Follow content in SharePoint

Learn about common programming tasks for following content (documents, sites, and tags) in SharePoint.

APIs for following content in SharePoint

When users follow documents, sites, or tags, status updates from documents, conversations on sites, and notifications of tag use show up in their newsfeed. The features related to following content can be seen on the Newsfeed and the Following content pages.

SharePoint provides the following APIs that you can use to programmatically follow content:

• Client object models for managed code

  • .NET client object model

  • Silverlight client object model

  • Mobile client object model

• JavaScript object model

• Representational State Transfer (REST) service

• Server object model

As a best practice in SharePoint development, use client APIs when you can. Client APIs include the client object models, a JavaScript object model, and a REST service. For more information about the APIs in SharePoint and when to use them, see Choose the right API set in SharePoint.

Each API includes a manager object that you use to perform core tasks for following content.

Table 1 shows the manager and other key objects (or REST resources) in the APIs and the class library (or access point) where you can find them.

Table 1. SharePoint APIs used for following content programmatically

Common programming tasks for following content in SharePoint

Table 2 shows common programming tasks for following content and the members that you use to perform them. Members are from the .NET client object model (CSOM), JavaScript object model (JSOM), REST service, and server object model (SSOM).

Table 2. API for common tasks for following content in SharePoint

How to get a tag's GUID based on the tag's name by using the JavaScript object model

To start and stop following a tag or to find out whether the current user is following it, you need to use the tag's GUID. The following code shows how to get the GUID based on the tag name.

Before you run the code, you need to add a reference to sp.taxonomy.js and change the placeholder tag name with the name of an existing tag.

function getTagGuid() {
    var tagName = '#tally';
    var clientContext = new SP.ClientContext.get_current();
    var label = SP.Taxonomy.LabelMatchInformation.newObject(clientContext);
    label.set_termLabel(tagName);
    label.set_trimUnavailable(false);
    var taxSession = SP.Taxonomy.TaxonomySession.getTaxonomySession(clientContext);
    var termStore = taxSession.getDefaultKeywordsTermStore();
    var termSet = termStore.get_hashTagsTermSet();
    terms = termSet.getTerms(label);
    clientContext.load(terms);
    clientContext.executeQueryAsync(
        function () {
            var tag = terms.get_item(0);
            if (tag !== null) {
                var tagGuid = tag.get_id().toString();
                if (!SP.ScriptUtility.isNullOrEmptyString(tagGuid)) {
                    alert(tagGuid);
                }
            }
        },
        function (sender, args) {
            alert(args.get_message());
        }
    );
}

See also

• How to: Follow documents and sites by using the .NET client object model in SharePoint

• How to: Follow documents, sites, and tags by using the REST service in SharePoint

• Following people and content REST API reference for SharePoint

• Social and collaboration features in SharePoint

• Get started developing with social features in SharePoint

• Follow people in SharePoint