Content types with office templates in modern libraries in SharePoint Online.

Over the years, many of us have used content types to structure and keep track of the documents we work with in document libraries. We have often linked official templates to these content types, sometimes locally in the respective document libraries and sometimes in major centrally managed solutions through Content Type hub.

When modern team sites were launched, some of us found that these opportunities disappeared. Suddenly it became a little bit more difficult to build solutions with content types, document templates, and centrally managed content types and custom metadata, now we would suddenly just use our folders again.

On Saturday (September 1, 2018) Chris McNulty published an article that created great hope for those of us who want to use document library “out of the box” but also want to build structured solutions with custom content types, office templates and custom menus in document libraries. You can read this article here: “Announcing new file template management for document library content types“. You will now be able to tie office templates to your content types in a document library and you can also change the order in the menu that appears when you click “New”. You can actually upload the office templates directly through the “New menu”.

Small, but high value improvements, that start rolling out to “Targeted Release customers” already in early September 2018.

Did these news made you stand up on your desk and jump up and down in pure excitement (wearing your funniest party hat)? I am glad to inform you that there are more good news on my way, so there’s a lot of reason to celebrate further. The final “Frequently asked questions” of the same article also show the following:

“We will soon introduce the ability for a centrally managed content type, along with its custom metadata rules and templates, to be published to all locations, including locally defined templates, with full reporting visibility.”

Yes, you read correctly. We will soon be able to manage the office templates of the content types in one place. For those of you who have worked (and work) with document management solutions in SharePoint online, your excitement should now correspond to a child’s joy on Christmas Eve when Santa Claus is on the way.

Content Type fans, here we go!

(this article is also published on LinkedIn)