Setting Default Values from the Settings Page

By accessing the Column Default Value Settings link from the Document Library Settings page, the administrator can set values based on folders, which can be a much more powerful and useful ability than setting default values on a column basis. The following section provides an example of using the Column Default Value Settings for folders within a document library:

1. Choose a document library (or create a new one) that has one or more folders in it and one or more columns that have been added to the document library. In this example, the document library contains folders titled Folder 1 and Folder 2, and a column titled Subject and one titled Choice Column.
2. From the document library, click the Library tab on the Ribbon, and then click Library Settings.
3. Click Column Default Value Settings link in the General Settings section.
4. From the Change Default Column Values page, click one of the folders in the left pane. In this example, Folder 2 is selected.
5. Click the column name to change. In this example, the Choice Column link was selected.
6. In the Edit Default Value window, check the circle next to Use This Default Value and enter the desired default value in the field. An error message will display if you enter an invalid choice. In this example, Choice #2 is entered, as shown in Figure 22.17. Click OK.

   Figure 22.17. Assign default column values for folder contents in a document library.

   

7. As shown in Figure 22.18, the Change Default Column Values page will now show what the default value is by column and by folder. A folder with a gear icon on it has a default value assigned to it. Other folders without specific default values assigned and documents not stored in a folder will be assigned the document library default.

   Figure 22.18. Change Default Column Values page.

   

While at first glance this feature seems of limited use, if the document library uses folders or is designed to hold a specific type of documents that will share default settings, the default values can be a great time saver and help ensure that the proper values are set for documents. This is especially true for organizations where end users are “addicted” to folder structures and are reluctant to give them up. The administrator can create a column titled Folder Name and then assign default values to this column on a folder-by-folder basis that mirrors the names of the folders. Then views can be created that ignore the folder structure for more advanced users, but the documents will be tagged with the folder name so that information is still captured. This also solves the problem of users knowing which folder items “live” in when they are using a view that is set to ignore the folder structure.