Fix Your Metadata Problems with Document Sets Instead of Power Automate

G'day #LinkedIn,

Had a discovery call last week where a client showed me a Power Automate flow built by another Consultant. It was running every 5 minutes to update metadata inside folders.

Every. Five. Minutes!

Let's chat about why this is a classic case of overcomplicating SharePoint with automation when there's a built-in solution just sitting there (Keep reading for the full step by step video)

Document Sets & Shared Columns = better way

A common problem I here is that

"We need consistent metadata across related documents"

The problem is that folders don't provide any way to share properties with files inside them.

Solution that I have come across multiple times involve complex Power Automate flows constantly scanning and updating properties. They're resource-intensive, prone to timeouts, and often unreliable.

My client's flow running every 5 minutes was causing more problems than it solved.

What you might be missing

Document Sets are like folders with superpowers. The key feature? Shared Columns.

These allow metadata values from the Document Set to automatically synchronize to all documents inside it. Change metadata at the Document Set level, and it updates on all contained documents immediately - no automation required.

Setting it up is straightforward...

1. Check your site collection features to activate Document Sets
2. Create a custom content type based on Document Set
3. Configure which columns should synchronize to documents
4. Add the content type to your library

Once done, users can create Document Sets, add metadata once, and any uploaded documents automatically inherit those properties.

The real win here?

When I showed this to my client, they immediately saw how it eliminated their complex Power Automate solution. Instead of running a flow every 5 minutes, they could:

• Create a Document Set for each client/project
• Set metadata once at the Document Set level
• Upload documents without worrying about properties
• Update information in one place when needed

See It In Action

I've created a step-by-step video that walks through the entire process of setting up Document Sets with Shared Columns. You'll see exactly how to configure everything and how the metadata synchronization works.

Watch the tutorial here →