SharePoint’s built-in Copy To and Move To features are convenient, but they are also notoriously unreliable for larger jobs.
Administrators frequently report that SharePoint Copy To times out, Move To crashes, or stops part-way through with no clear indication of what actually completed. If the browser closes, crashes, or loses connectivity, the operation can fail silently and leave you with a partial result.
ShareMaster’s Copy To / Move To was built specifically to solve these problems. It still uses SharePoint’s native Copy API for same-tenant transfers, but removes the browser from the equation entirely and executes work in safe, resumable batches.
Why SharePoint Copy To / Move To is error-prone
Built-in SharePoint Copy / Move
- Times out on large folders or deep structures
- Crashes if the browser closes, refreshes, or loses connectivity
- Leaves content partially copied or moved
- No resumability or recovery
- Hard to audit what succeeded vs failed
- Hard limit: 100GB limit
ShareMaster Copy To / Move To
- Runs outside the browser — avoids browser timeouts
- Executes in small, controlled chunks
- Uses a human-readable CSV plan (auditable and resumable)
- Recoverable: continue after crashes, restarts, or internet dropouts
- No 100GB Copy To limit — designed to handle very large moves reliably by chunking
- Slightly slower than the SharePoint UI (because it copies in chunks), but far more reliable and recoverable
Although Microsoft documents a theoretical limit, in practice many admins find that SharePoint Copy To crashes or times out far below those limits — especially when dealing with thousands of files, nested folders, or large libraries.
How ShareMaster avoids timeouts
1) Create a migration plan
ShareMaster first generates a CSV migration plan listing every file and folder. This gives you visibility before execution — something SharePoint’s UI does not provide.
2) Move and copy in small chunks
Instead of attempting one massive Copy To operation that can time out or crash, ShareMaster processes items in small batches using the SharePoint Copy API.
3) Resume safely if interrupted
If the machine restarts, the app closes, or connectivity drops, the job can continue without starting over or duplicating data.
Built for large SharePoint moves
ShareMaster can be slightly slower than the SharePoint UI because it intentionally copies and moves content in smaller chunks to avoid timeouts. That trade-off buys you reliability, predictability, and recovery. For administrators tired of Copy To timing out or Move To crashing, it provides a safer alternative for same-tenant transfers.
Try it yourself
Run a large Copy To / Move To job without browser timeouts, crashes, or partial failures. Start with a free 14-day trial.