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.