Download content - Format folder for export

To perform an export, ShareGate Desktop uses a specific folder structure on your file system. We highly recommend preserving this structure as it is, otherwise you won't be able to use ShareGate Desktop to re-import these items in SharePoint in the future.

Lists structure

1. A folder with the list name will be created.
2. In the list folder, a folder "Attachments" will be created to store all the attachments of the list items.
3. For each list item that has at least one attachment, a folder will be created with the id of the list item
4. Finally, an excel file containing all the metadata will be created in the list folder.

Example:

Exporting a list called MyList that contains one item with some attachments would produce the resulting file/folder structure. The file MyList.xlsx would contain one line with the metadata for the item.

MyList

   |-> Attachments

       |-> 1

           |-> attachment1.pdf

           |-> attachment2.png

   |-> MyList.xlsx

Libraries structure

1. A folder with the library name will be created.
2. In the library folder, a folder "Documents" will be created to store all the documents of the library.
3. The folder structure of the library will be respected (folders will be created under the "Documents" folder to match the library folder structure).
4. If you choose to export the version history, the files will be renamed with the following format :
   
   [Filename].[MajorVersion].[MinorVersion].[Extension]
   
   For example, the version 1.1 of myFile.pdf will be renamed to myFile.1.1.pdf
5. Finally, an excel file containing all the metadata will be created in the library's folder.

Example:

A library called MyLibrary contains a file File.pdf and a folder Folder1. Folder1 contains a file FileInSubFolder.pdf and this file has 2 versions (1.0 and 1.1). Exporting this library will produce the following file/folder structure. The file MyLibrary.xlsx will contain the metadata for File.pdf, for Folder1 and for both versions of FileInSubFolder.pdf

MyLibrary

   |-> Documents

       |-> File.1.0.pdf

       |-> Folder1

           |-> FileInSubFolder.1.0.pdf

           |-> FileInSubFolder.1.1.pdf

   |-> MyLibrary.xlsx

Sites structure

1. A folder with the site name will be created.
2. A folder will be created for each list/library in the site (see above for the contents of those folders).
3. A folder with the subsite name will be created for each subsite.

Objects with the same name

If more than one object has the same name (for example, a site contains a list and a subsite that have the same name), ShareGate Desktop will append a number at the end of the object name to avoid collisions.