The Problem

Empty metadata cascades through everything.

SharePoint's "required" flag is silently ignored on drag-and-drop uploads.

• Users bypass required fields and never come back to fill them in
• Retention labels, classification, and ownership are left blank at scale
• Filtered views, Power Automate flows, and search refiners break downstream
• Audits uncover thousands of non-compliant records — remediation is expensive

The result: your information architecture becomes decorative.

The Solution

Intercept the upload. Enforce the metadata.

MetaGuard hooks the drag-and-drop and bulk upload paths before SharePoint's native handler takes over.

• Captures every file the moment it's dropped
• Presents the required-metadata panel inline — no navigation away from the library
• Validates every required column against its type rules
• Saves only after the tenant's metadata policy is satisfied

One install. Tenant-wide. Zero per-library configuration.

Feature · Field Coverage

Every SharePoint column type. No gaps.

• Text, Note, Number, Currency, Boolean, Date/Time — native editors
• Choice & MultiChoice — single-select and checkbox matrix
• Lookup & LookupMulti — paged, searchable, respects filters
• Person & PersonMulti — standard SharePoint people picker
• Managed Metadata — hierarchical tree picker with inline search and open-set term support
• Hyperlink / URL — URL + description, correctly serialized
• Retention Label — honored and surfaced alongside regular fields

Feature · Office Auto-Extract

Stop retyping what's already in the document.

MetaGuard reads document properties from .docx, .xlsx, .pptx and pre-fills matching SharePoint columns.

• Title, Author, Subject, Keywords, Comments — standard Office metadata
• Custom document properties — mapped to your custom columns by name
• User sees pre-filled values on the panel and can accept or edit
• Works for drag-drop, bulk upload, and Document Set scenarios

Reduces keystrokes. Eliminates "Title = filename.docx" garbage.

Feature · Config-List Policy

Governed from a single SharePoint list.

MetaGuard reads policy from a tenant configuration list — no re-deployment to change behavior.

• Per-library exclusions — opt libraries out entirely
• Bypass groups — emergency-access AD groups skip enforcement
• Duplicate-file strategy — keep-both / overwrite / cancel, per tenant or per library
• Field overrides — force a column required even if the library says otherwise

Admins update the list. MetaGuard picks up changes on the next upload.

Who It's For

Organizations that cannot afford metadata drift.

• Regulated industries — finance, healthcare, legal, defense, energy
• Compliance and records teams — retention, classification, and label enforcement
• Knowledge management programs — metadata is the spine of findability
• SharePoint governance owners — tired of explaining why required fields aren't required
• Any tenant where downstream flows, views, or search depend on consistent tagging

If metadata matters to your audits, MetaGuard is the cheapest insurance you can buy.