Document Management Features of SharePoint 2013

In this article I would like to explain the Document Management features of SharePoint.

The following are features of Document Management in SharePoint:

Document Library
Versions
Check out and Check in
Search
Alert
Office Web Applications
Metadata
Policies
Document ID
Document Set
Offline working capability

Document Library

A Document Library is a collection of files that you can share with your team members as documents
We can upload multiple types of documents (Word, Excel, PDF, PowerPoint) and edit and delete the document

For procedures to upload, edit and delete the documents visit the following article:

Create Document Library SharePoint 2013 Online

Versions

Document libraries support the version controls at several levels.
Versioning in lists and libraries enables you to track and manage information as it evolves and to view and recover earlier versions if necessary.
In libraries, you can specify whether to track all versions in the same way or specify that some versions are major, such as those in which a new chapter is added to a document, and some are minor, such as those in which a spelling error is corrected.
By default, versioning is not enabled, but is enabled in the Document Library settings.

Check-out and check-in

In a SharePoint Document Library, you have one way to control the document collaboration using the “Require Check Out”. Especially when multiple users have access to this library
If you have checked out the file then other users cannot overwrite the file. Other users can edit the documents only after you have checked-in the files
You are also preventing other people from seeing the latest changes or making changes themselves, so it is important that you check files back in promptly
By default, the check out and check in options are not enabled in the Document Library settings

In a library settings page, you can enable the check-out and check-in option in versioning settings.

“Require documents to be checked out before they can be edited? Yes”

Search

Enables the users to find the relevant information faster and easier
Default search option is available for each Document Library pages in SharePoint 2013
Search can be performed based on:
o Document Name
o Metadata properties
o Document Content

Alert

In SharePoint you have an option to receive an alert message when someone changes the file.
We can set the various notifications for operations like:

o Add
o Edit
o Delete

Office web applications

Office Web Apps provide updated versions of Word Web Apps, Excel Web Apps, PowerPoint Web Apps, and OneNote Web Apps. Users can view and optionally edit Office documents using a supported web browser on computers and on various mobile devices, such as Windows Phones, iPhones, and iPads
You can view the Office documents in the browser using Office web apps

Metadata

Managed metadata columns provide users a list of pre-defined terms that you can apply to your content
You can associate additional metadata columns along with document libraries

Policies

Information management policies enable site administrators or list managers to control how content is managed.
You have Archival and Retention policies for document libraries.

Document ID

Document ID is one of the main features in a Document Library
Document ID’s are automatically assigned to uploaded documents and this ID will follow the item throughout its entire life cycle
It is unique for each document and document retrieval is very easy using the document ID
It helps you to manage your documents by providing an easy way to track items
When the Document ID service is first enabled, new documents in the site collection will automatically be assigned new IDs.

Document Set

Enables an organization to manage a single deliverable and it includes multiple documents or files
You can share the meta data through a Document Set
A Document Set is a special kind of folder that combines unique Document Set attributes, the attributes and behavior of folders and documents.

Offline Working Availability

In SharePoint Server 2013 Preview, My Sites include several improvements to save, synchronize, share, and move content.
Users have the option to synchronize their Document Library content with a local drive to enable offline access to documents.
“SkyDrive Pro” for SharePoint 2013 enables this feature.

Summary

In this article we have explored the Document Management features of SharePoint 2013.