How to Migrate SharePoint Documents?

Microsoft SharePoint stands out as a leading enterprise-level content management system, renowned for its prowess in document management and fostering collaborative efforts. Seamlessly integrated with OneDrive, it emerges as the ultimate repository for secure document storage and effortless sharing. Its user-friendly interface and robust feature set make it a coveted choice for organizations seeking enhanced collaboration and data security. Yet, the prospect of migrating substantial volumes of data to SharePoint poses a formidable challenge, requiring careful planning and execution.

Fortunately, there are reliable professional tools, such as Kernel Migrator for SharePoint, designed to streamline the process of migrating file server data to the SharePoint platform and facilitating a seamless transition for businesses. This robust migrator tool is specifically engineered to effortlessly transfer SharePoint document libraries and data between different accounts while preserving data integrity. It ensures a smooth and secure migration of SharePoint documents, allowing them to be seamlessly moved to the desired platforms of your choice.

There are different aspects you need to consider while migrating documents from file server to SharePoint, such as:

• Which documents do you want to migrate?
• Choosing the correct SharePoint document library as a destination.
• Selecting the desired location in SharePoint library to migrate documents.

How to move documents in SharePoint?

Utilizing drag and drop functionality is among the most straightforward methods for transferring files within SharePoint. It's important to note that this feature is exclusively accessible in SharePoint 2013 and subsequent iterations. To facilitate the migration of documents while making use of the drag and drop capability, please adhere to the steps outlined below:

• Drag and Drop Document to a SharePoint Library
  1. Open SharePoint 2013 on your system and log in with your credentials.
  2. Now, drag files or multiple files from your computer and drop them to the SharePoint library of your choice.
  Disadvantage: With the drag-and-drop feature, you can conveniently move files within SharePoint, but it has a limit of 100 files at a time. However, please note that this method is not effective for migrating SharePoint document libraries. Therefore, it is advisable to explore alternative approaches for migrating SharePoint documents.
• Open with Explorer
  This represents another viable approach for document migration. To employ this method, simply access the document library outside of SharePoint using the 'Open with Explorer' feature. This functionality facilitates the opening of the SharePoint document library directly within Windows Explorer. To utilize this option effectively, follow these steps:
  1. Go to the SharePoint document library. Now, select the “Library” tab on the toolbar.
  2. You'll see “Open with Explorer” in the right corner; click it.
  3. The Windows Explorer wizard will appear on the screen displaying the folders in your document library.
  4. You can access these files as they are on your computer.
  5. Now, you can use this window to move your documents to SharePoint.
  Disadvantages: This feature is exclusively compatible with the Internet Explorer browser, and it is not supported in other web browsers. Additionally, please note that transferring substantial SharePoint documents containing images, tables, and animations may lead to performance issues, causing the window to become unresponsive.

Alternate Solution to migrate SharePoint

Introducing an advanced SharePoint Migration tool designed to empower users with the capability to seamlessly migrate multiple documents in a single operation. This versatile tool provides you with the flexibility to schedule migrations according to your specific needs. Notably, it boasts a range of unique features, including:

• Allow migrating entire files on disk/drive to SharePoint
• Pre-migration analysis to eliminate any risks during migration
• Drag and drop feature to migrate files to SharePoint account
• Smart filters to migrate specific data
• Automate migration with the scheduler

Now, let’s have a look at its working process to understand this software better. Follow the below steps to migrate file system data to SharePoint. Using this tool, you can also migrate permissions from file server to SharePoint Server.

1. Download the software and install on your system.
2. On launching the tool, the welcome window of the software will appear on the screen. By default, you can view the drives of the file system in the source pane. But if you want to add a remote file system, go to "Add New Source" and select "File System" as a source. Add the required information and click "Ok."
3. Now go to the toolbar and select the "File System" option. In the "File System" menu and select "File System to SharePoint."
4. The File System to SharePoint wizard will appear on the screen. Click the "Add" button and select the files from the local or remote file system and add to the tool.
5. Click "Next" to move to the next step and select the destination where you want to migrate the documents.
6. The default SharePoint site will be automatically selected; to add another site click the drop-down menu and select the site.
7. Click the "browse" button to select a destination list, library, or folder in the selected SharePoint site. The following dialog box will appear on the screen.
8. Select the desired location and click "Ok" to confirm.
9. Once the documents/files are selected, you’ll get back to the migration wizard that displays the selected list/library
10. Click “Next” to go to the next step. First, the tool will try to map the attributes of the content automatically. It will leave the fields blank if the relevant attribute is not available on the File System. You've to map such blank attributes. Also, you can modify the already mapped attributes.
11. Once you select the attribute value, click “OK.” It will take you back to previous content migration wizard, click “Next.”
12. In the next step, set the filters that you want to apply to files/documents and click "Next.
13. Allow the permissions to migrate the data from the file system. After mapping any additional user click “Next.”
14. If you're migrating the files/documents from a remote file system, then you’ll have to provide the login credentials of a user who have the complete right on the added content. Enter the credentials and click “Next.”
15. In the next step, select whether you want to execute the process immediately or Schedule it and click “Next.”
16. After executing the process, you’ll see the summary of the migration process. Now, click “Next” to start the migration process.
17. It will take some time to complete the migration process. Once it is complete, the screen will display the migration summary. Click “Finish” to close the wizard.

This way you can easily migrate files/document from the local/remote file system using the tool.

Conclusion

File migration is generally considered one of the more straightforward tasks in SharePoint. However, it can still present challenges, especially for users who may not be technically inclined. In this guide, we will outline the most efficient and user-friendly methods for migrating files from a server to SharePoint. While manual methods can be effective, they do have their limitations. Therefore, we recommend considering the tool mentioned above for superior results.