ShareMaster V2 is in beta, a complete rebuild. See what is new and request access →
Features All features overview
Migration Tools Overview Structure and content OneDrive ↔ SharePoint Content only Structure only Move / Copy Upload from this computer Download to this computer Dropbox to SharePoint Resume and incremental runs
Recycling Bin Overview Browse a site's recycle bin Empty recycle bins in bulk Restore and purge history
Archive Overview Configure the tenant On Demand Archive Restore Archived Files Archive Savings Report Blob Viewer
Optimise Storage Tools Overview Delete all items in a list Delete all files and folders in a library Remove empty folders Remove duplicate files Reduce image sizes Delete sites and subsites
SharePoint Tools Overview Tenant Explorer SharePoint Explorer Easy Settings Fix renamed groups List Explorer Search the Preservation Hold Library
Replace Overview Replace in SharePoint Replace in local files Find password-protected files
Shared Links Overview Report shared links Report unique permissions Remove a person from sharing links Remove shared links Remove unique permissions
Version History Overview Version trimming Version trimming report Reset file version
Reports Overview Inventory report Folder inventory Site and subsite storage Security matrix Teams permissions Pre-migration analysis Compare items Dropbox to Microsoft 365 compare Duplicate file report Empty folder report Image size report Recycle bin report Unused licences Report history
V2 beta Pricing Demos Blog Guides Use cases Compare Tools Alerts FAQ Contact Sign in Start free trial
  1. Home
  2. Documentation
  3. Archive

Getting files back

One file, a library, or all of it

Nothing about archiving is one-way. The contents are in a storage account you own, in a container you can open with any Azure tool, and every archived file can be put back.

Reads only. Nothing in SharePoint is changed.
On this page What it tells you How it runs How it works What it will not do Read next

What it tells you

  • Anyone who could open the original can click the placeholder and get the file. No installation, no ShareMaster, no ticket.
  • A click on a placeholder set to Replace in place puts the real file back in place, and the placeholder disappears.
  • Restore Archived Files puts back every placeholder in the libraries or folders you pick, under your own sign-in, keeping the original name, contents and authorship.
  • The copies in your storage are ordinary blobs. If ShareMaster vanished tomorrow, they are readable with Azure Storage Explorer, the portal, or any SDK.
  • Each blob's name records the site, library and item it came from, so a copy can always be traced back to where it belongs.

How it runs

  1. One file. Click it. Depending on the placeholder type, you get a download or the file back in place.
  2. Without ShareMaster. Open the storage account, find the container, and the blob path names the site, list and item id it came from. The placeholder text in SharePoint names the original file.
  3. A library, a folder, or everything. Use the Restore Archived Files tile: pick a configured tenant, then the libraries or folders, and every placeholder found is put back. It is never locked by a lapsed subscription.

How it works

Restore Archived Files reads each chosen library or folder with the same paged reader an archive run uses, and starts putting files back from one location while the next is still being read. A .shurl, or an older .shrun, is found by its name. A .url could be anybody's shortcut, so it is found by the archived-copy column where the run recorded one, and otherwise opened and checked; a shortcut that is not a ShareMaster placeholder is reported and left alone. A file with a placeholder's name that is too large to be one is a real document and is never touched.

Every fact about a file comes from its placeholder, read at the moment it is restored: what the file was called and which archived copy holds it. That copy must belong to the very item the placeholder was found in, so a placeholder copied into another library cannot open someone else's file. If the archived copy is missing from storage, nothing in SharePoint is changed and the file is counted separately, because nobody can put it back.

The contents go back first and the name second: the archived bytes are written over the placeholder's own item, the item is renamed back to its original name, and its original authorship and dates are stamped back without adding a version of their own. An interruption can therefore only leave an untouched placeholder, or a placeholder name holding the real document, never a real name holding placeholder text. A file that is checked out, or whose original name is already taken by a newer file, is skipped with the reason. The restore runs as your own signed-in account; a click on a placeholder set to put the file back runs the same sequence in your endpoint, as the person who clicked.

The archived copy is deleted from storage only when you chose that option, and only after SharePoint has confirmed the file is back; a file that was skipped or failed keeps its copy. If a copy could not be deleted, the file still counts as restored and the leftover copy is reported. A failed file is listed and the run carries on, and every restore run is recorded in the history and can be resumed if it stops.

What it will not do

  • A restore uses the space again in SharePoint. Restoring everything undoes the saving, which is the point of being able to.
  • A click leaves the archived copy in your storage - two copies is safer than none. Restore Archived Files can clear each copy, but only if you choose to and only once its file is verifiably back.

See every feature