How to migrate files from office server to sharepoint

Summary

This guide helps you troubleshoot and resolve: How to migrate files from office server to sharepoint. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.

Common Causes

Moving your business files from an on-premises server or NAS to SharePoint Online removes the need to maintain local hardware, protects your data with Microsoft 365 versioning and recovery tools, and lets your team co-author documents in real time. This guide walks you through planning, migrating, and adopting SharePoint so your staff can stop emailing attachments and start collaborating from any location.

1. Plan your migration

Before moving any data, audit what is actually on your server. Many small businesses discover old backups, duplicate folders, and files that no one has opened in years. Cleaning this up first reduces migration time and keeps your SharePoint site tidy.

1. Map your current network shares and identify which folders are actively used.
2. Decide on a SharePoint site structure. For most small businesses, one team site per department works well (for example, Administration, Sales, Operations).
3. Determine who needs access to each folder. SharePoint permissions are easier to manage when you assign them to Microsoft 365 groups rather than individual users.
4. Choose a migration window outside of business hours to avoid disrupting staff.
5. Check your Microsoft 365 subscription to ensure you have sufficient SharePoint storage for the data you plan to migrate.

Tip: Use descriptive site and library names. Staff are more likely to adopt SharePoint if the folder names match the language they already use in the office.

2. Prepare your source data

1. Log on to your file server or NAS with an account that has administrative rights to the folders you plan to migrate.
2. Review file names for characters that SharePoint does not support, such as #, %, &, *, :, <, >, ?, /, \, |, and ~. Rename any affected files before migrating.
3. Check file path lengths. SharePoint has a combined URL and file name limit of 400 characters. Shorten deeply nested folder paths where possible.
4. Close any open files and ensure no users are actively editing documents in the folders you are about to move.

Caution: Do not migrate files while staff are actively working in them. Open files can be skipped or locked, leading to incomplete transfers and version conflicts.

3. Choose your migration method

For small businesses, the most practical approaches are manual upload through a web browser, synchronisation using the OneDrive sync app, or the SharePoint Migration Tool for larger volumes.

Option A: Manual upload via SharePoint in a browser

Best for smaller volumes of data or when you want to reorganise folders as you go.

1. Open Microsoft Edge, Chrome, or Safari and sign in to office.com with your Microsoft 365 business account.
2. Select the SharePoint app from the Microsoft 365 app launcher.
3. Open the destination site and document library where you want the files to live.
4. Click Upload and choose Files or Folder.
5. Select the files or folders from your local server or mapped network drive and click Upload.

Option B: Sync with OneDrive and copy files

Best for larger volumes and for preserving folder structures more easily.

1. Install the OneDrive sync app on a Windows PC that has access to your file server.
2. Sign in with your Microsoft 365 account and sync the target SharePoint document library to your computer.
3. Open File Explorer and locate the synced SharePoint folder.
4. Open a second File Explorer window and browse to your source server or NAS share.
5. Copy the folders and files from the server and paste them into the synced SharePoint folder in File Explorer.
6. OneDrive will upload the changes to SharePoint automatically. You can monitor progress in the OneDrive activity centre.

Option C: SharePoint Migration Tool

Best for very large volumes of data or complex folder structures. The SharePoint Migration Tool is a free Microsoft utility that can migrate file shares directly to SharePoint Online.

1. Download and install the SharePoint Migration Tool from the Microsoft Download Center.
2. Sign in with your Microsoft 365 global administrator or SharePoint administrator account.
3. Create a new migration task and select File Share as the source.
4. Specify the source folder path on your file server and the destination SharePoint site and document library.
5. Run the migration and monitor progress in the tool dashboard.

Tip: If you are migrating a large volume of data, copy in batches rather than all at once. This makes it easier to spot errors and avoids overwhelming your internet connection.

4. Set permissions and sharing

1. In SharePoint, open the document library containing your migrated files.
2. Select a folder or file, then click Manage access.
3. Click Grant Access and add the Microsoft 365 groups or individuals who need permission.
4. Choose the appropriate permission level: Can edit for staff who need to modify documents, or Can view for read-only access.
5. Remove Everyone or broad legacy permissions that existed on the old server but are not appropriate for cloud collaboration.
6. Review permission inheritance. By default, folders inherit permissions from the parent library; break inheritance only when you need unique permissions for specific folders.

Caution: Avoid sharing individual files with external guests unless necessary. Use SharePoint site membership for internal staff and specific file sharing only for trusted external partners.

5. Train your team on co-authoring

The biggest change for staff is moving from "save and email" to real-time collaboration. Run a short session covering the following:

• Opening documents directly from SharePoint in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint.
• Using AutoSave so changes are captured continuously.
• Seeing who else is editing a document and where their cursor is located.
• Restoring previous versions from Version history if someone makes a mistake.
• Using @mentions in comments to assign tasks or ask questions within a document.

Tip: Encourage staff to work in the desktop apps with files stored in SharePoint. This gives them the full feature set while still storing everything in the cloud.

6. Retire the old server

1. Verify that all critical data has been successfully uploaded and is accessible in SharePoint.
2. Ask each department to confirm their files are complete and permissions are correct.
3. Set the old network shares to read-only for two to four weeks so staff can still retrieve anything missed during migration.
4. After the grace period, decommission the server or repurpose the hardware. Ensure any remaining data is securely wiped before disposal.

Once your files are in SharePoint, your team can work from the office, home, or while travelling without needing a VPN to access the office server. If you run into permission errors, upload failures, or sync conflicts during the move, contact your IT support provider for assistance.

Still Having Issues?