ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

SharePoint: Migrating from folders to MetaData

Updated on February 4, 2013
Microsoft SharePoint is a fantastic content management system.
Microsoft SharePoint is a fantastic content management system. | Source

When most people begin using SharePoint Libraries, they often emulate the file share mentality, and make the same folders they had previously within their new SharePoint library, because that is all they know. Although there are good reasons to use folders, like in the case of security, folders can be cumbersome to deal with, or lead to categorization that is too limiting.

Instead, it is possible to use metadata, which is just additional columns in the library, to use for tagging the content, such that it can be easily manipulated for sorting, grouping, and searching. Since folders can not be used for these types of operations, many users find the need to migrate their data from the folder structure to a metadata-based taxonomy.


Birth of a SharePoint Library Taxonomy

The first thing to do when this topic surfaces around your office is to start asking people what classifications they need to make their life easier. Things like Category, SubCategory, Department, or maybe something like Effective Date or Active.

The hard part is that nobody can really agree in a timely fashion, and further, nobody wants to stop what their doing to start categorizing their existing content. Instead, just get the fields in place, and let people perform the tagging over time.

So, know that you have the wheels spinning in the organization about where you want to go, now it is time to address the most basic part of the migration. To do this, I like to capture the folder the item WAS in, such that as people do start tagging, they'll have some kind of reference as to where it started. To do this, perform the following:


Add a "Folder" MetaData column

Step #
Step
Notes
1
Create a new column called "Folder"
This will allow you to capture the folder that it was a member.
2
Tag the existing content with the current folder name
This retains the information
3
Move the content from the current folder to the root
This gets it out of the folder
4
Delete the empty folder
Out of your life for good

Basic Steps to migrating SharePoint Content from a folder to MetaData

In-Depth creation of Folder MetaData Column

For the first step, it is a straight-forward as creating a new column with a single-line of text, or choice. in this case, the choice field is overkill if it is just you, but if there are some users of questionable ability, then the choice may save you some time and effort later.

For step 2, I like to switch to a DataSheet view for the current column. (This is after the Folder field is added to the list and the current view.) When in datasheet view, you can quickly copy and paste the folder value to all the content in the folder. Doing this one folder at a time takes a lot of thought out of it, as you're ONLY assigning the current folder's content with that folder name.

Step 3 is very simple when you have the ability to use the Explorer view. Switch the explorer view, and then move the content from the current subfolder up to the root folder. The only downside is that your name will be displayed in the Modified By, but there's programmatic ways to fix it, if it is really a problem.

Finally, Step 4 is the deletion of the empty folder such that people will not continue to add content to that folder.

The beauty of using these simple teps is that you can have multiple people all attacking different folders, and nobody interferes with another person's progress. Further, you can see how much work has been done, and how much remains to be completed, in case you need task tracking and management.

Using the new MetaData

Once the folder column is in place, create a new view which groups, sorts, or filters by the new column. By doing so, you can easily display the data to the users in a slightly familiar format. And, with minimal disruption, they can continue to work without needing any major retraining.

Additionally, once the views are made, you can create specific pages that use a List View Web Part that are based on one of the new filters.





working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)