How to set Custom XML Value, Managed Metadata and DateTime Value?

About this article

To keep track of your documents when saving them to a document management system (DMS) like SharePoint, you can use the following options in Dynamics Designer to save the required metadata:

• Custom XML Value (Dynamics Metadata): Always use this option (e.g. for textbox form fields), unless the column in SharePoint is of type 'Managed Metadata' (term sets) or 'Date and Time'.
• Custom XML Managed Metadata (Dynamics Metadata): Use this option only when the column in SharePoint is of type 'Managed Metadata' (term sets).
• Custom XML DateTime Value (Dynamics Metadata): Use this option only when the column in SharePoint is of type 'Date and Time'.

This article explains how this can be configured.

Sections in this article:

• How to configure Custom XML Value
• How to configure Custom XML Managed Metadata (term sets)
• How to configure Custom XML DateTime Value

 

Prerequisites

Admin access in Templafy tenant Dynamics Designer (Dynamics 2.0)

 

How to configure Custom XML Value

In the example below a Word template is configured and the metadata is saved to SharePoint.

 

Example 1

1. Create a document in SharePoint (or upload a document):
   
   
   
   
2. Close the document.
3. Select the saved document and open the details pane. Then add random values to all columns you want to use. Do not leave them blank:
   
   

 

If you leave a field blank (like 'Category' in the image above), then SharePoint will attach a '@nil' value to it. As a result Templafy can't attach the Custom XML Value to the field and no metadata is saved to SharePoint.

4. Download the document and open it.
5. Open Dynamics Designer, then on the Settings tab enable Enable as template (and optionally enable Enable Document Content Updater):
   
   
   
   
6. Next, create form fields 'Title', 'OrderID', 'Description' and 'Category':
   
   

 

In this example Textbox fields are used, but other field types like Date and Dropdown are also supported. If the field in SharePoint (the column you want to write metadata to) is a 'Choice' field (dropdown or radio buttons), then make sure the dropdown list items in Templafy are written exactly the same way as in SharePoint (the list items are case sensitive).

7. On the Document tab select Custom XML Value (Dynamics Metadata) and click the + button:
   
   
   
   
8. On the Developer tab select XML Mapping Pane. In the field Custom XML Part select http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2006/metadata/properties.
   When you select this namespace, an element named properties with a child element named documentManagement appears. Expand documentManagement to show all available fields (column names) from SharePoint:
   
   

 

The name of an element should not be expandable. If it is expandable then it will show the '@nil' value mentioned before.

 

Note that the column 'Order ID' from SharePoint is shown as Custom XML Part 'Order_x0020_ID'. The name 'Order ID' is the display name in SharePoint, while 'Order_x0020_ID' is the internal name (this is the name you need to use for your template). In SharePoint the internal name can be retrieved by opening the properties of a column. The URL will show the internal name:

9. The form contains these fields:
   
   

• Namespace: enter http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2006/metadata/properties.
• Path: enter /p:properties/documentManagement/*[local-name()="<field>"] , where <field> is the name of the field you want to use. In this example the result is /p:properties/documentManagement/*[local-name()="Order_x0020_ID"].
• Binding: enter the form field you want to use, in this case {{Form.OrderID}}.

Values in the fields above are case-sensitive! Use *[local-name()="<field>"]on every level, or only where a namespace is specified (explanation about namespaces is beyond this help topic). If this notation doesn't give the expected result then only use the field name instead, so in this example that would be: /p:properties/documentManagement/Order_x0020_ID. In the Binding field, instead of a form field (like {{Form.OrderID}} in the example above) you can also use plain text, for example if you always want to write the same value to SharePoint. Enter the text without curly brackets or quotes. In the Binding field, you can also use a HostSystem binding (e.g. {{HostSystem.OrderID}}), for example if you get data from Salesforce, that you want to write to SharePoint.

10. The result looks like this:
    
    
    
    We also want to save the Title of the document to SharePoint. This is a special field (note that it is not available as Custom XML Part in the image from step 8). Instead of using Custom XML Value (Dynamics Metadata), you have to select Document Property (Dynamics Metadata).

11. On the Document tab select Document Property (Dynamics Metadata) and click the + button. The form contains these fields:
    
    

• Property Name: select the document property field you want to use, in this case title.
• Property Value: enter the form field you want to use, in this case {{Form.Title}}.

12. Save your template (name it e.g. 'MyTemplate') and upload it to Templafy Admin.
13. Open the template in Composer and create a document:
    
    
    
    
14. Save the document to SharePoint. The metadata is shown in the columns and the details pane.
    The result looks like this:
    
    

 

Note that no metadata is written to the column 'Category'. This is because SharePoint attached a '@nil' value, because we left the field blank in step 3! That is why it is important to fill all columns.

 

How to configure Custom XML Managed Metadata (term sets)

A special column of type Managed Metadata can be created in SharePoint. It enables users to select terms from a specific term set. If you want to use this column in your template then you need to follow the steps below.

 

Example 2

In this example the template from example 1 is expanded with custom xml that saves the value to a managed metadata column in SharePoint.

For managed metadata you need to use Custom XML Managed Metadata (Dynamics Metadata) on the Document tab in Dynamics Designer.

 

1. In SharePoint create a new column (in this example 'Snacks') and select Managed Metadata as the type of information:
   
   

The option Allow multiple values is not supported in Templafy.

2. In the section Term Set Settings you can use a managed term set or create your own term set. In this example we select Customize your term set. Click Create Term to create one or more terms:
   
   

3. The result looks like this:
   

4. For Templafy you need to know the Unique Identifier for each term created in the previous step. Go to the Site Settings page and open Term store management:
   
   

5. In the Term Store Management Tool, when you select a term, the details show the Unique Identifier:
   
   

 

You can also find the terms and unique identifiers in Windows Explorer (after you have saved a document (created from Word) to SharePoint in the library that contains a managed metadata column). Go to 'C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\TermSets'. This folder contains files like 'abc1d2ed-3456-7898-7cba654321.xml'. Find the correct file (in general a file created today) and open it in Notepad.

6. In Admin create a data source that contains all terms and their corresponding unique identifiers. You can use the default 'Name' column and e.g. a column named 'UniqueIdentifier':
   
   

7. Next, in Admin download the template ('MyTemplate') created in example 1, and open it in Dynamics Designer. Create a dropdown form field (e.g. 'Snack') and link it to the data source from the previous step:
   
   

8. Save the template.

The new column created in SharePoint needs to be added as Custom XML part to the template. To do this, you need to upload the template to SharePoint, to the library where you have created the new column.

9. Upload the template to SharePoint (to the library where you have created the new column).
10. In SharePoint select the saved template and open the details pane. Then add a random value to the new field 'Snacks' (and to all other columns you want to use):
    
    

11. Download the template and open it.
12. On the Developer tab select XML Mapping Pane. In the field Custom XML Part select http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2006/metadata/properties. You see all available fields (column names) from SharePoint created earlier, and a new field named (in this example) 'k48e728b471d4ab68c80ce6895fa8dd5' with child elements named 'Terms', 'TermInfo', 'TermName' and 'TermId'.
    In the XML Mapping pane managed metadata fields are not shown with their display name, but with their unique identifier. The identifier shown in this example represents the field (column) 'Snacks' you have created:
    
    

 

If you are not sure the identifier represents the field (column) you want to use, then you can follow these steps: rename the extension of the downloaded template (document) to .zip. In the zip file go to the 'CustomXML' folder. This folder contains one or more xml files named 'itemX.xml'. Open the one that looks similar to the example below. Here you'll find the same identifier which, in this case, contains a child element 'TermName' that contains the value 'Hamburger'. This value indicates the identifier represents the field (column) 'Snacks':

13. On the Developer tab select XML Mapping Pane. In the field Custom XML Part select http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2006/metadata/properties:
    
    

14. Create a Custom XML Managed Metadata (Dynamics Metadata) field with these values (see image above):

• Namespace: enter http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2006/metadata/properties.
• Path: enter /p:properties/documentManagement/<field> , where <field> is the name of the field you want to use. In this example the result is: /p:properties/documentManagement/k48e728b471d4ab68c80ce6895fa8dd5.
• Term Id: enter the form field you want to use for the Term Id, in this case {{Form.Snack.UniqueIdentifier}}.
• Term Name: enter the form field you want to use for the Term Name, in this case {{Form.Snack.Name}}.

In the Path you need to use the unique identifier (like "k48e728b..."), not the display name.

15. Save your template and upload it to Templafy Admin.
16. Open the template in Composer and create a document:
    
    

17. Save the document to SharePoint. The (managed) metadata is shown in the columns and the details pane. The result looks like this:
    
    

 

How to configure Custom XML DateTime Value

A column of type Date and Time can be created in SharePoint. It enables users to select a date from a calendar. If you want to use this column in your template then you need to follow the steps below.

 

Example 3

In this example the template from example 2 is expanded with custom xml that saves the value to a date and time column in SharePoint.

For date fields you need to use Custom XML DateTime Value (Dynamics Metadata) on the Document tab in Dynamics Designer.

 

1. In SharePoint create a new column (in this example 'Date') and select Date and Time as the type of information:
   
   

2. In Admin download the template created in example 2, and open it in Dynamics Designer. Create a date form field (e.g. 'Date').
3. Save the template.

The new column created in SharePoint needs to be added as Custom XML part to the template. To do this, you need to upload the template to SharePoint, to the library where you have created the new column.

3. Upload the template to SharePoint (to the library where you have created the new column).
4. In SharePoint select the saved template and open the details pane. Then add a random value to the new field 'Date' (select any date from the calendar).
5. Download the template and open it.
6. On the Developer tab select XML Mapping Pane. In the field Custom XML Part select http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2006/metadata/properties. You see all available fields (column names) from SharePoint created earlier, and a new field named (in this example) 'Date':
   
   

7. Create a Custom XML DateTime Value (Dynamics Metadata) field with these values (see image above):

• Binding: enter the form field you want to use, in this case {{Form.Date}}.
• Namespace: enter http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2006/metadata/properties.
• Path: enter /p:properties/documentManagement/*[local-name()="<field>"] , where <field> is the name of the field you want to use. In this example the result is: /p:properties/documentManagement/*[local-name()="Date"].

8. Save your template and upload it to Templafy Admin.
9. Open the template in Composer and create a document (select a date).
10. Save the document to SharePoint. The date is shown in the column and the details pane. The result looks like this:
    
    

 

 

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