Automatically generate a change log for a document library

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The Need:
Tracking changes made to documents in an online library or folder

Common Approaches:

  • Noting version changes at the top of a document
  • Manually adding changes to an Excel sheet
  • Telling yourself that you will remember making the changes

Better Method:
Create a SharePoint list to track document changes and create a Microsoft flow to automatically add changes to that list.

Why is noting changes at the top of a document bad?
Noting changes at the top of a document is not bad, but it is not sufficient. You can't see the notation until you open the document (or a preview window of it), and you can't quickly see what ALL the changes are to ALL the documents in the library. The "Modified" date is only correct for the last time you modified a document--even if all you added was a comma.

Why is logging changes to an Excel sheet bad?
Adding the changes to an Excel sheet isn't bad, if you remember to do it. It's also a type of low-skill effort a computer could manage behind the scenes, freeing you up for more important tasks. If you wanted to announce the changes via email, that would be additional human effort that 1) relies on remembering to send the email and 2) is also the type of low-skill effort a computer could manage behind the scenes (further freeing you up for more important tasks)

Also, you will never remember all the changes you made, even if you think you will. No one does (especially during COVID).

1. Add metadata columns to your document library.
You may be used to seeing only file name and modified dates in a SharePoint document library, but you can add additional columns. Hover between columns until the (+) sign appears. Click the (+) to get a list of column options.

SharePoint library

Use a Choice column for labels/tags and a Multiple lines of text column for a brief description of document changes. (Single line of text could be sufficient.) For example, you might add a tag "Process Change" and note that "Payment email address has changed." These fields (called "Test Tagging" and "Updates" in the images below) can be displayed in the library or hidden, depending on use and preference.

This may require a new way of working.

For the computer to do the boring repetitive stuff automatically (explained in the next steps), the humans who update the documents will have to manually tag and describe the changes in these new fields after they have updated the document. Access these fields from the "Details" option from the three dots next to the file name. You can "Edit all" or just click in a field to add/change Details information. Tab out of the field to save. The information you capture here will be added to the change log. If there is other metadata you would like to use for a change log you make, you can add other columns.



2. Create a SharePoint list for the change log.
A SharePoint list will organize change log entries, so you can quickly find information about changes when you need it. A good starter SharePoint list change log might have the following columns:

  • ID (Automatic, from Show/hide columns): I like to sort Newest to Oldest
  • Title (Default): Name of the file that has been updated
  • Updated by (Person): Name of the person who modified the column in your document library, or else the name of the person who submitted the metadata
  • Change Date (Date/time): Date the document was modified in your document library
  • Tags (Choice): The metadata tags from the document library
  • Change Details (Multiple lines of text): The Update description from the document library metadata
  • File Path (Single line of text): The path to the folder or the document
  • Created (date) (Automatic, from Show/hide columns): The date the item landed on the SharePoint list.

3. Create a (Scheduled) Microsoft flow to check the library for updated documents and add those documents (and their metadata) to the change log SharePoint list.
If your document library already has tags and labels, why do you need to have a SharePoint list? The library might be protected, but the SharePoint list could be set for a wider audience. SharePoint lists also enable additional functionality for other automations. Create a flow to capture the changes from the library and add them to the list.

Your Microsoft flow could be as simple as adding a document from the library to the SharePoint list every time it is modified or a new one is created, but that doesn't capture metadata and it will trigger Every. Single. Time. you make an update. Consider checking on a schedule for major changes, so you only capture what is important. (The example below is on a schedule.)

A SharePoint list change log enables you to automate email alerts about recent changes or documents that need to be reviewed for changes. The work you did tagging and labeling changes in the library enables you to filter and group by those tags/labels on the list, too. You can easily identify which person made a change, if you need to revisit the change in the future.

The flow I use is mapped and summarized below.


  • Trigger: Recurrence (1 per week)
  • Get files (properties only) (it will tell you to select your document library
  • Apply to each:
    • Condition: "IsFolder" is equal to true (expression)
    • YES: no actions
    • NO: Get file metadata
    • Condition: "Modified" date is greater than "utcNow - 7 days"*
    • YES: Create item (on change log SharePoint list)

*Modified date expression with formatting is greater than utcNow - 7 days with formatting

formatDateTime(items()?['Modified'],'yyyy-MM-dd')
is greater than
formatDateTime(addDays(utcNow(),-7),'yyyy-MM-dd')

A note on a text:
In Search of Lost Time by Marcel Proust. I have never read it. I like reading stories that go off on a tangent of memories because a character eats a cookie about as much as I like browsing through every single email folder I have in search of a change notification.



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