Designing a Metadata-Driven SharePoint Project Library with Automated Document Set Structure.
1. Why Start with Metadata (Not Folders)
Most SharePoint project libraries fail for one reason:
They start with folders instead of metadata.
Folders solve navigation.
Metadata solves governance.
For a scalable project portfolio library, the structure must be driven by:
- Project ID
- Project Year
- Portfolio Category
- Project Type
- Project Status
- Client
- Risk Level
- Stage Gate
This allows:
- View filtering (Active, Closed, Government, By Year)
- Reporting
- Automation
- Lifecycle management
- Future Power BI integration
Folders alone cannot do that.
2. Core Architecture
Site
Tanolis Projects
Library
Projects
Content Type
Document Set (for each project container)
3. Core Metadata Design
Create these site columns:
| Column | Type |
|---|---|
| Project ID | Single line of text |
| Project Year | Choice |
| Portfolio Category | Choice |
| Project Type | Choice |
| Project Status | Choice |
| Client | Single line |
| Risk Level | Choice |
| Stage Gate | Choice |
| Start Date | Date |
| Target End Date | Date |
Attach these columns to the Document Set content type, not individual files.
This ensures:
- Each project container carries structured metadata
- Views operate on project-level attributes
- Documents inherit metadata if configured
4. Why Document Set (Not Just Folder)
A Document Set is:
- A special content type
- A container with metadata
- A logical project object
It behaves like a folder but supports:
- Custom metadata
- Welcome page
- Shared columns
- Governance workflows
A normal folder cannot do that.
5. Required SharePoint Configuration
Enable Document Sets
Site Settings → Site Collection Features
Activate Document Sets
Then:
Library Settings → Advanced Settings
✔ Allow management of content types
Add Document Set to the library.
6. The Problem: Auto-Creating Subfolders Inside Each New Project
Goal:
When I create:
2026-003_ClientZ_NewApp
Power Automate should automatically create:
01-Contract Governance
02-Planning Design
03-Execution Delivery
04-Financials
05-Admin Closeout
Inside that Document Set.
No duplicate containers.
No root-level folder creation.
No accidental “Shared Documents” folder nesting.
7. The Correct Trigger (Important)
Use:
When a file is created (properties only)
Why?
Because:
- A Document Set inside a document library is treated as a file/folder object.
- “When an item is created” is for SharePoint lists.
- Using the wrong trigger causes null content type errors and template failures.
Lock this in.
8. The Final Working Flow Design
Step 1 – Trigger
When a file is created (properties only)
Library: Projects
Step 2 – Condition
Check:
Content Type
is equal to
Document Set
No expressions.
No startsWith.
No ContentTypeId hacks.
Keep it clean.
Step 3 – Initialize Folder Array
Initialize variable:
Type: Array
[
"01-Contract Governance",
"02-Planning Design",
"03-Execution Delivery",
"04-Financials",
"05-Admin Closeout"
]
Step 4 – Apply to Each
Loop through the folder array.
Inside the loop:
Create new folder.
9. The Critical Folder Path Expression
This is where most implementations fail.
Correct expression:
concat(triggerOutputs()?['body/{Path}'], triggerOutputs()?['body/{FilenameWithExtension}'], '/', item())
Why this works:
From trigger output:
{Path} = Shared Documents/
{FilenameWithExtension} = foo set
Final path becomes:
Shared Documents/foo set/01-Contract Governance
Which means:
Folders are created inside the Document Set container — not in the root.
10. Common Mistakes (And Why They Fail)
❌ Using only Filename
concat(triggerOutputs()?['body/{FilenameWithExtension}'],'/',item())
Result:
Creates duplicate root folder or wrong nesting.
❌ Using ContentTypeId startsWith
Leads to:
startsWith expects string but got null
Because wrong trigger context.
❌ Using “When an item is created”
Causes:
- Null content type
- Condition failures
- Inconsistent behavior
11. Handling Race Conditions
Sometimes folder creation hangs because:
The Document Set is not fully provisioned when the flow runs.
Solution:
Add a small Delay (5 seconds minimum on consumption plan).
Or use retry policy.
12. Optional Enhancements
You can extend this design to:
- Auto-assign permissions based on Portfolio Category
- Notify PM when project is created
- Trigger approval workflow at Stage Gate change
- Auto-create Teams channel per project
- Sync metadata to Dataverse
13. Architectural Pattern Summary
What you built is:
✔ Metadata-first design
✔ Document Set container model
✔ Automated structural provisioning
✔ Governance-ready foundation
This scales to:
- 10 projects
- 100 projects
- 1,000 projects
Without structural drift.
14. Final Design Philosophy
Folders are operational.
Metadata is strategic.
Document Sets give you both.
Power Automate enforces consistency.
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