Search and Search Filter differences between SharePoint Online Library and List Content Sources

This article applies to:Available in these QorusDocs Editions:

Enterprise+, Proposal Pro, QPilot Essential

When you connect SharePoint Online content to QorusDocs, you can connect either SharePoint Online libraries or SharePoint Online lists as Content Sources.

Both types of Content Sources can help users find and reuse content, but there are important differences in how search and filters work.

These differences affect:

1. The Search filter experience for users.
2. The levels of taxonomy supported.
3. What QorusDocs searches.

Summary of differences

1. Search Filter experience for users

The filter experience is different for SharePoint Online library Content Sources and SharePoint Online list Content Sources.

SharePoint Online library Content Sources

With SharePoint Online library Content Sources, QorusDocs can display the full range of Managed Metadata terms available in the library, even if some of those terms have not been used to tag any documents.

For example, if a library has a Practice Area Managed Metadata column, QorusDocs can display the available Practice Area terms as filter options, even if no documents are currently tagged with some of those terms.

With SharePoint List content sources, QorusDocs will only display and make available as search filters the Managed Metadata values that have actually been used to tag and label content. If a term exists in SharePoint but has not been applied to any content, it will not show up as an available search filter in QorusDocs. 

For example, these are the terms in the 'Practice Area' filter that have been used to tag list items in our training environment (all the others have been excluded): 

SharePoint Online list Content Sources

With SharePoint Online list Content Sources, QorusDocs displays only the Managed Metadata values that have actually been used to tag or label list items.

If a term exists in SharePoint but has not been applied to any list item, it does not appear as an available filter in QorusDocs.

For example, if a Practice Area term exists in SharePoint but has not been used on any list item, it is excluded from the filter options shown in QorusDocs.

2. The levels of taxonomy supported

SharePoint Online library Content Sources and SharePoint Online list Content Sources also support different levels of taxonomy.

SharePoint Online library Content Sources

SharePoint Online library Content Sources support tree-like or hierarchical term structures up to 7 levels deep.

This is useful when your content taxonomy includes nested categories, such as:

• Practice Area
• Region
• Industry
• Product
• Service line

SharePoint Online list Content Sources

SharePoint Online list Content Sources support up to 2 levels of taxonomy.

Because of this, deeper taxonomy structures may appear in a ‘flattened’ format when displayed as filters in QorusDocs.

For example, a term such as Antitrust Transactions may appear at the same level as Corporate, even if the original SharePoint taxonomy is more hierarchical.

3. What QorusDocs searches

QorusDocs searches different content depending on whether the Content Source is connected to a SharePoint Online library or a SharePoint Online list.

SharePoint Online library Content Sources

For SharePoint Online library Content Sources, QorusDocs searches:

• The contents of the files.
• The metadata associated with the files.

This means users can find documents based on words inside the file, as well as metadata such as Managed Metadata tags.

SharePoint Online list Content Sources

For SharePoint Online list Content Sources, admins can choose which columns are searchable.

QorusDocs searches only the columns that have been configured as searchable.

This means list search behavior depends on how the SharePoint Online list Content Source has been configured.

What this means for users

When users search or filter SharePoint Online content in QorusDocs, the available filters and results may differ depending on whether they are working with a library Content Source or a list Content Source.

If users cannot find an expected filter value or result, they should check which Content Source they are searching and whether the content has been tagged or configured as searchable.

What this means for admins

Use SharePoint Online library Content Sources when users need to search and reuse files, such as documents, presentations, spreadsheets, and PDFs.

Use SharePoint Online list Content Sources when users need to search structured records, such as Q&A content or reusable answer records.

For the best search and filter experience:

• Use Managed Metadata consistently.
• Tag content with the terms users are likely to filter by.
• Configure searchable columns carefully for SharePoint Online list Content Sources.
• Review the filter experience after setup to confirm that users can find the content they need.