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SharePoint Migration

Sometimes a switch between SharePoint sites is necessary. In this case, the documents must be transferred from the old SharePoint to the new SharePoint. This can be done with the help of the DMS - SharePoint Migration page.

First Steps before Migration

You need to do the following steps before you can start the migration:

  1. Ensure that the target SharePoint is created and fully configured in DMS - Repository Definition. For more information, see Setting up a Repository.
  2. Ensure that the target SharePoint repository is the active repository.
  3. Ensure that a valid configuration is published to the target SharePoint repository. For more information, see Publishing a Configuration.
  4. Now navigate to DMS - Sharepoint Migration and do the following steps.

Caution

For the migration to work, you must ensure that all metadata values and content types are created in the target SharePoint in exactly the same way as in the source SharePoint. Further information can be found at Setting up Metadata und Setting up Content Types.

Caution

If you want to use OAuth for the authentication to the Target SharePoint ensure that the Simova DMS has an active app registration in the Azure Portal of the target Repository. The DMS by Simova will then use an app user for the upload during the Migration. For more information how to create the app registration see Creating an App Registration.

General Steps

First of all you need to create all the necessary entries in the DMS - SharePoint Migration page. This can be done by clicking on the Fill Migration List button. All of the configured document libraries will be automatically listed.

Setting up the Source SharePoint

Now you need to setup the source SharePoint. This needs to be done in two ways:

  1. Click on the Enter Source Sharepoint button of the Migration Page.
    1. Enter the URL of the source SharePoint. E.g. https://tenant.sharepoint.com/sites/Demo.
    2. Select the authentication mode you want to use.
    3. Enter the username and passwort of the user you want to use at the source SharePoint.
    4. After you entered all needed data, click on OK.
  2. On the SharePoint Migration Page you need to fill the following details:
    1. Source Library Name: Enter the Document Library you want to migrate the documents from.
    2. Source Subsite: Enter the Subsite of the Document Library you want to migrate the documents from.
    3. SharePoint Field - Source Document No.: Enter the SharePoint Field which contains the Document No. of the document. For the Simova DMS columns, the values are written with no spaces and a "dms" is added in front. Eg. For "Sales Invoice No." the value will be "dmssalesinvoiceno"
    4. Activate Delete Source if you want to delete the documents from the source SharePoint after the migration.

Transfer Content Types and Metadata

For the migration to be successful, content types and metadata from the source SharePoint must be present in the target SharePoint. If the content types and metadata are not present in the target SharePoint, you can use the Content Type/Metadata Matrix button to map the old content types and metadata to the new ones in the target SharePoint.

Transfer Content Types

Follow these steps to transfer the content types:

  1. Click on the Content Type Migration Matrix button.
  2. Click on the Import Source Content Types button to import all the content types from the source SharePoint.
  3. Map the content types from the source SharePoint to those in the target SharePoint by clicking on the Target Content Type Name field and selecting the corresponding content type from the target SharePoint.

Info

Content types that are present in both the source and target SharePoint will be automatically mapped. You only need to map the content types that are not present in the target SharePoint.

Caution

Documents with content types that are not present in the target SharePoint cannot be migrated.

Transfer Metadata

Follow these steps to transfer the metadata:

  1. Click on the Metadata Migration Matrix button.
  2. Click on the Import Source Metadata button to import all the metadata from the source SharePoint.
  3. Map the metadata from the source SharePoint to that in the target SharePoint by clicking on the Target Metadata Name field and selecting the corresponding metadata from the target SharePoint.

Info

Metadata that are present in both the source and target SharePoint will be automatically mapped. You only need to map the metadata that are not present in the target SharePoint.

Caution

Documents with metadata that are not present in the target SharePoint cannot be migrated if the metadata has a value in the source SharePoint.

Start the Migration

After you have done all the steps above, you can start the migration by clicking on the Start Migration button. The migration will be proccessed in the background. Please note that the duration of the migration process depends on how many documents are there in SharePoint and how big the documents are.

After Migration

Navigate to the DMS - Document Entries Synchronization page and Synchronize all the document entries. The synchronization will create the document entries in the current system.

Stopping the Migration

You can stop the migration by clicking on the Stop Migration button. This will stop the background session of the running migration. If you want to start the migration again, you can either start it from the beginning or from the point you stopped. If you want to start the migration from the beginning you need to reset the migration entry.

Resetting the Migration Entries

You can reset a migration entry by clicking on the Reset Migration Entry button. This will only delete the status of the migration entry and the state in which it has been stopped. If you start the migration again, it will start from the beginning.

Info

If you want to start the migration for all documents from the beginning you need to press the Clear Migration Entries button. Otherwise the migration will not upload documents which have been uploaded succefully before. Error entries are still uploaded again even if it is not pressed.