10 Reasons to Avoid Folders in SharePoint 2013/2010

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Bobby Chang
Consultant, Microsoft Certified Trainer
er er

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Provide Value to
Your End Users
Photo Credit – Matthew Keagle & Creative Commons

• SharePoint appends all folders into URL
• URL encoding applies, e.g.: Space = %20
Team
Alpha Site Project
Document
Library Project SOW
Proposal
Draft Copies from Team
My Personal Original Copies
I Very Much like Subfolders
http://mycompany.com/sites/TeamAlpha/ProjectDocuments/Project%20SOW/Proposal/Draft%20Copiesfrom%20Team…
/MyPersonal%20Original%20Copies/I%20Very%20Much%20Like%20Subfolders/My%20Favorite%20Document.docx
My Favorite Document.docx

Reason # 1

• Requires drilling down to sub-folders
• Rigid structure leads to difficulty in finding content
• Can be inefficient during file upload
Number of clicks
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Reason # 2

• Every file HAS to belong to a folder
• Cannot account for file that falls into multiple categories
Company A Company B
Document for
Company A & B Merger

Reason # 3

Your links don’t work!!
SharePoint is broken
I HATE SharePoint!!!

SharePoint 2016

new
NOT activated
automatically
Photo Credit – ScienceDaily LLC

Photo Credit – Julie de Waroquier

Reason # 4

• Folder is directly correlated with URLs
– Deep Folder Structure = Long URL
• System Constraint
– MS Office restriction of 259 characters max for URL links
– User may not be able to save, open, or update the files

• Renaming folder may result in Threshold Error
• Generally occurs when total number of files in all
sub-folders are greater than 5,000 files

Solution

Picture listening to a song in iTunes
What do you see?

1. Linear folder structure
2. Inability to account for multiple categories
3. Risk in broken links upon document move
4. Higher chance of running into error

Demo

Reason # 5

You’re at the mercy of
the person
who created the
folder structure
• Folder presents only one
way of grouping info
• Users have different
preference to consume info
• Provides for a taxonomy
challenge

Region > Year > Project Phase > Document Category
vs.
Year > Document Category > Region > Project Phase

Demo

Reason # 6

• Synonyms are typically appended
• E.g.: “Status / Progress Report / Project Team Update”
• Folder names can’t contain special characters
(e.g.: /)
• Adding Synonym Folder Name Change URL Change

Demo

Reason # 7

”Is she changing our
spectacularly designed
folder structure?”
• Contributors have too much
control
– Create, Delete, or Move folders
– Rename folders
• Folder structure could be
altered by team members

• With folders, contributors have free reign
over taxonomy management
• Reserve capability for selective individuals
– i.e.: Content Manager or Site Manager
• Avoid the Wild Wild West scenario

Demo

Reason # 8

Demo

Reason # 9

2012
Southeast
Project Status
Weekly Status Reports
Team A
M A N U A L C O P Y P R O C E S S
2012
Status
ProjectReports
WeeklyProjectStatus
Southeast
2012
Project Status
2012
Status Reports
Team B Team C Team D
Inconsistent

• Foundation of SharePoint Content Management
• Even if you’re not aware of Content Type, you most
likely have already interacted with it
• Provide standardization:
• Consistent set of tags or metadata
• Ability to attach standard document template
• Associate automated business workflow process

Content Type
Team A Team B Team C Team D
A U T O M A T E D

Demo

Reason # 10

Demo

No.
NEVER

• People are comfortable with folders
• Metadata is a Huge Mind Shift
– Expect Resistance & Initial Uphill Battle
– Requires Continuous Education and Training
Nice to
meet you
Meta
data

• Permissions can be set at the folder level
• Documents residing in a folder would
inherit the permissions of that folder
• Fantastic for complex permission
requirements within a single repository

1. Document Sync
2. Drag and Drop Feature
3. Open with Explorer
What do they have in common?

Where do I tag??
Just uploaded
TONS of files

• Content Type unsupported in Datasheet/Quick Edit
• In SharePoint 2010:
– Managed Metadata unsupported in Datasheet View
– Content Type unsupported in Inline Editing

• Combine Folders with Metadata
• Utilize “Common Default Values”
– Metadata value can be automatically assigned
– Each folder can have different default values
• Create “Without Folders” SharePoint View
– Hides folder structure when displaying documents
– Eliminates hierarchy issue when browsing

• Different options for different audience
• Display Folder View for Contributors
– More efficient for upload
– Auto-assigns tags via Common Default Values

• Display Non-Folder View for Visitors
– Removes reliance on navigating by folders
– Leverages power of metadata

Should I NEVER use folder?
No. Not necessarily.
But Folder should be the Exception
NOT the Rule

linkedin.com/in/bobbyschang
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Questions?
Feel Free to Contact Me
Bobby Chang
twitter.com/bobbyschang
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10 Reasons to Avoid Folders in SharePoint 2013/2010

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