Manually tagging metadata in SharePoint is one of the biggest barriers to adoption I’ve seen in organisations. Let’s be real—end users hate filling out metadata fields, and in my experience, they often just don’t do it. The result? Poorly organised document libraries and frustrated admins trying to clean up the mess.
The good news? You can automate metadata tagging in SharePoint, reducing the amount of effort required by users while still keeping your document libraries structured and searchable. The solution is simple: use a folder structure that matches your metadata and let SharePoint do the tagging for you.
Why Automate Metadata Tagging?
When users upload documents, the last thing they want is to spend time filling out metadata fields. If they’re forced to do it, they’ll either skip it (if allowed) or enter inconsistent data. Automating metadata tagging eliminates this problem, ensuring documents are tagged correctly without any extra effort from users.
By setting up default metadata values for folders, SharePoint can automatically apply the correct metadata when a document is uploaded to a specific folder. This keeps things structured without making users manually enter metadata.
How to Automatically Tag Metadata in Your SharePoint Document Library
Let’s walk through how to set this up.
1. Organise Your Folder Structure
- Keep it simple and logical—don’t go more than two levels deep.
- Match folder names to metadata values you’d like to assign (e.g., a folder named ‘Marketing’ should tag documents with the ‘Marketing’ function).
2. Navigate to Your Document Library
- Go to the SharePoint document library where you want to set up metadata automation.
3. Open Library Settings
- Click the Settings (gear) icon in the top-right corner.
- Select Library settings from the dropdown menu.
4. Access Column Default Value Settings
- Scroll down to the General Settings section.
- Click on Column default value settings.
5. Configure Default Metadata for Each Folder
- Locate the metadata column you want to automate (e.g., Function).
- Click on it and choose Use default value.
- Assign a default value that matches the folder name (e.g., ‘Marketing’ for the ‘Marketing’ folder).
6. Repeat for Other Folders
- Go back to Column default value settings and apply the same process for each folder in your library.
7. Test It Out
- Upload test documents into different folders.
- Check that the assigned metadata appears correctly in the library.
The Benefits of Automating Metadata Tagging
✅ Less work for users – No need to manually fill out metadata fields.
✅ More consistent metadata – Avoids typos and inconsistencies in tagging.
✅ Better searchability – Documents are tagged correctly, making them easier to find.
✅ Increased SharePoint adoption – The simpler the process, the more likely users are to embrace SharePoint.
Next Steps: Unlocking More SharePoint Power
Now that metadata tagging is automated, you can take things further by leveraging metadata to create custom views, filters, and search refiners. This will help users quickly locate the right documents without digging through folders manually.
Final Thoughts
Automating metadata tagging in SharePoint transforms how documents are organised and retrieved. By setting up a structured folder system and applying default metadata values, you make life easier for your users while keeping your document library well-organised.
Give it a go, and let me know how it improves your SharePoint experience!
Further Resources
Advanced Document Management Features in SharePoint: Metadata, Views and Scenarios
Best Practices for Organising Documents in SharePoint
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