Managed metadata in SharePoint 2010
- 1. MANAGED METADATA IN SHAREPOINT 2010 By Pallavi Sharma Principal Consultant , Neudesic
- 2. What is Metadata & Tagging? • In practical usage, it means data about data • For SharePoint, it usually means data that describes or classifies other data (lists) or documents (libraries) Tagging • Applying metadata to an item
- 3. Managed metadata features Content Type Syndication/Publishing – Publishing content types across multiple sites, site collections, web application and/or farms. Content Type – A reusable collection of settings and rules applied to a certain category of content in SharePoint. Content Type Hub – A site collection which operates as a central source to share content types across the enterprise Taxonomies The creation and management of centrally managed terms that can be used as attributes for items in SharePoint sites
- 4. Key terms and concepts • Taxonomy • Folksonomy
- 5. Some definitions… Managed Enterprise Term Term Store Term Set Terms Keywords •Individual item •A database •The “second • Typically pre- • Single, non- within a term that houses level” of a defined and hierarchical set taxonomies taxonomy. organized into term set •(a/k/a “tag”) Logical a hierarchical within the grouping of term set by a Term Store An element of related terms. Term Store Management the defined Administrator Tool called taxonomy the Keywords set
- 6. Term Set, Terms & Group Group : Logical groupings of Term Set Term Sets (Security Boundaries) (A group of related terms) • Local • Global • Open • Close
- 7. Managed Metadata Column A new column type that can be added to lists or libraries so that site users or content owners can select values from a specific term set of managed terms and apply them to content.
- 8. Enterprise Keywords • Enterprise Keywords column • The Enterprise Keywords column is a column that you can add to content types, lists, or libraries to enable users to tag items with words or phrases that they choose.
- 9. Social Tagging Social tags. A social tag is composed of pointers to three types of information: • A user identity • An item URL • A term • Tags are aggregated to each user‟s profile page • Tags have profile pages • Tags can be “followed” just like people in SharePoint social nets
- 10. Social Tagging
- 12. Term Store Management Tool
- 13. Import Taxonomy • Importing taxonomies into the MMS is supported by using a comma- delimited file format (.csv file). This file format has a specific structure that defines a term set and the hierarchy of contained terms.
- 15. Term Management
- 16. Benefits • Consistent use of metadata • Improved content discoverability/Search Tags are automatically crawled properties All tags and terms are available as left hand “refinements • Flexibility
- 17. Design Considerations • Open vs. closed term sets • Tag security • Dynamic external tags • Content types & Site columns - practical guidance • Programmability & Customization
- 18. It‟s good to know! • There is also no capability to manage associative relationships in SharePoint – only hierarchal • No granular security on tag definitions or tags as applied • No meta-metadata • You can define products and group them hierarchically, but you can‟t add a list price and then navigate or refine to find content by price • Can‟t tag a tag, can‟t rate a tag, can‟t “like” a tag • Can‟t organize “personal” tags • Client application support limitations • SharePoint Workspace 2010 can read but not write MMS tags • InfoPath browser client can‟t read or write MMS tags • No Support in Office 2007/2003 • Cannot Edit Managed Metadata values in Datasheet Mode • Limitations in Views: cannot use the „Begins With‟ or „Contains‟ operators for filters in views. • Extra care required in SharePoint Designer Workflows: you cannot simply plug in the name of the term that you want to use by need to use GUID of the term. • Cannot be used in calculated fields • Maximum of 250 terms selected per Managed Metadata Column • Cannot add a Managed Metadata Column through SharePoint Designer
- 19. Plan your Metadata : Options! If you want to let users help develop your taxonomy, then you can simply have users add keywords to items, and then organize these into term sets as necessary. If your organization wants to use managed term sets to implement formal pre-defined taxonomies, then key stakeholders with a vested interest in the structure of the taxonomy need to collaborate to plan and develop the term sets and terms to be used After the key stakeholders in the organization agree upon the required term sets, you can use the Term Store Management Tool to import or create your term sets and to manage and maintain the term sets as users begin working with the metadata
- 20. Drive adoption Start small. Do NOT put everything in a term set. Introduce keywords to users who understand the benefits Use default tags in context. External data. Use BCS if tag definitions are outside SharePoint Understand the security model and don‟t put “secret” terms in a term store. Extend administrative access for nontraditional administrators (e.g. corporate staff) Watch usage patterns for keywords and search. Unused typos in a keyword field (e.g. “holidya list”) can be deleted, and new project names can be promoted! Synonyms! Synonyms! Synonyms! Taxonomy does NOT belong to IT… Open folksonomies and closed taxonomies is a good practice…best? Watch trends in casual social tags and evaluate “promotion” to formal taxonomy
- 21. Flexibility
Editor's Notes
- #4: The new managed metadata features in SharePoint Server 2010 are enabled by a new Managed Metadata Service application that provides support for two key things:Content Type Publishing The sharing of content types across site collections and Web applications. TaxonomiesThe creation and management of hierarchical collections of centrally managed terms (called term sets) that can be used as attributes for items in SharePoint sites. These term sets can be shared across site collections and Web applications. Term sets can be created and managed through a feature called the Term Store Management Tool.
- #5: TaxonomyA taxonomy is a hierarchical classification of words, labels, or terms that are organized into groups based on similarities. A taxonomy may be defined and centrally managed by one or more individuals. The International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC), which was developed by the United Nations, is a famous example of an industrial taxonomy that is used to classify economic data. Taxonomies are useful because they provide a logical, hierarchical structure of metadata that can be used to classify information consistently.FolksonomyA folksonomy is the classification that results when Web site users collaboratively apply words, labels, or terms to content on a site. If you have ever seen a tag cloud on a Web site, then you have seen a visualization of a folksonomy. The figure below shows a Tag Cloud Web Part on a SharePoint site. A folksonomy-based approach to metadata can be useful because it taps the knowledge and expertise of site users and content creators and it enables content classification to evolve with the users’ changing business needs and interests.
- #6: A term is an individual item within a term set, and it is a specific word or phrase that can be associated with an item on a SharePoint Server 2010 site.A term has a unique ID and it can have many different Managed termsManaged terms are typically pre-defined and organized into a hierarchical term set by a Term Store Administrator or another person with permissions to work with managed metadata. Enterprise keywordsAn enterprise keyword is a word or phrase that is added to items on a SharePoint site. Enterprise keywords are organized into a single, non-hierarchical term set within the Term Store Management Tool called the Keywords set. Because users can typically add any word or phrase to an item as a keyword, enterprise keywords can be used for folksonomy-style tagging. Term store administrators, or other individuals with permission to manage metadata, can opt to move keywords out of the Keywords term set and into a specific managed term set, at which point the keywords will become available within the context of a specific term set. Term store administrators can also opt to make the Keywords set closed, so that users cannot submit new keywords and are restricted to the use of existing keywords.text labels (synonyms). If you are working on a multi-lingual site, it can also have labels in different languages.
- #7: A Term set is a group of related terms. Depending on where a term set is created, its scope can be local or global:Local Term Sets are created within the context of a site collection, and are available for use (and visible) only to users of that site collection. For example, if you add a managed metadata column to a list or library and create a new term set for this column, then the term set is local to the site collection that contains this list or library. Global term sets are available for use across all sites that subscribe to a specific Managed Metadata Service application.Term sets can be configured to be closed, which means that users cannot add new terms to them when they are entering a value for a column that is mapped to the term set. Or they can be configured to be open, which means that users can add new terms to the term set when they are updating the value for a column that is mapped to the term set.
- #8: Managed Metadata column A Managed Metadata column can be configured to map to an existing term set, or you can create a new term set specifically for the column. If you create a new term set specifically for a Managed Metadata column, that term set will be a local term set that is available only for use within the site collection where it was created.
- #9: Enterprise Keywords column It is a multi-value column by default. When users type a word or phrase into the column, they are presented with type-ahead suggestions, which may include items from both managed term sets and the Keywords term set. Users can select an existing value, or enter something new (if the Keywords term set has been configured to be open to user additions).
- #10: Tagging In its most generic sense, tagging can refer simply to the act of applying metadata to an item, whether it’s managed metadata or a social tag. In this article, the verb “tag” is used in this sense, and it is not restricted to social tags.Social tags are words or phrases that site users can apply to content on a SharePoint site to help them categorize information in ways that are meaningful to them. Social tags can also be applied to URLs outside of a SharePoint site. Social tags support folksonomy-based taggingThese pointers are stored in the Social Tagging Store that is part of the User Profile Service application. Technically, social tags are not part of the managed metadata features in SharePoint Server 2010, but they do connect to the managed metadata features in a couple of important ways that help support the consistent use of metadata across an organization.The term portion of a social tag points to a term in the Keywords set of the Term Store for one of the Managed Metadata Service applications to which a site is connected. Social tagging is useful because it enables site users to improve the discoverability of content and information on a site.
- #11: If the social tagging feature has been enabled, you can tag content on a SharePoint site that you find meaningful or interesting. To tag a page, you can use the tag icon that displays at the top of the page.To tag documents or list items, you can use the tag command that displays on the Library or List tab of the ribbon.When you start typing the tag or tags you want to apply, you can select from existing keywords or managed terms, or you can add new keywords, if the Keywords term set is open.You also have the option of tagging content on external sites, such as other intranet or internet sites, by adding the SharePoint Tags and Notes Tool to your browser
- #12: Centralized enterprise repository for tag hierarchies and keywordsPublish and subscribe model for distributed content types
- #14: You can view a sample import file by selecting View a Sample Import File in the Term Store Management Tool
- #15: To work in the Term Store Management Tool, you must be a Farm Administrator, a Term Store Administrator, or someone who has been designated as a Group Manager or Contributor for term setsIf you are a Term Store Administrator, you can create or delete groups within a Managed Metadata Service application.If you are a Term Store Administrator or a Group Manager you can create, import, or delete term sets within a group. Term set contributors can create new term sets.Term sets can be copied, relocated, and reused from existing termsTerms can be copied, reused, merged, deprecated, etc.Keywords (folksonomy) can be moved into a managed term set or deleted
- #16: If you are a Term Store Administrator, a Group Manager, or a term set Contributor, you can create or reuse terms within a term set, as well as copy, move, or delete a selected term set.If you are a Term Store Administrator, a Group Manager, or a term set Contributor, you can create copy, reuse, merge, deprecate, move, or delete individual terms within a term set.
- #17: Consistent use of metadataWith term sets and managed terms you can establish control over the types of terms that are available to be added to content, and you can control who has the ability to add new terms. You can also limit the use of enterprise keywords to a specific list of keywords by configuring the Keywords term set as closed. When the same terms are used consistently across sites, it is easier to build robust processes or solutions that rely on metadata. Additionally, the user experience for working with metadata on sites, in lists and libraries, as well as in the Office client programs makes it easy for site users to apply consistent metadata to their content.Improved content discoverabilityWhen the content across sites in an organization has consistent metadata, it is easier to find and access business information and data by using search. New search features, such as the refinement panel, which displays on the left-hand side of the search results page, enable users to filter search results based on metadata.FlexibilityYou can update a term set easily in the Term Store Management tool, and new or updated terms will automatically become available for use wherever a Managed Metadata column associated with that term set is available. If you merge multiple terms into one term, content that is tagged with these terms is automatically updated to reflect this change. You can specify multiple synonyms (or labels) for individual terms. If your site is multi-lingual, you can also specify multilingual labels for individual terms.
- #18: Advisable tokeep the term store closed and provide contact information for someone to suggest a term addition
- #22: SharePoint Server 2010 supports both extremes there are taxonomies, which are formal, centrally-managed, hierarchical groups of terms through managed terms and term sets. At the other end of this range, there are folksonomies, which are the collaborative classifications that result when individuals apply tags freely to content or there is support for enterprise keywords and social tagging, both of which enable site users to tag content with keywords of their choosing.