Using the ellipsis (…) in SharePoint
In SharePoint, the ellipsis is the 'three dots' you see to the right of a file/folder name. Depending on how SharePoint has been set up for you, the ellipsis may be visible at all times, or visible only when you "hover" over the file/folder name.
Clicking on the ellipsis opens a menu of options. What you see in the menu of options depends on your permissions, but a typical list of options is illustrated below.
The ellipsis menu options shown in the example, are described in the following table.
|
Menu option |
Function |
|
Open |
Opens the selected file. You will need to select Open Online or Open the application. |
|
Share |
Click to share the selected file with other people. |
|
Get a link |
Click to obtain a link to the selected file. This can then be pasted into an email, or into Facebook, Twitter, IM etc. Tip!: Generally best to use Share, and not Get a link, if you want to share files with people. By using Share you can manage the sharing, and terminate when required. |
|
Download |
Click to download the selected file to your PC/laptop. |
|
Pin to Top |
Click Pin to Top and the selected file will be "pinned" at the top of your list within the folder. If required, the file may be "unpinned" later by right clicking and selecting Unpin. |
|
Move to |
Click to move the selected file into another folder within the current SharePoint library. Note that you cannot move files from one library to another library. |
|
Copy to |
Click to copy the selected file into another folder within the current SharePoint library. Note that you cannot copy files from one library to another library. |
|
Rename |
Click to rename the file. |
|
Version history |
Click to view Version history. Note that you can remove version histories if not required. |
|
Alert me |
Click to set up an alert. Alerts are sent to you by email or text message, and include the following: |
|
Details |
Click to view information about the file. This is similar to Properties but includes more information. |
|
More - |
Click More to open a submenu of further features. These include; Properties, Workflow, Compliance details and Check out. These are described below. |
|
When selected at Folder level, Properties identifies the folder name, version number, creation and modification details. When selected at file level, many other properties, such as content type, and location of copies outside SharePoint, are also included. |
|
Pre-programmed mini-applications that streamline and automate a wide variety of business processes. |
|
All SharePoint list items and library items have Compliance details, set up by the Site Administrator, that indicate important business information (such as content type, or retention policy) about the document. |
|
Check out a file if you want to make changes, and you want to ensure no one else can edit it while you're making the changes. With the file checked out, you can edit it online or offline, and save it, multiple times, if necessary. |
Note:
Depending on how your SharePoint application has been set up, you may find that right-clicking on the ellipsis opens a simple dropdown list of menu options, while left-clicking on the same ellipsis opens a small information window containing summary information for the folder or file, plus a further ellipsis to access more dropdown menu options. See example below, left-clicking on the ellipsis associated with a Word document file.
Now, left-clicking the second ellipsis opens more options.
