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What is the plan for "modern" Document Sets?
So it's been asked many times in the old network and never answered, so want to ask it here in the hopes that people are actually thinking about this.
What is the plan for "modern" Document Sets in the new modern SharePoint?
Right now, the experience is you are in the modern UI for the doc library, click the document set and it takes you back to the old UI, in a very disjointed experience.
Document Sets are the most used feature in our environment (and I think one of the most powerful/useful tools in all of SharePoint).
Critical success factors in my opinion:
- Don't take away functionality (do no harm)
- this includes modifying the welcome page
- documents inheriting metadata
- multiple document content types
- default views
- We HAVE to have the ability to keep modifying the landing page for each document set (including adding web parts) - we have so many solutions that add script web parts to build on the capability - (if things go the way they are now with the rest of modern SharePoint and we lose that it would be a major business impact for usability)
- Update the actual document view to be modern like the new doc lib
Things we typically add in code:
- We typically add some buttons via script editor web part that are specific to the current document set the user is looking at
- could be something like going to a start a workflow screen
- likes to external systems based some metadata on the screen
- We add a button / scripts to hide/show the document metadata view at the top, allowing users to focus on the document view and expand the metadata summary only when they want to see it
- Custom branding (via image web parts and other OOTB capabilities) based on the type of document set
- Analytics Event Tracking code - to see what users are doing while viewing document sets
- Its too early to put specifics on the roadmap - but we will update document sets. We are not being "classic Microsoft" here - there is a steady stream of requests for docsets (along with other parts of classic ECM) and I've never pretended otherwise. Fear is not part of the plan. I hope to be able to give roadmap updates at SPC or Ignite this year, if that helps.
Hi Brent,
I'm aware that document sets being modernized is on the road end of May 2019. ANy idea when they will actually be modernized? Right now there is some peculiar behavior within flow regarding document sets. For instance if i create an approval flow and I submit one document set, i get an approval for the number of documents within the set and an additional approval for the document set item itself. I have opened a ticket and I hope to see a solution to this issue soon as my business process heavily depends on the document sets for several key financial approvals. Is there a workaround available? Folders don't seem to be an option either. I've even gone so far as to create a manual flow and place a json button directly in the library.
Hi Brent,
I'm aware that document sets being modernized is on the road end of May 2019. ANy idea when they will actually be modernized? Right now there is some peculiar behavior within flow regarding document sets. For instance if i create an approval flow and I submit one document set, i get an approval for the number of documents within the set and an additional approval for the document set item itself. I have opened a ticket and I hope to see a solution to this issue soon as my business process heavily depends on the document sets for several key financial approvals. Is there a workaround available? Folders don't seem to be an option either. I've even gone so far as to create a manual flow and place a json button directly in the library.
I was able to create a document library, where my document sets are also modern "inside". I was changing the views and editing the "welcome page" for the document set, where I added the document library web part and selected a view. So now when I create new document sets or open existing documents sets in that library, the entire experience is modern.
HOWEVER I cannot recreate this in another library - so I wanted to know if anybody had the same experience and could reproduce the steps?
- Could you share a screenshot of the new document set look?
I tried to replicate this by creating a new communications page and wasn't even able to select document sets from the term sets in a newly set up library. Maybe comms pages don't allow for document sets?My doc lilbrary - with folders and document setsInside my doc. set.
I know most of this thread is taken up with the modern v classic UI. However I'd like to post a 'wishlist' feature to tac onto Brent's original comment.
I'd like to see an option for 2-way updates of shared properties, such that an update within a document to shared properties flows back up to the doc set. Current property updates to shared properties flow from the doc set.
A current scenario is where we have stage payments for a project. In this scenario, there are always 4 stage payments, which are shared properties. The stage payments are calculated in an Excel spreadsheet, which is one of the default documents in the doc set. A macro updates server properties, so at least we get the stage payment amounts into document properties. It's then a manual task for the user to update doc set stage payments. It would be very useful to cascade those updates automatically back up to the doc set.
Can anyone suggest a way to do this in O365?
Expanding the thinking a bit, it would also be nice to be able to:
* Be able to set a property as updateable
* (Easily) share office objects for use between office docs in a doc set (kind of like what you can do with the new document assembly feature of Nintex and Intelledox)
The inability to update Document Set metadata in the Modern UI is freaking out my users. Back to classic view for everyone. Hope classic view is supported at least until this issue is resolved.
Looking for an update on fix.
Thanks in advance. I know there are a lot of moving parts.
LincolnDeMarisMicrosoft
Thanks for your patience on the document set property bug, everybody. We have fixed the bug, and the fix is rolling out this week and next.
- LincolnDeMaris
Hi Brent,
We're looking closely at Document Sets currently. They get significant usage in the service, and it's clear that they're in need of a UX update. We want to make them great at what they're currently good at - managing a set of related files together. We will keep the "bones" of the feature intact - shared metadata, distinct content types, and customizable homepage. We'll likely add modern pages and page editing, modern library views, Flow integration, and other features that will help collaboration happen on files inside a set.
Thanks for your feedback!
- Waiting for it as well!
After nearly a year of lookign closely do you have any news?
This really hurts - I have a very untehncial user base and the flipp betwen UIs is bafflign to them and hodlign up adoption. (There is talk of other technology e.g. bespoke meeting apps for goverment)
- LincolnDeMaris
No updates yet. I understand that's painful.
Dear LincolnDeMaris,
Could you take a look at Julies comment as we're having the same issue at the moment.
Is this something that will get solved, or is the general guideline to force classic view for document sets. Previously at least modern ui worked at least half baked.
- LincolnDeMaris
Thanks for reporting. I'm working with engineering to get this fixed. One of the following should be true: 1. the modern property form for document set content types should show the document set metadata or 2. the property form for document set content types should always be the classic form
