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
- 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.
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