This is great news!! We have handful of sites/subsites with "Metadata navigation settings". Will this new feature enable all the existing document libraries automatically or is there any manual setting we need to change. 

Thanks in advance!

Brass Contributor

Will it be possible to filter and show all files with a certain metadata value - even if they reside within subfolders?

Steel Contributor

Thanks @Chris McNulty for this. Just stumbled upon this blog. I had been pinging @Miceile Barrett here: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/SharePoint/Structured-Navigation-Publishing-not-supported-on-...

 

We can now see the filters-pane showing up metadata filters. So, first-off, thanks a lot for this.. it now makes our life easier shifting to modern from classic. However, a few problems remain:

 

1. Opening the filters-pane now takes forever, it keeps on loading and takes more than a few minutes to load up all filters.

2. All filters (that we are using on classic) are not yet available. Some of the filters on a couple of our metadata terms are still missing. One quick example is that the "All Tags" is missing. We used it heavily to allow filtering and searching on document properties tags/keywords.

3. It would be great if a filter option on "Category/Categories" could also be added. The document properties keywords are mapped to tags, and category is also accordingly mapped.

4. A date range filter would be great (as mentioned in another post above).

 

 

Bronze Contributor

Turns out this already rolled out to us, but I haven't noticed it, since we're primariliy using the "metadata tree" filtering, which isn't yet supported :(

Steel Contributor

I switched a couple of libraries that have Metadata Navigation and Key Filters setup to the Modern UX.  I do NOT see the Metadata in the new filters pane on the right side of the page.  I DO see the "Modified since.." slider  and the ability to filter on "Modified by" and file type. Should the new filters pane display my managed Metadata Terms? @Chris McNulty 

Microsoft

Hello,

Thank you for all the feedback! 

 

@Martin Hambalek - the required metadata scenario has been a top priority for us to solve. We are working on creating a new experience to solve the problems, I'll update TC and MC as soon as I have a set ship date! 

 

@Rajashekhar Sheelvant - the filters pane feature will enable all the existing document libraries automatically, unless the admin's tenant/site setting is set to classic. If you are not seeing the filters pane feature by July, ensure the site isn't set to classic and make sure the list experiences are set to "default experience set by my administrator" or "new experience".

 

tc post.JPG 

 

@Edvard Wikström - the filters pane experience will be the same as the metadata nav for folders. 

 

@Abhimanyu Singh - thanks for reporting the perf issue. We are trying to repro and see what's going on. Could you send me a private message with a screen shot of the "all types" metadata you are using in classic?

 

@Ivan Unger - metadata tree nav is supported in flight that this blog was announcing. We just found a bug where the tree was broken in IE and Edge. We have a fix that will be out in July, in the meantime the tree works in Chrome and is currently in 10% of Prod tenants. 

 

@Gregory Frick - you should absolutely be seeing your metadata nav and key filters in the modern ux. It sounds like you are seeing the first version of the Filters Pane feature, which didn't support metadata nav. The newest version of the feature is currently in 10% prod.

Bronze Contributor

@Miceile Barrett I must be doing something wrong then :(

 

I have a "department" metadata column in a custom content type (document set) that is distributed trough CTH and then added as the sole content type to a custom document library. I've added the column to the metadata navigation hierarchy settings, but it's just not visible in the SmartFilters pane.

 

doclib metadata navigation settingsdoclib metadata navigation settingsoriginal term store itemsoriginal term store items

Steel Contributor

Thanks @Miceile Barrett for getting back on this. I've sent a DM to you with the details. I am now seeing one more filter at the end, perhaps this is the same as "All Tags". Will need to confirm.

Brass Contributor

I'm quite frustrated that these "new" features keep getting deployed to 365 when they are clearly not finished or fully tested.  I held off until the end of June, thinking that perhaps the roll out to our tennant was not finished, but it is now July and YES we do have managed metadata filtering in the new experience, but it is not fully functional.  

 

The main problems I have with the "new" managed metadata filtering are:

1. Filters are only available when the columns are displayed in the current view - you can have them available after you hide the columns but then the filters are removed for everyone else. Like the classic metadata filtering there should be a way to allow people to filter without adding the columns and cluttering the primary view.
2. When trying to filter by a multi-level metadata column I'm given an error saying the specified view is invalid. In some user accounts the filter shows with the > expandable dropdown tickbox list and doesn't work. In another user account it just shows a single layer list of the current available selections, this does work.

 

Are we supposed to just keep checking every week or so to see if or when it starts working like it should have from the begining?

I'm not willing to lumber a few users with the new experience until it works properly, why does Microsoft think it's ok to delpoy it to thousands?

 

Brass Contributor
Hi @Miceile Barrett I may be having a related problem to @Stephen Bayliss in that I also am getting the error message "The specified view is invalid. The specified view might have been deleted or you might not have permission to view it. Contact the site owner for more information." I only get it when I check more than one box in the same metadata tree (i.e., two child terms). I'd be happy to help you with running down this bug if helpful. Here is a screenshot: https://www.screencast.com/t/Bodpo0S2
Brass Contributor
Hi @Miceile Barrett, through extensive trial and error I found that when using managed metadata, in Library Settings, in the meta data column, if I allow multiple values, it creates a problem for the filter pane. Namely, if I then select more than one check box in the filter pane for that managed metadata, it gives an error message. And a cryptic one at that: "The specified view is invalid. The specified view might have been deleted or you might not have permission to view it. Contact the site owner for more information." I posted a lot more information about this, along with screenshots, here: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/SharePoint/Filters-Pane-Smartfilters-now-available-plus-new-u...
Steel Contributor

@Chris McNulty and @Miceile Barrett  -  I hope you are grateful for the detailed (bullets and screenshots)  feedback you are getting from the Community on this feature.  It is important to many of us and it is important that it is 'feature complete'.  It has not rolled out to my tenant yet, so I can only follow the contributions of my colleagues and your responses.   Miceile, on 6/26/17 you reported that 'The newest version of the feature is currently in 10% prod.'  What is the current status?  Thanks -  Greg

Copper Contributor

Hi @Miceile Barrett, with reference to @Edvard Wikström's question regarding filtering on libraries with subfolders, I'm seeing that the classic and this new modern experience behave differently. Using the classic metadata navigation, clicking an item in the termset showed all documents that match the term, irrespective of being in sub folders. This new experience filters only the current folder, or it least it is on my test tenant. Is this the expected behaviour?

Brass Contributor

I am new to MetaData in SharePoint, was wondering on following basic Qs:

 

1. My SharePoint setup has existing folder structure already in place (mix of libraries and folders), is there a way to make MetaData navigation "pull" documents from "all" libraries and folders in one place (and factoring in the permssions at libs/folders levels). Would that require reorganizing the existing libs and folders into a single library and no auto-filtering on permissions? My aoplogies if I am missing the basic facts of SharePoint Foundation, kindly guide.

 

2. Similar to Q# 1 above, is it possible that the MetaData can help create a "common navigation" across all sites and sub-sites within a collection.

 

Thanks so much.

 

Brass Contributor

Hi All,

 

Filter is not working for me. It does not retrieve any value.

Any suggestions?

Copper Contributor

@Chris McNulty @Miceile Barrett

Filters seem to work OK for me on simple columns eg modified date, and a choice column I have created. 

They don't seem to be working on managed metadata columns.

I have 2 managed metadata columns on content types within the library. They are included in the current view. Selecting any value for one of the metadata columns gives the message "We didn't find anything to show here", despite there being documents that have the selected value set as a property.

Any word on why people are getting such inconsistent experiences?

Microsoft

@Richard McGrath - are you able to send me a fiddler trace? We have had one other reporting of this issue but I can not repro. 

Copper Contributor

Is it possible to pin filter pane permanently for a document library? 

Steel Contributor

@Miceile Barrett: Per your post here - https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/SharePoint-Blog/SharePoint-filters-pane-updates-filtering-and..., I sent you a DM with the screenshots. 

 

Would it be possible for you to please let me know the status thereof?

 

Copper Contributor

@Miceile Barrett sorry for the delay in getting back to you with a fiddler trace. In the time it has taken me to get approval to use Fiddler, the issue seems to have magically fixed itself, so I am now unable to provide a useful fiddler trace for you. It it re-occurs I will send through some more information.

Microsoft

@Richard McGrath - we had another customer provide repro steps. We found the root cause and shipped the fix to 100% prod. Glad you are seeing the fix :) 

Brass Contributor

Good job.  Just another thing, to match the classic metadata nav/filtering,  can you make it so we can filter by just a parent term without it's childeren getting sellected too?

Copper Contributor

Thanks for the update @Miceile Barrett - glad there was someone else who had enough power to provide the info you needed. Great to see the speedy response from MS on this one - thanks!

Brass Contributor
Copper Contributor

As filters are selected and the list shrinks, can the filters that have no more impact (no results for those filter options) be removed?

This is how Excel data filters work, and mimicking that same functionality here would be very powerful for cascading classification of items.

Copper Contributor

I don't know if I am missing something or if this feature is missing in the new interface.  In the classic mode, I have defined five (5) attributes each attribute has multiple terms assosoiated with it, some have over 50 and growing.  In the filter I have to scroll through the list of terms and place a check mark by the term(s) I want to filter on.  In the classic look I could simply start typing the the term and I would receive suggestions on applicable terms.  This was a great feature and ones that were available on other -much more expensive ECM systems.  The requriement to have to select the terms is a set backward in my humble opinion.  

Copper Contributor

I have a document library with two managed metadata columns, one of which has about 500 entries. When we use the modern filter pane, only the first roughly 255 entries are shown (approximately A-M in our list). Unlike other filters, there is no "See All" hyperlink below the last displayed entry... the list is simply truncated. With no ability to select any values from the second half of the list, the feature appears by all normal definitions to be "broken". Any advice?

 

Just to further clarify, the same truncation is experienced whether I use Chrome or Edge browser. The same truncation is experienced (in both browsers), whether I use the Filters pane, or select "Filter by" from the column heading dropdown menu. So this does not appear to be a client-mediated behavior -- it appears to be server-mediated and consistent wherever one attempts to filter by a managed metadata attribute with more entries than some hidden limit.

Deleted
Not applicable

Any way that the Filter Pane can be displayed by default for all users in a public view? Modern lists are new to our users and they need a bit of hand holding. If we can display the pane straight away then they'll be able to see more easily, how to filter what they need.

Copper Contributor

Anyone having issues getting managed metadata to filter when there are folders in the library?

 

Library with folders and files inside foldersLibrary with folders and files inside foldersfilter appliedfilter appliedfilter removedfilter removed

Brass Contributor

Hi Team, 

 

This is not true about any metadata navigation, hierarchical navigation through folders isn't available.

This is the most required feature if organising files in subfolders.

Now users need to go back and forward if they want to change folders.

 

Of course, someone would suggest of using metadata column instead and ask - why do you keep content in old-fashioned folders like 30 years ago?

But there are solid reasons for this:

- easy access control with different folders permissions instead of creating different libraries, especially if you use flow for business logic

- it's common for all business users, they understand folders really well

 

So, considering folders benefits, ability to use tree-like folder navigation in the New library experience will add a great value for customers.

Microsoft

Keep in mind, you can use a view that has no folders to apply the Filters Pane hierarchy to all content.  Thanks.

Brass Contributor

Could it build hierarchy repeating the folder structure of the library? 

Brass Contributor

@Chris McNulty is there a way to pin the filters pane open? Either by url or a specific view, we have some great metadata set up and we want to present it to users as soon as they visit the document library

looks like this was asked by a couple people here @Ryan Greenaway @Prakash Acharya

Copper Contributor

The smart filter panes in our document library not finish loading the managed metadata for "normal" users on the sharePoint online site.Some it appears for normal user and after some time it again not loading, we also observe the behavior is intermittently but It loads for people who are site collection administrator.Is this how the filter pane should work? Is there another setting that I'm not aware of to make this work for anyone who has access to this site?
Any help is appreciated!

 

Copper Contributor

Dear Chris,

 

the new auto filter and UI is great.

Unfortunately I couldn't find a solution for a simple question that also came up earlier here in the comment section:

 

1. Filters are only available when the columns are displayed in the current view - you can have them available after you hide the columns but then the filters are removed for everyone else. Like the classic metadata filtering there should be a way to allow people to filter without adding the columns and cluttering the primary view.

 

Thanks for your help, Carsten

Copper Contributor

Agreeing with @Joshua Benghiat that the filters, which would be great otherwise, are not useful if only half the terms show up. We have a column with roughly 100 terms, but only the first 70 or so appear in the filter, with no way to get the rest. I feel like this is a bug more than a design flaw, no?

Copper Contributor

@Miceile Barrett and @Chris McNulty, it looks like the managed metadata filtering doesn't work properly for larger term sets.  I've got a set of about 215 terms and the filter pane only displays the first ~140 or so as options by which to filter.

Microsoft

We currently support 120 child terms. This feedback is excellent and we have logged these customer requests in our backlogs. We do not have a timeline for changing this behavior; I will update the thread asap with any changes!

Brass Contributor

Hi @Miceile Barrett, please can you clarify regarding the max 120 child terms.  Is this a total of 120 terms in a term set or 120 child terms per parent term?  The latter would be disasterous but the former quite manageable for us.  Also are you planning to allow filtering by just the parent term and not the child terms, like we could with classic?

Thanks

Copper Contributor

When performing a Search of a document library (upper left corner) the 'Open the filters pane' icon disappears and you can't filter the search result. If you filter before search the filtering is in effect, but it would be nice to be able to change the filters without having to delete the search words first.

Filter before searchFilter before searchNo filter iconNo filter icon

Copper Contributor

Hi @Miceile Barrett,

 

Awesome blog :)

 

Just wondering - I've seen quite a few people in this blog and across other sites/forms/blogs ask if there is going to be a date range filter (between two dates).

 

Do you know if this is something you are looking to implement in future releases? You mentioned that it was something you had on your backlog back in June 2017.

 

This would be absolutely awesome - something we would use in a lot of scenarios. It would give us 'almost' everything we need in the filtering options

 

Thanks

Brass Contributor

Can we expand the filter pane by default for users?

ExpandedFilters.PNG

We are trying to replace the Classic Search web parts with custom Display Templates, along with Refiners web part. We would like to use a list view with filters (expanded) and custom JSON formatting, but I cannot see a way to for Filters to be expanded for all users.

 

Is this possible?

 

Thanks!

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