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Metadata in M-Files: find every document from every angle
M-Files replaces folder structures with metadata: smart labels such as client, project, type and status. Every document is found in seconds, whoever saved it and wherever you start looking.
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Illustrative example
In short
Metadata in M-Files are properties such as client, project, document type and status that describe a document. Instead of storing a file in one folder, M-Files uses these properties to show it in every relevant view, so it can be found from any angle in seconds. SoftAdvice designs the metadata structure around your processes.
Why folder structures stop working
According to IDC research, knowledge workers spend an average of 2.5 hours a day searching for information. The cause is almost always the same: folders organised differently per person, department and year.
One person saves a quote under the client, another under the project, a third in the folder of the month. Nobody does it wrong. The system simply gives no structure.
Folders
- A document lives in one place only
- Structure differs per person
- No context without opening the file
- Duplicates are inevitable
- Searching means guessing the location
M-Files metadata
- Findable from every angle
- One consistent structure for everyone
- Client, status and project visible at once
- One source, zero duplicates
- Filter on properties, like a web shop
What exactly is metadata?
Metadata are properties that give a document context: "this is a quote", "for client Janssen", "project Brussels", "waiting for approval". In M-Files you describe a document with those properties instead of choosing a folder. M-Files then indexes it and shows it in every relevant view.
Metadata can be anything: a client from your CRM, a project name, a date, a workflow status, even a signature. The structure is configured per organisation.
Think of a music app: you never look for track_047.mp3 in a folder, you choose an artist, an album or a genre. M-Files works the same way for your business documents.
Smart search and metadataThis is what searching with metadata feels like
Click on filters, type a search term or open a document preview, just like in M-Files.
Click around: it works like the real M-Files.
Metadata is the foundation for everything else
Metadata is not only for searching. It drives workflows, security, version control and AI in M-Files.
Version control
Every change to content or metadata creates a new version you can always return to.
AI suggestions with Aino
Aino reads the content and suggests the right metadata when you save.
Metadata in your sector
Contract management
Contracts by client, type and expiry date, with automatic reminders before deadlines.
Engineering and project files
Drawings, reports and minutes by project, discipline and revision, also for external partners.
Read moreQuality management
SOPs and work instructions carry version, status and validity; expired documents go back for review automatically.
Accountancy and audit
Files built around client, financial year and document type, not around whoever created them.
Read moreHR and personnel files
Documents per employee, type and validity, visible only to the right people.
Your situation is different?
Tell us how your documents flow today. We show what M-Files changes for you.
Plan a demoFrequently asked questions
Do we have to give up folders completely?
No. M-Files shows documents in views grouped by metadata, which feel like folders, but one document can appear in many of them without being copied.
Who decides which metadata we use?
You do, with us. SoftAdvice designs the metadata model around your processes and document types, usually as part of process consulting.
Do users have to fill in everything by hand?
No. Many values are filled in automatically from templates, from linked systems such as your ERP or CRM, or suggested by M-Files Aino.
Can our existing documents be migrated?
Yes. Migration is planned per source, with metadata mapped so older documents are as findable as new ones.
Explore the other M-Files capabilities
Smart search and metadata
Find every document from every angle.
You are hereSee it working on your own documents
30 minutes, online, no obligation. We show it with documents and processes like yours.