To add metadata to a SharePoint document library, open the library, select Add column, choose a column type (Choice, Date and time, Person and so on), give it a name and save. Then tag your files from the details pane or in Edit in grid view, and use those columns to filter, group and save views.
Every library already tracks Name, Modified, Modified By, Created, Created By and ID for you (turn the hidden ones on with Add column, Show or hide columns). Those can’t be edited and don’t describe the document, so the columns you add do that job. If you’re still deciding whether to use columns instead of folders at all, I make that case in SharePoint folders vs metadata.
Before you start
- Permission to manage the library. Site owners have it, and so do members of a standard team site.
- A library to practise on. In the video above I created a blank library called Policies from New, Document library, Blank library. The video shows the 2024 interface; the menu names below are current.
- A short list of what people need to find. Function, document type, owner, status and review date covered my Policies library.
How do I add a metadata column?
- In the library, select + Add column at the end of the column headers.
- Pick a type and select Next.
- Name the column and fill in its settings. For a Choice column, paste a list into the first choice box and each line becomes its own option.
- Select Save. The column appears straight away.
In the video I asked Copilot for ten common business departments and pasted them into a Choice column called Function. It’s a quick starter list, but swap in the values your organisation actually uses before anyone starts tagging.
| Column type | Use it for | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Choice | Category, document type, status | Fixed values keep filters clean. Can allow multiple selections |
| Date and time | Review, expiry or due dates | Date only or date and time. Rules can act on it |
| Person or Group | Document owner, approver | Picks from your directory. Can allow more than one person |
| Yes/No | Simple flags | A checkbox with a Yes or No default |
| Managed metadata | Values used across many sites | Pulls terms from a term set in the term store |
| Single line of text | Reference numbers | Free text, up to 255 characters, so avoid it for filtering |
Microsoft lists the rest (Number, Currency, Hyperlink, Image, Calculated and more) in list and library column types and options. Lookup columns get their own walkthrough in SharePoint lookup columns.
A column added this way exists in this library only. To reuse one, create it as a site column under Settings (the gear), Site information, View all site settings, Site columns, then add it to each library from Library settings, More library settings, Add from existing site columns.
How do I tag documents with metadata?
- One file. Select it, then the information icon at the top right to open the details pane, and fill in the values. Select several files first to set the same values on all of them.
- Lots of files. Select Edit in grid view. The library works like a spreadsheet, so you can pick values cell by cell and copy them down a column.
- Drop files on a group. Group the library by a column, then drag a file onto a group heading. In my demo a letter dropped on the Finance group came in with Function set to Finance. The other columns still needed filling in.
How do I set default values so people don’t have to?
- For the whole library. Select the column header, Column settings, Edit, and set a Default value. Choice, Date and time, Yes/No, Number, text and Managed metadata columns all support one.
- Per folder. Go to Settings, Library settings, More library settings, Column default value settings, pick a folder on the left, then a column. In my demo the library default for Category was Advice process, and files dropped into the Compliance training folder came in as Compliance instead.
Then give everyone a view without folders: edit the view and, under Folders, choose Show all items without folders. The folders keep tagging in the background and people see one flat, filterable list. To have SharePoint read the document and fill values in, use autofill columns.
How do I filter, group and save views on metadata?
- Filter. Select the arrow on a column header, then Filter by. Filters stack: Function set to Legal plus Document type set to Proposal left only the legal proposals. The Filters pane (the funnel icon) does the same from a side panel.
- Group. Select the arrow on a column header, then Group by. Each value becomes a heading you can expand or collapse.
- Save a view. From the view menu at the top right (it starts as All Documents), choose Create new view, or filter first and choose Save view as. I saved Approved documents, then Approved Finance documents filtered on two columns.
Every view has its own URL, so a quick link on a SharePoint page called “Approved policies” opens the library already filtered.
Keep it to a few columns and fill them in for people
Most of the effort in metadata goes into getting people to use it. If tagging a document feels like filling in a form, people skip it or pick whatever value gets them through, and every view built on that column stops being trustworthy. I’d start with three to five columns, make very few of them required, and fill as many as you can with defaults, folder defaults or autofill.
On anything people will filter by, use Choice or Managed metadata over free text. “HR”, “Human Resources” and “H.R.” are three departments to a filter. Choice is fine inside one library. Once the same list turns up in several sites, a managed metadata column pointing at a term set lets you change a value once for every library; the tenant-wide version with content types is in publishing metadata from the content type hub. Review the values as the business changes, because a missing department or a status nobody uses any more pushes people back to guessing.
Well-tagged libraries give Copilot more to work with than file names, which I cover in turning SharePoint into a Copilot knowledge base with metadata. My free Copilot-ready library checklist walks you through choosing the columns for one library.
What to watch for
- Renaming a choice leaves old files on the old value. Files already tagged keep what they had, so re-tag them in grid view.
- Multiple values limit sorting. A managed metadata column that allows multiple values can’t be sorted in list views.
Frequently asked questions
Can I make a metadata column required? Yes. In the column’s settings, open More options and turn on Require that this column contains information. Files can still be uploaded without it, but the library shows them as missing required information until someone fills it in, so use it sparingly.
When should I use managed metadata instead of a choice column? When the same values are needed across several libraries or sites, or the list is long or hierarchical. The term set lives in the term store (Site settings, Term store management), and a term edited there updates everywhere the term set is used.
Can I colour-code choice values? Yes. Choice columns show as coloured pills. Change the colours from the column header with Column settings, Format this column, Edit styles.
