Plan document sets in SharePoint Server

About Document Sets

Document Sets are a feature in SharePoint Server 2016 that enables an organization to manage a single deliverable, or work product, which can include multiple documents or files. A Document Set is a special kind of folder that combines unique Document Set attributes, the attributes and behavior of folders and documents, and provides a user interface (UI), metadata, and object model elements to help manage all aspects of the work product.

For teams and users in many organizations, a set of documents, or a work product, is needed to better manage a project or deliverable. For example, a legal team might need to collect, create, and manage various documents, photos, and audio files that are related to a particular case. Or, a sales team might need to compile documents from various sources to create and manage a request for proposal (RFP) for a potential client. Documents Sets provide those teams and users with the ability to manage those sets of documents as a single collection, deliverable, or work product. Document Set owners can then create a custom Welcome Page that can display the items included and important information about the work product.

In SharePoint Server 2016, organizations that want to create and manage Document Sets consistently can configure a Document Set content type for each work product they typically create. A Document Set content type can then define approved content types, attributes, default items, columns, workflows, and policies. Additional customized Document Set content types can then be created from the parent content type, each inheriting properties and settings from the parent Document Set content type. After the content type is added to a library, users can then create a Document Set that inherits the attributes of the Document Set content type by using the New command. A Document Set content type provides additional settings that enable you to specify allowed content types, default content, shared columns, Welcome Page columns, and default Welcome Page view.

For more information about content types, see Plan content types and workflows (SharePoint Server 2010).

For more information about how to create and manage Document Sets in SharePoint Server 2016, see Create and configure a new document set content type in SharePoint Server 2016 Help.

Administering Document Sets

Document Sets in SharePoint Server 2016 share many of the same attributes and properties as folders. However there are some important considerations you should be aware of when planning a Document Set solution.

• There is no limit on the number of documents that can exist in a Document Set. However, display load times may be limited by the list view threshold which by default is set at 5,000 items. Folders are allowed in document sets, but metadata navigation cannot be used in a Document Set. Therefore, it is important to consider the possibility of exceeding list view thresholds and navigation design concerns when you determine how many items should exist in a Document Set. In addition, when you use the Send to feature with a Document Set, the sum for all documents in a Document Set cannot be larger than 50MB. For a collection or work product with a very large number of items, a folder structure in a document library may be a better solution.

• There is no limit on the number of Document Sets that can exist in a document library. However, the number of Document Sets that can appear in lists will be limited by the list view threshold.

• When using shared metadata, if there are more than 10 items that are using shared metadata in a Document Set, metadata updates will be run by a timer job every 15 minutes. For example, if you have 10 documents in the top level of the library, and a single document in a Document Set with shared metadata, the time job will not run. But if you add another Document Set with 9 more documents, the timer job will run.

• When using Document Set routing, Document Sets that are sent to a content organizer will remain in the drop-off library and be moved to the appropriate location by the content organizer processing timer job, which by default runs daily.

To use Document Sets in a site collection, the Document Sets feature must be enabled.

To enable Document Sets feature for a site collection

1. On the Site Settings page, under Site Collection Administration, click Site collection features.

2. On the Features page, for Document Sets, click Activate.

After the Document Sets feature is enabled, you can create Document Set content types.

Planning Document Set content types

You can plan Document Set content types for your solution by using the Analyze document usage worksheet, which you can complete by using the article Identify users and analyze document usage in SharePoint 2013. You can then use the Content type worksheet (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=165878&clcid=0x409) to record your decisions about each new Document Set content type that you will use in your solution.

To plan Document Set content types by using the Content type worksheet

1. Enter Document Set in the Content Type    field of the Content type worksheet.

2. Enter the site URL at which the new Document Set content type will be defined. Note that the content types are available in the site in which they are defined and in all sites below that site.

3. Determine the parent content type    Enter the parent Document Set content type in the Parent Content Type    field of the Content type worksheet. This will be either a core Document Set content type or a custom Document Set content type that you have already planned.

4. Determine Document Set settings    Determine and then specify the following Document Set settings in the Content type worksheet:

   1. Determine allowed content types    Specify the default content types that will be allowed in this Document Set content type.

   2. Determine default content    If the Document Set content type that you are creating will be configured to automatically create default content when you create a new instance of a Document Set, you can add files to the Document Set manually. Only files of the allowed content types for the Document Set can be added.

   3. Determine shared columns    Specify whether column values for the Document Set should be automatically synchronized to all documents that are contained in the set.

   4. Determine Welcome Page columns    Specify which columns should be shown on the Welcome Page for each Document Set.

   5. Determine the Welcome Page view    Specify the view to display the contents of the Document Set on the Welcome Page.

5. Determine the columns and column order    In the Plan Columns    table of the Content type worksheet:

   1. Enter each column that is inherited from the parent content type. In the New?    column, type No for each entry.

   2. For each additional column, enter the name of a predefined column or of a column that you will create. Enter the names of the additional columns, their types, and indicate whether they are new.

6. In the Plan Template    section of the worksheet, type None.

7. Determine the workflows    If there is an available workflow that is relevant to the Document Set content type, you can optionally associate it with the content type. The workflow can then be initiated on any list item of that content type. For a full discussion of workflow planning, see Plan workflows. After reviewing workflows and determining which workflows are available, enter each workflow to associate with the content type in the Plan Workflows    table of the Content type worksheet. If the workflow is not inherited from the parent content type, enter that information in the New?    column.

8. Determine the policy    A policy is a set of rules for a kind of content; policy features provide the details of each rule, such as whether items of the content type can be printed or which actions on the item should be audited. For more information about policy planning, see Plan for information management policy in SharePoint Server 2013. After reviewing policies and determining which policy features and policy templates are available, in the Plan a Policy    section of the Content type worksheet, do the following:

   1. If the parent content type has policy settings, they will apply unchanged in the new content type. This ensures that policies, after they are set, are enforced in all relevant content types. If the current content type is inheriting its policy settings from its parent type, in the Plan a Policy    section of the Content type worksheet, answer Yes to the question, "Is the policy defined in the parent content type?."

   2. If the current content type is inheriting a policy based on the parent content type, in the Record the Policy Name    field of the Plan a Policy    section, type the name of the policy template. Similarly, if the current content type does not inherit a policy and you want to apply a policy template, in the Record the Policy Name    field of the Plan a Policy    section, type the name of the policy template.

   3. If the current content type is inheriting one or more individual policy features from the parent content type, enter each policy feature in the Feature    table in the Plan a Policy    section of the worksheet. Conversely, if the current content type does not inherit a policy and you want to associate policy features with the current content type, enter those policy features in the Feature    table. Note that you cannot associate both individual policy features and a policy by name to a content type.

Worksheets

Use the following worksheets to record the information that is discussed in this article:

• Content type worksheet (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=165878&clcid=0x409)

• Analyze document usage worksheet (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=165873&clcid=0x409)