Microsoft Sharepoint Products and Technologies Resource Kit eBook

540 Part VII: Information Management in SharePoint Products and Technologies
In the preceding list, where more than one column type is mentioned, the
number given is the total for all columns of those types. For example, you could
have 14 Number and 18 Currency columns, but not 32 of each column type.
More Info See the SharePoint Portal Server 2003 Administrator’s Guide for
information types and options. You can also create your own custom field
types. To find out how to do this, see the Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services
Software Development Kit.
If the name of the column matches the custom property of the document, the
property is propagated into the document content. When a document is saved into
a document library, the property form is generated in HTML and, depending on the
method used to save a document, will be labeled as either the Upload Document
form or Web File Properties. All documents within a document library share the
same property form. This form was discussed earlier in the chapter and might also
be known as a document’s profile.
If you’re a frequent contributor to a document library, you’ll become very
familiar with the property form and its ease of use. Only add properties that you are
sure will be useful. Before you add new properties, check the built-in properties.
You might find that an existing property meets your needs. Place important properties
so that they appear at the top of the property form by using the Change The
Order Of Fields feature. Remember that properties are also used during the search
process; therefore, ensure that users understand the importance of including a title
and description and that data is stored in the property. Data stored in a property
name is not searchable; therefore, keep the number of properties that use, for example,
the Yes/No check box option to a minimum. Only data that is stored in the
property is searchable.
Document libraries and lists can be filtered or sorted on any of the custom or
built-in properties. Custom views can be created for frequently used filters and sorts,
thereby ensuring ease of use for users of the document library.
When you create a custom view of a document library and you group the view
by a column that stores date and time information, you might find that some list
items are incorrectly grouped in the view. To achieve the desired results, create a
new column that uses the following formula: =TRUNC([OriginalDateTimeColumn-
Name]. Then group the list items in the new column. When you use this formula,
although the data type that is returned for items in the column uses Date and Time
format, the formula truncates the data type so that items in the column use the Date
Only format. See Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 823509, “List Items in a Column
That Stores Date and Time Information Are Grouped Incorrectly in a View.”