Sharepoint 2010 : Enterprise Content Management - Hierarchical File Plans and Folder-Based Retention, Records Center

1. Hierarchical File Plans and Folder-Based Retention

The reality is that usually the amount of content and categories of content generated in a typical organization will require a better manageability of retention policies. For instance, the policies would sound something like this: "If this e-mail is more than six months old, go ahead and archive it, but if the CEO sent it, don't archive it." This sounds very much like the ability to set retention policies and then be able to override certain retention policies under special conditions.

So think of it this way: if you were managing e-mail or documents, then based on sender or creator of the document, the content could be routed to an appropriate document library. Even better, if you had a centralized place for managing all records, the document could be routed to an appropriate folder. Thus, there could be a folder called Documents that are Records, but if the CEO created such a document, you could have a subfolder called CEO's Documents. Then by using appropriate content organizer rules, you could theoretically route the documents to the appropriate location. This is the beginning of the formation of your hierarchical file plan!

Now, wouldn't it be nice if in this file plan you could apply hierarchical retention policies? And that you can! Usually you would take such an approach in a records center or centralized records management, but nothing stops you from using this feature right inside your site collections. Simply activate the Library and Folder Based Retention feature at the site collection level and then visit the MyDox document library you created earlier. Under MyDox, create a folder called Child, put some documents in it, and create a folder called GrandChild and put some documents in it, too. Now, go into the information management policy settings of the MyDox document library, and you should see Library Based Retention Schedule option. This can be seen in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Specifying retention schedules on a document library

On this screen, choose to change source for the retention for this document library. You will be able to change the retention policy source from content types to library and folders. By changing the retention source to Library and Folders, you will now be able to add retention stages at the library level. Go ahead and add a retention schedule specifying that if a document has a created date > 1 year, it is moved to the Recycle bin (see Figure 2).

Figure 2. Specifying a retention policy

Now, I'd like to draw your attention to the left side of the preceding figure You can see the folder structure shown as a tree view! Hmm, I wonder what happens if I click the Child folder? The UI changes to that shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3. Children inherit retention policies from the parent

By default, child folders inherit from the parent's retention policies, but you have the ability to configure retention stages at the child level different from the parent. This is referred to as a hierarchical file plan and retention policies specified in your hierarchical file plan.

2. Records Center

The Records Center is a site that puts together all the features I described previously as a single site. It is available to create as a child site or as a site collection. But in order to be able to create the Records Center as a child site, you must activate the content organizer features first. Whether you create the Records Center as a site or as a site collection, the feature set is the same. But what creating the Records Center as its own site collection does give you is the ability to segregate that site collection as its own content database and thus be able to use RBS capabilities of SharePoint to store all those documents in an alternate storage. Believe me, you will need it.

Through central administration, create a site collection based on the Records Center template called Records at /sites/Records. When you create the Records Center you will notice the following:

• This is a site collection with the content organizer turned on. There is a Drop Off Library and you can set up various content organizer rules to route the documents accordingly.

• There is a records library created for you.

• There is a facility to submit new records or to query for an existing record using the unique document ID facilities in SharePoint.

• You will find a custom action under site settings called Manage Records Center that takes you to a page at http://sp2010/sites/Records/rcconsole.aspx. This page puts together all the convenient facilities in a SharePoint records center , activated as individual features.