SharePoint 2010: Bulk Fill In Column Fields & Bulk Check In
Note: These instructions are specific to my org's setup - document library has required properties and check out is required to edit - but take from it what you will.
SharePoint 2010: Bulk Fill In Column Fields and Bulk Check In Files
Pre-Requisite #1
You must have permissions to Site Actions > Site Settings > Content and Structure. If you do not see Content and Structure in Site Settings, you do not have sufficient privileges.
Pre-Requisite #2
If you’re using a document library that has required properties to be filled out before being checked-in, you will need to: (1) change the property to “not required” for all columns, (2) change “Require Check Out” to “No”, and (3) make sure all files are checked in. Do the following before continuing:
Temporarily change the column property to “Not Required”
PLEASE TAKE NOTE OF WHAT COLUMNS ARE REQUIRED BECAUSE YOU SHOULD CHANGE IT BACK TO REQUIRED WHEN YOU’RE DONE!
In the document library, click on the Library tab then click on Library Settings (far right) .
In the Columns section, click on the column whose property you want to change to “Not Required”.
Change the “Require that this column contains information” value to “No”.
Click OK to save changes.
Repeat a-d for all columns with required properties.
Change “Require Check Out” to “No”
At Document Library Settings, click on Versioning Settings.
At section “Require Check Out” change the value to “No”.
Click OK to save changes.
Bulk Check In Documents – only do this is there are documents checked out
Click on Site Actions > Site Settings
Click on Content and Structure
In the left pane, navigate to the folder whose documents you need to check in and click to view contents in the right pane.
Check the boxes for all documents that are checked out and need to be checked in. Click on Actions > Check in.
Verify that all documents are checked in by looking at the Checked Out To column – there shouldn’t be a name listed.
Instructions: Bulk Fill-In Column Fields
Now that we’ve made the required properties no longer required and the documents are all checked in, we can use Datasheet view to quickly edit the properties.
At the document library, verify that you can see all the fields you need to fill in, including the following fields (Classification, Checked Out To, Stewards).
To add the fields to your view, click on the Library tab > Modify view
In Columns, select the Display boxes for the required fields (Classification, Checked Out To, Stewards), scroll down and click OK.
Click on the Library tab > Datasheet View
Fill in the properties for the documents.
Once all fields are filled out, click on Standard View. If you see a window stating “You have pending changes, or unresolved conflicts and errors. Do you want to wait for this operation to complete?” click “Yes”.
Verify all the changes are saved.
Wrapping Up: Reset Settings to Original
Go back and change the columns whose values were “required” but changed to “not required” back to “required”.
Go back and change the “Require Check Out” back to “Yes”.
FINISHED.