Could document Library metadata be hidden in certain views?

Question

I've been confused with document library metadata (i.e columns) as I hadn't fully understood that once they are defined through Quick Edit or Library Settings in a view, they are defined for all "folder" views, at any level of the library, even with unrelated documents.

I thought the view was defined for the current page only. Is this right? Just to be sure, is there a way to have views within a document libray where documents display only configured metadata in some folders?

Is defining a specific Content Type the solution?

(SharePoint2013 on premise if relevant).

Answer 1

once they are defined through Quick Edit or Library Settings in a view, they are defined for all "folder" views, at any level of the library, even with unrelated documents.

• If you create a new column while in a list view, you create it at for the entire list.
• If you show/hide an existing column, this column is shown/hidden for this specific list view only.
• You can create a column for a specific content type via List settings > Content Type
• Views are not hierarchical. Views exist only on a list level. There is no support for different views at the folder level. Folders will always display the same list views no matter what.

thought the view was defined for the current page only. Is this right?

No. The view is not defined for the current page. Nor it's defined for a folder. The view is created for the entire list. It does not matter in which folder you are located during the view modifications. All your modifications will be applied to the entire view.

is there a way to have views within a document library where documents display only configured metadata in some folders?

Quick answer is - no. But you can create list views (the only type of view there is) with a filter targets only a specific folder. Although it's tricky.

Answer 2

A list view is meant for the current page, yes, and also when you edit the list view via Library Settings > Edit View, the changes (filtering, group by, etc.) will only apply the current view as well.

But if you use the Quick Edit feature or change other settings via library settings, that would be a different story, relevant settings including editing column values, creating new columns, renaming columns, etc.

--

We cannot hide a list column only from some of the folders or contents, even when you use multiple content types in a document library. The column will be available for other content types regardless.

As a workaround, you can create separate list views, display only the required columns on each view and hide the others.