Sharepoint's “New Folder” doesn't ask for a required field

Question

I am using Web Part Connections to filter documents in a documents library in SharePoint. To do this, there's a column that is required, which I've named "related contact." Here's my problem: When I go add a New Folder (instead of just a document) SharePoint only asks me for a title for the Folder. The "related contact" column (which is required for the documents) doesn't even appear. Since the info on that column is empty, web part connections doesn't see the folder at all. Is there any way to make the Folder ask for another field at the time of creation?

Thanks

-V

Answer 1

Did you try creating a new folder content type with those required fields and trying to use that (and perhaps turn off the standard folders)?

Perhaps this page will help you: SharePoint folders and metadata.

Answer 2

Folders are one-dimensional. They are virtual containers for your documents, but aren't objects in your library that contain actual metadata.

Instead of using folders, I would recommend adding a column to your library that would mimic the names of the folders. From there, you can sort/filter/group/query the contents of that library. If users are sticklers for the folder structure, you could create a View that groups the documents by that new column, which would give you the appearance of folders.