How to Create a Location Column in SharePoint
Location columns capture real-world addresses with structured map data. Useful for site visits, project locations, and any data that has a ‘where’.
What it is
A Location column is a specialised column powered by Bing Maps. Users type a location and select from address suggestions; SharePoint stores not just the text but structured fields — street, city, state, country, postcode, latitude, longitude. You can display any of these as separate columns in views, filter by city, or feed them into reports.
The classic uses are field operations: site inspections, project addresses, asset locations, client offices, regional reporting. Anywhere your data has a real-world location component and you want consistent, structured address data.
The thing to verify is that Bing Maps recognises your locations correctly. Most named addresses work fine; complex industrial sites or rural locations sometimes don’t. Always check the map preview when adding a location, and don’t trust it blindly for compliance-critical addresses (regulatory filings, insurance reporting). For most uses, it’s accurate enough to be very useful.
When to use this
- For site inspections, project addresses, asset registers, regional reporting.
- For tracking client office locations, supplier addresses, branch offices.
- When you want city/state/country to appear as separate filterable columns.
- When a ‘where’ is genuinely part of the file’s metadata.
How to do it
- Click + Add column → Location.
- Save the column.
- On each item, search for the address — Bing Maps suggests options.
- Pick the correct suggestion to populate structured fields automatically.
- Add separate display columns for City, State, Country if you want them visible.
- Build views grouped by city, region, or country.
Best practices
- Verify each address. Bing Maps is good but not perfect. Check before saving for important records.
- Display separate fields in views. ‘City’ as its own column lets you group and filter regionally.
- Use with calculated columns for region grouping. ‘Region’ = APAC if Country is Australia or NZ or Singapore.
- Don’t rely on for compliance addresses. Regulatory filings need verified addresses, not Bing-Maps-suggested ones.
Common mistakes
- Trusting Bing’s first suggestion blindly. Always check the map preview matches the intended location.
- No separate city/region columns. The structured data is wasted if you can’t filter or group by it.
- Using for free-text address data. Location columns are for verified addresses, not ‘somewhere in Sydney’.
The File Sanity Kit gives you the Container Method™ — audit, restructure, and future-proof SharePoint without IT admin. The complete methodology, full workbook, and 8-tab Excel planner.
Get the File Sanity Kit — $27 →FAQ
What is a Location column in SharePoint?
A Location column stores structured address data — not just a typed string, but a real geographic object with City, State, Country, Postcode, and Coordinates as separate fields. Users search for an address; Bing Maps suggests matches; the user picks one and SharePoint stores the structured data. Powerful for any library where geography matters.
Can I filter a SharePoint library by city using a Location column?
Yes — but it’s easier if you surface the City as a separate column. Edit the Location column and tick the boxes for City, State, Country to display them as additional columns in the library. Now you can filter and group by City directly, without parsing the full address. This works for any of the structured fields the Location column extracts.
Does the Location column use Google Maps or Bing Maps?
Bing Maps. The address search and map preview in the Location column both come from Bing. For most addresses this works fine; for newer addresses, very rural locations, or addresses in countries with limited Bing coverage, suggestions can be patchy. Always verify the picked match before saving.
When should I use a Location column instead of a Choice column?
Use Location when you genuinely need geographic structure — when the city, state, country, or coordinates will be used in filtering, reporting, or maps. Use Choice when ‘location’ is really just a tag (e.g. ‘Sydney Office’ as one of five office options). Location columns are heavier; don’t use them for what is essentially a five-item list.