Categorization, views, search and retrieval Becky Bertram Covenant Technology Partners

Metadata Definition: “data about other data” In SharePoint, we refer to metadata as a “column” or a “site column” Why is it important? Makes browsing data easier Makes searching data easier Makes retrieval of data easier throughout the site The fewer the fields the better

Kinds of columns Single line of text Multiple lines of text Choice Number Currency Date and Time Lookup Yes/No Person or Group Hyperlink or Picture Calculated

For each column Is there a default value? Is the field required?

Further defining the column Column TypeQuestions Choice What type of control on the page? Radio buttons Drop down list Check boxes (allows multiple choice) Allow users to type in their own value? Number Is there a minimum or maximum number? How many decimal places? Do you want the number to show up as a percentage? Currency Is there a minimum and maximum? How many decimal places? Date and Time Is it a date only, or is it a date and a time? If there is a default date, is it “Today” or a certain date and time? Lookup Refers to another list in the site. What list is being referred to? What column in that other list will show up in this list? Can there be multiple values? People These are only people that have Active Directory accounts Allow only people to be selected, or people as well as groups? Allow multiple values? Allow people to choose from all users, or just one particular SharePoint group? Hyperlink or Picture Is this a hyperlink or a picture? Calculated Field Calculated value based on another column. (For instance, the “Revenue” field times two.)

Demo: Creating a Column

List views Name of the view What columns show up in that view How are the columns sorted? How are the columns filtered? How are the columns grouped? How many items to display per page

Demo: Creating a View

Content Types Can be a list item or a document or a folder Can have a template document associated with it Can have a collection of columns Can have a particular workflow associated with it Can be used in more than one location Can appear on the “New” tab of a list or library

Demo: Using a Content Type

Document Retention How long should this type of document “stay around”? Are there legal reasons why this document should remain accessible? Is it okay if this type of document or list item is deleted after a certain amount of type? Should this type of document or list item be “archived” so it still exists, but doesn’t show up in search results?

Versioning and Approval Should versioning be enabled for a document library? Should an approval workflow be in place for a document library or content type? Who is approving the document?

Searching Identifying metadata helps us later on when we want to search content Full-text search vs. property search

Demo: Using the Search Engine