SharePoint 2010 Document Sets: Better Ways To Manage Content

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1 ASPE RESOURCE SERIES SharePoint 2010 Document Sets: Better Ways To Manage Content Prepared for ASPE by Global Knowledge's Marcellus Duffy, MCT, MCSD, MCTS, MCAD and Mike Smith, MCP, MCT Real Skills. Real Results. Real IT. in partnership with

2 SharePoint 2010 Document Sets: Better Ways To Manage Content Marcellus Duffy, MCT, MCSD, MCTS, MCAD Mike Smith, MCP, MCT What Is Content Management? Content management (CM) is the process of managing information from a technology perspective. It encompasses all facets of data management to include the process of collecting and distributing information, regardless of the medium used. Digital information comes in many formats to include standard documents, audio, and video data. In the digital era, companies often struggle to organize the vast quantity of information at their disposal. The advent of digital content has raised several new challenges. The idea of multiple editors of any given document creates version control problems over time. Which iteration of the document is the correct or current version? The practice of content management is an attempt to corral information into usable, searchable documents or data that can be efficiently stored and found quickly when needed. A well-designed enterprise content management system (ECMS) implements automated processes that allow for documents to be either created or imported directly, institutes a versioning system, supports checking documents in and out for editing, and employs a robust workflow process to route the approval of new or revised content. What Tools Are Provided in SharePoint To Help You Manage Content? SharePoint 2007 effectively demonstrated its capability to manage documents through the use of custom document libraries, approval workflows, version control, and a check-out process that were efficiently integrated into Microsoft Office Microsoft s newest release, SharePoint 2010, takes the challenge of content management even further by implementing several features that improve on this functionality. Some examples of these new methods that simplify document management include: Advanced Routing Allows SharePoint to assist users by automatically selecting the appropriate library for a document based on metadata rules Content Rating Allows users to provide a usefulness rating which can be used in filtering search scopes Content Type Hubs Allows content types to be stored centrally and re-used across multiple web applications Document Sets Provide a container for multiple documents with like properties Copyright 2010 Global Knowledge Training LLC. All rights reserved. 2

3 In-place Records Management Allows a document to be marked as official, which prevents additional editing Managed Metadata Allows for central definitions of document taxonomies to improve searchability Multi-user Collaboration Allows multiple users to edit a given document at the same time Unique Document IDs Assigns a unique identifier to a given document to simplify future searches by users What Is a Document Set? SharePoint 2010 expands on the earlier MOSS 2007 concept of content types by defining a document set in the same fashion as the folder content type that can also have items attached to it. In layman s terms, a document set is simply a container that stores multiple documents. The container has individual properties known as metadata that can be configured to apply to all of the data elements stored within the set. Since the individual documents share the various properties of the metadata stored for the document set, additional metadata columns are subsequently available to all items in the set. The display of column information can also be customized on the document set home page. Those who are familiar with the concept of a Zip file will find that using a document set is similar, in that it can contain one or more files, and it can be modified to add or delete files after creation. Additional features include the ability to create custom document sets and to set file-type restrictions that enable users to create unique classes of document sets based on filtering for specific file extensions. When Should You Use a Document Set? The capacity for users to group related documents and collaborate on them is a major selling point to utilizing document sets. This can be a significant time-saver as the requirement for site administrators to create projectspecific document libraries is no longer as necessary. Examples of when a document set might be advantageous include: Standardized project or program files (requests for proposals, statements of work, contracts, non-disclosure and consulting agreements) Requirements analysis files (software development and hardware specifications, wiring and architectural diagrams, process flows) Studies (research files, test results, white papers) Legal documents and certifications (corporate executive documents, legal-related matters, patents, ISOrelated processes and procedures) Government contractors often create the same type of content for each program they bid on, win, and subsequently execute. The concept of starting with a set of templates that are related from project inception makes good business sense. The documents can then grow as a collection throughout the life cycle of the project and serve as a solid reference point for future projects of a similar nature. Copyright 2010 Global Knowledge Training LLC. All rights reserved. 3

4 Business development teams can create marketing strategies based on a standard presentation material set that is customized for a particular opportunity. Past performance data based on company experience can be culled from the document set and re-used in future presentations. Accounting departments might consider setting up document sets for transactional records such as travel claims, trip reports, and other project expenses that require approval prior to payment. A document set can be configured to run with a specified approval workflow that ensures all documents are complete and reviewed as a single package. Setting Up Document Sets Document sets are enabled at the site collection level by clicking on the Site Settings > Site Collection Administration > Site Collection features. Activation of the document set is finished on the Features page. Once this is completed, document set content types can be created. Figure 1: Site Collection Administration - Features Documents sets are created from the individual document library by selecting the Library Settings icon. Under Advanced Settings, you must then elect to allow the management of content types. Copyright 2010 Global Knowledge Training LLC. All rights reserved. 4

5 Figure 2: Shared Documents - Document Library Settings As in MOSS 2007, the option to create a specific content type is done by selecting New Document. In this scenario, document set is now an option shown on the list of new items. The user is then prompted to enter a name and description for the document set. Figure 3: Shared Documents - Document Library Settings - Add Content Types Files are added to the document set by selecting the Documents tab under Library Tools and then either Upload Document, or Drag files directly into the set. Because the document set is indexed, the SharePoint search features integrate very well. Copyright 2010 Global Knowledge Training LLC. All rights reserved. 5

6 Figure 4: Library Tools - Documents - New Document Once the document set has been created, the user can view the properties of the set and add or delete documents from it. Figure 5: Review the Document Set Properties Copyright 2010 Global Knowledge Training LLC. All rights reserved. 6

7 Figure 6: Sample Document Set with documents Planning for document sets can be done using the analyze document usage worksheet. The content type worksheet is then used to provide details about the nature of the files to be used in the document set. This makes note of critical information such as the site URL; the parent content type; settings such as allowed content types, default content, shared columns, welcome page settings and views, and column order; workflows; and policies (content rules). How To Use Document Sets Another new feature in SharePoint 2010 is the ability to send document sets to content organizers, which allows for delivery of the set to specific folders or libraries based on its associated metadata. This greatly simplifies the greatest hurdle of traditional SharePoint users, which is namely where to put the data. Routed documents are stored in a drop-off library and scheduled for delivery to the destination library by the daily content organizer processing timer job. Also as in MOSS 2007, workflows can be created and associated with a particular content type. In the example below, the workflow is assigned to a particular document set. Copyright 2010 Global Knowledge Training LLC. All rights reserved. 7

8 Figure 7: Creating a Workflow for the Document Set Once the workflow has been created, it can be triggered either automatically or manually, depending on what the particular scenario calls for. Figure 8: Selecting the Workflow Microsoft states that there is no current limitation on the total number of documents that can be loaded into a document set, but as in all SharePoint lists, the default setting of 5,000 items may produce sluggish performance Copyright 2010 Global Knowledge Training LLC. All rights reserved. 8

9 when retrieving the query to build the view. Two additional points to make note of: folders cannot be created in document sets, and metadata cannot be used to filter from within the set. Also, because the Send To feature for a given document set is limited to 50MB, you should plan your document sets growth accordingly. Summary of Document Sets Hopefully the various benefits of using document sets have become readily apparent during the course of this article. Some examples include: Multi-media files such as photos, audio, and video to build training curriculum Reference material for research projects Supporting documentation for finance-related items such as travel claims Standard project files related to bid and proposal work Many organizations have the collective need to manage deliverables in a standard fashion. Document sets are an excellent solution that enables teams of users to handle multiple related documents as a group, and to assign common properties across the collection. Through the use of the welcome page, the document set can be easily maintained, and all items within the set become subject to the same metadata and workflow rules. Customized document sets that restrict content are useful in building standardized project collections that can be re-used company-wide. All-in-all, document sets are designed to make your life easier from the perspective of maintaining and finding similar content, and are certainly one of the major benefits of SharePoint Learn More Learn more about how you can improve productivity, enhance efficiency, and sharpen your competitive edge. Check out the following Global Knowledge course(s): Configuring and Administering Microsoft SharePoint 2010 Microsoft SharePoint 2010, Application Development (M10175) Utilizing SharePoint 2010 for Project Management For more information or to register, visit or call COURSES to speak with a sales representative. Our courses and enhanced, hands-on labs and exercises offer practical skills and tips that you can immediately put to use. Our expert instructors draw upon their experiences to help you understand key concepts and how to apply them to your specific work situation. Choose from our more than 1,200 courses, delivered through Classrooms, e-learning, and On-site sessions, to meet your IT and business training needs. Copyright 2010 Global Knowledge Training LLC. All rights reserved. 9

10 About the Authors Marcellus Duffy is a Microsoft Certified Trainer, and Microsoft Certified Solution Developer with more than 15 years of experience as a technology consultant. Based in Saint Louis MO he provides consulting and training services for.net development, SQL, and primarily SharePoint. He has provided SharePoint training for Government, Manufacturing, Research, Medical, and Financial organizations. He has written SharePoint Excel Services, Power User, and Administrator classes. Marcellus graduated from Saint Louis University Summa Cum Laude as a member of the Golden Key Honor Society, Alpha Sigma Lambda National Honor Society, and Alpha Sigma Nu Jesuit Honor Society. Mike Smith is a veteran IT manager with over 20 years of project management experience in the Information Technology field. He has completed IT projects for numerous government and commercial clients and currently provides consulting and training services on network infrastructure, server virtualization and SharePoint technologies. His career has focused on improving organizational processes and procedures; leading software integration initiatives; and developing high-level problem solving strategies. Mike graduated from the University of Phoenix with a Bachelor of Science in Information Technology. He is a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) and Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT) based in Orlando, FL. Resources Note: This document is for informational purposes only. The authors make no warranties, express or implied, in this paper. Copyright 2010 Global Knowledge Training LLC. All rights reserved. 10