The Managed Metadata and Managed Property are two fundamental entities of SharePoint, which have significant importance in the content and search management system. It will be important for organizations trying to get better value out of their SharePoint implementation for finding and organizing information in particular to comprehend these principles. In this article we are going to look at the basics of the Managed Metadata and the Managed Properties in SharePoint, their purpose, functionality, and how to make the best of them.
Managed Metadata is a set of centrally controlled terms located in Term Store that is available across all SharePoint sites in an organization. This metadata system permits tag-making or categorizing of content in an equivalent format and manner thus increasing its searchability. The primary purposes of Managed Metadata include: The primary purposes of Managed Metadata include:
Content Classification: When applied systematically, metadata elements enable organizations to make content more structured and easy to categorize.
Improved Searchability: Consistent use of terms optimizes search capabilities in SharePoint, making it easier for users to locate specific content.
Organized Content: The Managed Metadata feature allows the users to categorize and organize their content, facilitating their ability to find and utilize the content that is stored in SharePoint.
Managed Metadata fields are the fields that one can use to extend lists, libraries, or content types in SharePoint. These fields extract data from the Term Store to ensure that a user only enters data into these fields using terms that have previously been coded into the Term Store. These are the principles that assist to standardize and maintain organizational coherence.
Consistent Use of Metadata: In this way, it allows controlling the input of new terms, so that, metadata is applied uniformly throughout the sites and libraries of an organization.
Enhanced Discoverability: Indeed with proper meta-tagging, users can use elements of the search interface such as the refinement panel, to limit the search results to a particular metadata attribute.
Flexibility and Adaptability: You can update or propose a new term set at any time because Managed Metadata facilities change as the business changes. This ability also guarantees that contents do not become stale and that they are well within reach.
Multilingual Support: This strategy of Managed Metadata can also support multilingual, to enable organizations to support different users around the world.
Managed Properties in SharePoint on the other hand are technical enhancements to search capabilities within SharePoint. They are indeed the properties derived from the crawled properties and these permit the users to harness specific searches on the different content types. Managed Properties allows users to define the view of the content by metadata attributes for the search to be more focused.
Whenever content is uploaded to SharePoint it is indexed and the so-called crawled properties are created. These crawled properties pertain to the actual information linked to the content of the web track. Managed Properties can be automatically created or may be created by the site collectors or the administrative users to create more refined search results. For example, if one library names its field as “Client” and the other as “Customer,” a single Managed Property can be made to merge these into a single filter option. This makes it easier for users to search for the document they need irrespective of the library that it belongs to.
Improved Search Experience: Managed Properties assist in the improvement of the search facilities because they make it possible to filter out results depending on metadata attributes, thus increasing the chances of fruitful results.
Customizability: To further refine the search, organizations can create organizations-specific Managed Properties thus allowing more pertinent searches.
Integration with SharePoint Features: Managed Properties can be used in several SharePoint web parts including the News Web Part to filter displayed content based on set terms of the user.
Personalization: Due to the use of Managed Properties, it becomes easy for individuals within an organization with the help of permissions to enable only those content to appear that are most relevant to the person viewing the content.
Although Managed Metadata and Managed Properties have their unique functionality, they relate to one another and can be applied in parallel to improve the general utilization of SharePoint. Here are some key differences:
| Feature | Managed Metadata | Managed Properties |
| Definition | Hierarchical collection of centrally managed terms | Technical properties that enhance search capabilities |
| Purpose | Content classification and organization | Custom search and filtering |
| Scope | Global across all SharePoint sites | Specific to search functionality |
| Creation | Managed in the Term Store | Created from crawled properties |
| User Interaction | Users select from predefined terms | Users filter and search based on defined properties |
The following are the best practices when employing managed metadata;
Define a Clear Taxonomy: Sustain a systematically organized Term Store so that users can easily identify and utilize terms that are relevant to their documents.
Train Users: It is important to also make the users aware of the best practice on how to use Managed Metadata fields for proper tagging and categorization.
Regularly Review Terms: It is advisable to auto-update the term sets or periodically conduct a review of the term sets about the organization.
Leverage Term Sets: Use term sets to group related terms to make it easier for users to locate and apply the correct metadata.
Monitor Usage: Monitor the level of how Managed Metadata is being implemented in the various departments of the organization to know the general utilization pattern.
Plan Managed Properties Ahead of Time: Before applying Managed Properties in the work of an organization, one should plan their structure and usage to ensure they meet organizational needs.
Map Crawled Properties: It maintains knowledge of all crawled properties and maps them to Managed Properties so that all pertinent metadata is searchable.
Test Search Functionality: It is always important to use the search to check that the changes made to Managed Properties are going to allow users to find content as required.
Document Custom Managed Properties: Save the documentation for primarily the custom Managed Properties to assist the users in the execution of the properties.
Stay Updated: Manage properties explored and changes to it affected by updates made to SharePoint that impact Managed Properties.
Managed Metadata and Managed Properties are some of the feature in SharePoint that plays a major role in content management and search functionality. In that regard, organizations should remain discerning of the relationships and distinctions between these two concepts to be able to enhance the functionality of their systems of information search and organization. For Managed Metadata and Managed Properties to be effective in SharePoint, the best strategies and practices should be followed to make it a powerful tool for managing content hence improving productivity and collaboration within the organization.