Filtering by Metadata & Saving Views

This article informs the reader how to filter by metadata to easily find what is needed, including saving filtered views to access them later.

Description

Learn how to filter by metadata to easily find what you need. You can filter by metadata in your SharePoint document library and page library. You can also save your filtered views to access them later. 

Note: SharePoint page library architecture is flat, meaning that there are no folders or hierarchy. This makes filtering by metadata especially helpful! 

Environment

Web browser on a Windows PC, Mac, or Chromebook.

Procedure

1. Navigate to Your SharePoint Document or Page Library

1. Navigate to your SharePoint site.
   • View Sign in to SharePoint [Microsoft] for instructions on getting to SharePoint. 
2. From the top navigation of your SharePoint site:
   • Select Site Pages to view your page library.
   • Select Document Library to view your document library.

Note: Metadata can be applied to both SharePoint pages and documents in your site's document library. 

 

2. Filter Your Information

By Column Headers

1. Select the header of the column you'd like to filter on. 
2. Select your desired filter:
   • A to Z: Show all pages in alphabetical order.
   • Z to A: Show all pages in reverse alphabetical order
   • Filter by: Show only pages that meet a specific criterion (ex: “Category” = Analysis).
   • Group by… Show all pages grouped by a certain criterion (ex: Group by “Category” to show all of the Analysis pages together, all of the Report pages together, etc.).

Using the Filter Pane

The filter pane allows you to easily filter by multiple pieces of metadata at once.

1. Navigate to your SharePoint document library or page library. 

2. In the upper right corner, select the filter icon (it looks like a funnel). 
3. A filtering pane will appear to your right. 
4. In the filtering pane, you can filter by multiple pieces of metadata at once. 
5. Items matching your filters will appear on your screen. 

Using View Options

You can also customize your view by navigating to the view options button to the left of the funnel (upper right portion of the screen). 

3. Save Your View (If Desired)

After filtering by metadata, you can save this view to access it later. (For example, I might frequently reference “Communications” documents created by me in the last 30 days. I want to see these items easily, without having to apply all of my filters each time I visit the document library.)

1. Filter by your desired criteria. 
2. Select the view options button to the left of the funnel (upper right portion of the screen).
3. Select save view as.
4. Title your view.
5. Customize your permissions:
   1. If you want the view to be private to only you, uncheck Make this a public view.
   2. If you want the filter available to anyone who has read access to the document/page library, check Make this a public view.
6. Select save.

Outcome: You will see this view as an option when you select the view icon from your SharePoint document or page library. 

Get Help From OIT

Visit Shared Digital Workspaces: Microsoft Groups to Create a Ticket.

Additional Resources

• Intro to Metadata for OHIO IT Intranet
• Applying Metadata to a Page or Document
• Create, change, or delete a view of a list or library [Microsoft]