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Sharepoint library settings – quickly go from default to awesome

The out of the box list settings in Sharepoint are simple and easy to get your head around. Here are some basic configuration settings that will bring out the very best Sharepoint has to offer. So head to your list, and add these in…

Base folder structure – Having a consistent folder structure across your organisation can really help people know where to put and find content. If your organisation doesn’t, work with others to define a standard set, then add the relevant ones to your new list.

Content types – These are great for quickly adding a default list of columns to your list. If your organisation has a custom content type, add it in, and make sure it features as part of the ‘Add new’ button.

Enterprise keywords – turn ’em on, and bingo, contributors to your list will be able to tag their content with keywords to help others find their content

Columns – ditch any that aren’t relevant, it’ll simplify the process of adding metadata for everyone, and add any others if necessary. preferably from the ‘Add from existing site columns’. Note that once you’ve enterprise keywords enabled, the need to add every managed termset as a new column is no longer necessary. One column for all your subject-based needs

Default column values – Now that you have your folders and columns set up, you can define default values to add to any content that gets added to your folder hierarchy. It’ll save you list contributors having to tag their content so heavily, and ensure a consistency of tagging is applied

Views – Head back to your list, and you’ll see the default view should be a list of folders ordered by title. Oftentimes that can be unhelpful if you’re navigating it only to find there are five documents spread through 15 folders. Edit the current view, scroll down to ‘Folders’ and choose ‘Show all documents without folders’, and sort the view by date modified so the most recent content is at then top. Save your view as ‘No folders’, or even make it the default ‘All documents’, and rename the existing view ‘Folder view’

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