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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
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Entire site copy

The whole site, end to end

Everything, not just the lists: navigation, site settings, theme, site columns, content types, permissions and SharePoint groups, plus every list and library. Pick this when the destination should end up looking and behaving like the source, not merely holding the same files.

Makes changes. Writes site-level settings as well as content on the destination.
On this page What it does How it runs How it works What you need What it will not do

What it does

  • The destination gets the source's navigation, theme and site settings, which a lists-only copy leaves alone.
  • Site-level permissions and SharePoint groups come across, not just the ones a particular list needs.
  • Every list and library is included, and on the next screen each one can still be set to Copy, Structure only, or Do not copy.

How it runs

  1. Pick this scope. You have already chosen the source and destination sites; this decides how much of the source comes with them.
  2. Tune it per list. The next screen lists everything found. Set any list to Structure only or Do not copy without leaving whole-site mode.
  3. Answer the run questions. Collisions, user and group mapping, and what to do about content already on the destination.
  4. It runs. Site-level passes first, then the lists. Cancel offers Finish the current item, Stop now, or Keep running. Nothing is left half-written: an item is either done or not started.

How it works

This scope sends the source site itself as the thing to copy, so the structure stage covers every list and library in every web in scope, not a picked subset. Your per-list settings still apply: a list set to Do not copy is dropped before anything is created for it, and a list set to Structure only gets its list, columns, views, folders and permissions but no items. Subsites are created on the destination before any pass runs when the subsites option is on.

The site-level passes run in full: features, site security, the term sets the site uses, every site column and content type, the site's title, logo and regional settings, the loose pages in the site's own root folder, and, once content is in, the home page and navigation. When this run created the destination web, its navigation and permissions are replaced with the source's rather than merged with the new site's defaults. When it copies into a site that already existed, permissions are added to and navigation is added alongside what is there; nothing the destination already had is removed.

After a whole-site copy, the source's features are compared with the destination's, and any that could not be activated are listed for action. This check only runs for a copy whose structure stage ran.

What you need

  • Site collection administrator on both ends.

What it will not do

  • It writes the destination's own site name, logo and settings. That is the point here, and it is also why this scope is not offered for a OneDrive.
  • A whole-site copy is the longest of the three scopes. Lists and library copy is the one to pick if you only want the content.

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