Configure the content organizer to route documents

The Content Organizer is a SharePoint feature that can automatically manage some important library tasks. This not only saves time, but can help make sure that a document library is managed consistently.

What can the Content Organizer do?

The Content Organizer can automatically do the following tasks:

• Route documents to different libraries or folders    In effect, the Content Organizer acts as a gatekeeper for documents. Each time that a document is uploaded, the Content Organizer uses rules that you created to determine where it should move the document. Then, it routes the document to the correct library or folder, which can be located in a different site collection. Rules can be based on a combination of content types and metadata.

• Upload all documents to a Drop Off Library    You can configure the Content Organizer to place all uploaded documents in a Drop Off Library, where metadata can be entered and a submission process completed.

• Manage folder size    You can configure the Content Organizer to monitor the number of items in folders, and ensure that no folder contains more than a specified number of items. By default, this limit is 2500 items, and when item number 2501 arrives, the Content Organizer automatically creates a new folder and places the document in it. You can specify the number of items Content Organizer allows in a single folder.

• Manage duplicate submissions    When a document is uploaded that already exists in the library, you can have the Content Organizer either use SharePoint versions, or change the file name by adding unique characters. This makes sure that both the existing document and the duplicate are preserved.

• Maintain audit logs    Content Organizer can keep audit logs about a document stored with the document after it is routed.

Activate the Content Organizer feature on a site

You must have at least Site Owner permissions and the publishing features must be enabled.

To activate the Content Organizer feature for a site

1. Navigate to the site that you want to configure.

2. Click Settings and then choose Site settings from the drop down menu.

   For SharePoint, click Settings , click Site content, and then click Site settings.

3. On the Site Settings page, in the Site Actions group, click Manage site features.

4. Next to the Content Organizer feature name, click Activate. When the feature is activated, the word Active appears in the Status column.

   

Configure the Content Organizer to route documents

Note: You must have at least Site Owner permissions to configure the Content Organizer.

1. Navigate to the site for which you want to configure the Content Organizer to automatically route documents to specified locations.

2. Click Settings and then choose Site settings from the drop down menu.

   For SharePoint, click Settings , click Site content, and then click Site settings.

3. In the Site Administration group, choose Content Organizer Settings.

   Note: The Content Organizer settings link appears only if the feature is activated for this site.

4. In the Redirect Users to the Drop Off Library section, select the check box to enforce the Content Organizer. This automatically redirects users to the Drop Off Library when they try to upload a document.

5. In the Sending to Another Site section, select the check box if you want to allow rules to route documents to a different site.

6. In the Folder Partitioning section, select the Create subfolders after a target location has too many items check box to automatically create subfolders after a location has exceeded a specified number of items.

   • In the Number of items in a single folder box, type the number of documents that can be stored in a folder before a new one is created.

   • In the Format of folder name box, specify the naming convention for any new folders that are created.

7. In the Duplicate Submissions section, select whether you want duplicates to use the versioning feature, or whether duplicates should always have unique characters appended to the item's file name.

8. In the Preserving Context section, select the check box if you want to save audit logs or metadata as an audit entry on the submitted item or document

9. In the Rule Managers section, enter user names that are rules managers in your organization. Rule managers must have Manage Web Site permissions to access the Content Organizer rules setting page. For more info, see Create Content Organizer rules to route documents.

10. Select the appropriate check boxes to have email messages automatically sent to the rules managers. Content Organizer can send an email message when a submission does not match a rule, or when any content is submitted to the Content Organizer.

    Note: Email must be configured by your SharePoint or network administrator for the server or service for these checkboxes to be enabled.

11. In the Submission Points section, enter information about other sites or e-mail messaging software that can send content to the current site.

    Tip: This section gives you the URL of the web service to submit content to the site in case that you want to create a workflow or custom solution to submit documents from an email system.