There are a series of exciting new changes for editing metadata in a SharePoint Document Library near you! Read on for general overview, helpful tips, and strategies for using this powerful tool. Microsoft began rolling this out worldwide in mid-February 2025.
This post will cover:
What is Edit in Grid View
Benefits of Edit in Grid View
New abilities for Edit in Grid View
What is Edit in Grid View?
The Edit in Grid View feature has been around for a few years and is a helpful tool available on all SharePoint document libraries. It allows you to quickly and easily edit multiple fields of metadata.
See our previous blog post for more information and tips on SharePoint metadata.
Similar to a familiar Excel spreadsheet, Edit in Grid View converts all fields in a document library view to editable cells. By using Edit in Grid View you can change the custom information associated with files simultaneously, apart from system-managed fields like Modified and Created By. Changes to each file are saved immediately which allows you to move onto the next target faster.
Benefits of Edit in Grid View
1. Very intuitive: If you can click it, you can change it. By converting the entire library at once, users can make multiple changes one after another. SharePoint will take care of the finer details of determining what metadata options are available for each field— for example, showing you a calendar to input dates for a date field.
2. Bulk editing: Values in a field can be populated down with one click. Much like in Excel, you can drag the editing box in a field downwards to copy that same value to the files below. Simply click on the lower right-hand corner of the field (watch for your cursor to change to a +) and scroll down.
3. Strong partnership between library views and Edit in Grid: Each library can display several different ways of organizing the documents based on metadata through custom views. The Edit in Grid function will follow the logic of library views. This has two major benefits for users:
Finer control: Edit in Grid will follow the logic of library views. This means that if views show limited metadata columns, users will only be directed to edit fields under those columns. There is often administration-oriented metadata like retention classification, fiscal year, or document content types that most users should not be bothering with. Since these kinds of columns are typically hidden from default library views, editing in Grid View prevents these fields from being changed by also hiding them from view. Note: It is still possible to see all metadata fields associated with a file by opening its Properties pane while editing in Grid View, if necessary.
Personalization: You can also create personal views tailored to your use of the files within a library and easily edit the metadata. This is particularly helpful when bulk editing after a major migration, for example filtering all the most recently added documents to the top and only showing a couple major metadata columns that are empty, ready to be filled.
New Abilities for Edit in Grid View
There are several recent updates for the Edit in Grid view feature of note. Microsoft has introduced multiple changes to improve the functionality:
Grouped Views can now use Edit in Grid: Previously the only way to edit a document’s metadata while viewing the library in a Grouped By View was to select the file and open the properties/details panel. Now there is support for grouping the files, for example by a status, in a view and editing the metadata in grid at the same time. An already helpful feature is now even better!
File names are now links to open the file: In Edit in Grid mode, you can easily open a file by clicking on its name, just like you would by viewing the library normally. Got ahead of yourself and started changing the metadata but need to double check the contents of the file? Just click the name. For folders, this functions similarly. Clicking on the folder will open it and allow you to continue editing the files’ metadata. Note: If you want to change the name of the file, by cautious of this new change, and first click on the white space at the end of the name to begin typing first.
Right click on any field in a row to open a file’s quick action menu: The quick action menu allows you to share, manage access, pin, move/copy, preview, plus many more actions. Traditionally available by clicking on the ellipses after a file’s name, now it is easier to access by right clicking anywhere on a file’s metadata fields.
Support for the details panel while editing in Grid View: By clicking on the ‘expand Details pane’ on the top right corner of the library, you can see a preview of a file, its properties, and recent activity (like edits, access, and comments). This feature provides a snapshot of all the information about an individual file without leaving the overall library view while you’re editing.
Create new items in Grid View: The +New and Upload buttons are now available while you are editing a library in Grid View. You can seamlessly transition from adding new files to a library to adding their metadata without exiting Grid View.
Closing Thoughts
Have you noticed the updates?
The increased powers of Edit in Grid View will help make adding, updating, and viewing metadata much easier. This enhances information governance, security, and records management for an organization.
Follow these strategies to enjoy the use of metadata in SharePoint just like we do!
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