The New Doc Libs UX: Navigation That Actually Helps Work Happen Discoverability cuts meetings. Fewer clicks reduce errors. Obvious context prevents “Where did my files go?” drama. You don’t need more storage; you need a surface that shows intent. What’s new (and why it matters):

• Enhanced breadcrumbs: hop across folders and libraries without losing state. No more six-level backtracks.
• View switcher + filter pills: visible filters end blame games. Hover to see what’s applied; clear in one click.
• Options hub: Views, Filters, Formatting, Grid edit—one place. Less scavenger hunt, more work.
• Layout controls: Compact/List/Autofit; sort by Reading Time; group by Category. Decision accelerators, not cosmetics.
• Board view (Kanban light): lanes like New → Needs Review → Reviewed → Ready with a card designer (thumbnail, abstract, rating). Drag to advance.

Make views stick:

• Use the “Unsaved changes” cue. Name views that teach behavior (Reviewed & Ready, not Steve’s View).
• Publish defaults intentionally (team view vs personal sandbox).
• Pro move: filter pills + conditional formatting → e.g., pill = Category=Research; rows with Reviewed glow purple.

Reality check: Views organize output; the real war is input. Control the front door or your beautiful views decay. Fixing Input: Forms for Doc Libs = The Adoption Lever If intake is messy, your views rot and filters lie. Forms make adding files idiot-proof (by design). Design a form people will actually use:

• Brand it (logo/theme). Write prompts like a human.
• Require only human decisions (Owner, Status, maybe Sensitivity).
  Everything inferable → leave to Autofill.
• Add branching: show Marketing fields to Marketing, Finance fields to Finance.
• Turn on notifications with useful subject lines (Category + Status).

Flow that works:

• Submissions land in a Responses folder (safe buffer).
• Daily triage: open New Submissions, skim with pills, Quick Step → Move to Root, set Status.

Adoption-killing mistake: too many required fields (“Title, Abstract, Category, Sub-category, three dates…”).
Fix (single switch): enable Column Autofill for Abstract, Category, Reading Time—then trim the form to Owner/Status (branch rest). External intake not ready? Use Request Files + a small Power Automate to apply defaults and kick Autofill. Track roadmap; don’t duct-tape forever. Column Autofill: Stop Typing Metadata—Let the Files Tell You Manual metadata kills systems. Autofill reads content and writes consistent values—no begging. What to automate first:

• Reading Time (e.g., 250 wpm → return integer)
• Abstract (1 sentence, ≤25 words, no colons)
• Category (choose exactly one from a fixed list)
• Invoice fields (Invoice #, Vendor, Due Date in ISO)

Write prompts like policy:

• Be prescriptive: format + constraints (integer, ISO date, one-of labels).
• Calibrate on 10 files (short/long/messy/pristine), tweak, then scale.

Operate like adults:

• Watch the Autofill activity panel (queued/in-progress/failed).
• Re-run after edits; bulk-clear/adjust prompts if needed.
• Don’t duplicate human fields—if Autofill writes Abstract, don’t ask users for it.

Immediate payoff:

• Reviewed & Ready sorted by Reading Time → quick wins first.
• By Category finally means something (labels are consistent).
• Copilot gets smarter because metadata is sane.

Copilot Inside Doc Libs: From File Pile to Answers-on-Demand Reading everything is not a job. Deciding fast is. Do these on day one:

• Compare Files: select suspects → get deltas/themes. Kill dupes, merge, or archive with confidence.
• Generate summaries/abstracts: ask for a punchy hook + 3-line synopsis with audience and action. Paste best line into Abstract...