Metadata in a document management system turns business facts into searchable, consistent fields. Instead of relying on a name such as contract-final-v3.pdf, your team can identify the customer, contract owner, status and relevant dates directly.
This guide focuses on implementing metadata in Folderit. If the term is new to you, start with what metadata means and why it is useful.
Start with the questions people need to answer
Choose one document category and list its frequent retrieval tasks. For contracts, those might be “Find agreements for this customer”, “Show contracts assigned to this owner” and “Find agreements ending in this period”. Design fields around those questions.
A useful starting template might contain the following custom fields. These are example settings, not pre-existing fields in every Folderit account.
| Field | Type | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Customer | List or String | The agreed customer name; use a controlled list where practical. |
| Contract type | List | For example, services, supplier or confidentiality agreement. |
| Contract owner | User | The colleague responsible for the record. |
| Status | List | Clearly defined stages, such as Draft, Under review and Executed. |
| End date | Date | The contractual end date, not the upload date. |
| Legacy reference | String | The identifier retained from a previous system. |
Keep the initial template small. Add a field when someone can explain how it supports retrieval, a decision or a required process. Avoid collecting personal information that the document-management task does not need.
Understand default and custom fields
Folderit’s seven default document fields are Title, Notes, Tags, Signed by, Document ID, Date and Due Date. Document ID is generated automatically. The Signed by field records signer names; entering a name there is not the act of electronically signing a document.
Custom field types include String, Long text, Checkbox, Date, Datetime, Time, Integer, Decimal, List, Email, URL, User and Entity. A List field needs its available options defined. Choose the type before importing values and test awkward cases such as empty dates and identifiers with leading zeroes.
Create a reusable folder template
- Open the folder and select Meta in the toolbar.
- Add an existing custom field or create a new one with a name, description and data type.
- Choose whether each field is Required, Recursive and included for files, folders, external links, or a combination.
- Save the configuration and test a new resource in that folder.
Required fields must be completed when modifying the resource’s metadata. Folderit marks resources with missing required values so users can open the Modify view and complete them. This does not mean every uploaded file already has accurate metadata.
Recursive applies the field through the selected folder and its subfolders. Use it when that branch shares a document model; check the effect before applying a template to unrelated departments.
Enter, display and search the values
Open a file, folder or external link and click Modify to enter or update its metadata. Users need the relevant permission to modify the resource. Creating and managing centrally defined fields requires the appropriate account-level Manage Metadata permission.
Configure folder columns to display the fields people use most. This makes missing values and inconsistent records easier to spot without opening each document.
Use Advanced Search to refine results by available custom metadata fields and other filters. Live Search checks names and metadata; Deep Search can also search supported document content through OCR and indexing. XLSX file content is not included in OCR content search.
Metadata and OCR answer different questions. OCR can find text in a scan, while a verified custom field can identify the correct customer or business date. Test both with real examples rather than assuming one replaces the other.
Connect metadata to daily work
Dates can support review processes, and structured values can support reports and configured workflows. For example, Folderit’s Workflow Designer can use a metadata-value change as an event and test a field as a condition. Configure and test the actual automation; changing a Status value alone does not define a complete approval process.
For imported archives, agree the file-matching and field-mapping method before transferring an Excel or CSV metadata sheet. Our DMS migration guide explains the validation steps.
Maintain the structure
- Assign an owner to the field definitions and list values.
- Describe ambiguous fields, especially dates and status values.
- Review missing required information and inconsistent spelling.
- Test template changes with a small sample before wider use.
- Check dependencies before deleting a centrally defined field: deletion removes it wherever it is used, including templates and stored resources.
Begin with one folder and a representative set of documents. Try Folderit and test whether a colleague can find the correct document using your agreed metadata.
