SharePoint Online has no command that copies a view into a list on another site. These are the routes that exist, and what each one costs you.
| Method | Into an existing list? | Other site | Other tenant | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Save view as | Same list only | No | No | Duplicates a view inside one list |
| New list "From existing list" | No, new list only | Yes | No | Copies columns, views and formatting, no data; not for lists with more than 80 views |
| Save list as template | No, new list only | Yes, via the .stp file | No | Hidden wherever custom scripts are blocked, which includes modern team and communication sites by default |
Site script (Get-SPOSiteScriptFromList) | Yes | Yes | Yes, by re-adding the JSON there | PowerShell, and you edit JSON by hand |
| PnP provisioning template | Yes | Yes | Yes | Scripting, and dependencies must resolve at the destination |
| ShareMaster Copy structure | Yes | Yes | Yes | Clone Master licence |
If you are creating a brand-new list in the same tenant, the native "From existing list" option is the right answer and costs nothing. What follows covers the harder job: views that need to land in a list that already exists, on another site or in another tenant.
What a SharePoint view actually depends on
A view is a small definition stored on its list. It names the columns to show by their internal names, holds a CAML query for the filter, sort and grouping, and carries settings such as the row limit, paging, whether folders are shown and any JSON view formatting.
None of that is portable on its own. Every column the view names has to exist in the destination list, with the same internal name, before the view will behave the same way. Those columns usually come from one of three places:
- Site columns, defined on the site and added to the list.
- Content types, which bring their site columns with them when added to a list.
- List columns, created directly on that one list.
So copying views is really a three-step job: content types and site columns first, then list columns, then the views. Skip the first two and the copied view either fails or quietly shows fewer columns than the original.
The native options, in more detail
Create a list from an existing list. In Microsoft Lists, or from New > List on a site, choose From existing list, pick the site and list, and name the new one. Microsoft's support article says the whole structure comes across, views and formatting included, while the data does not. A document library has a similar "start from an existing library" choice when you create it. Both make a new container, so neither helps when the destination list is already full of content.
Save list as template. The old .stp route still works on sites that allow custom script. Microsoft's custom script documentation lists Save list as template and Save document library as template among the settings that vanish when script is blocked, and blocking is the default on modern team and communication sites. An admin can allow script on one site, but the change is overridden within 24 hours, so it suits a one-off rather than a process.
Site scripts. Get-SPOSiteScriptFromList reads an existing list and outputs site script JSON. Inside it, the addSPView action describes a view by name, columns, query, row limit, paging, default flag, scope and formatterJSON. Running createSPList with the name of a list that already exists updates that list rather than creating a second one, which is what makes this route work for existing lists. Register the script with Add-SPOSiteScript in whichever tenant you want to apply it to.
PnP provisioning templates. Get-PnPSiteTemplate with -Handlers and -ListsToExtract captures chosen lists, their views, fields and content types into a template file, and Invoke-PnPSiteTemplate applies it elsewhere. It is flexible and works across tenants. It also expects you to read and sometimes edit the template when something does not resolve on the other side.
Copy views between sites with ShareMaster
In the ShareMaster desktop app, views are copied from the Copy & Move area with Clone Master. Source and destination are separate connections, so the destination can be another site in the same tenant or a site in a different tenant. You can watch the flow in the migrate views demo.
- Open Copy & Move and choose the Copy structure tile. Connect to the source site, then the destination site.
- If the views rely on site columns or content types the destination lacks, open Content Types in the Object Explorer on the left, select the content types and select Copy. A copied content type brings its site columns and any parent content types it needs.
- For columns that exist only on the source list, open List Fields, pick the source list's columns and the destination list, and select Copy.
- Open Views. On the left, open the source list and tick one or more of its views. On the right, select the destination list. Select Copy.
- Open each copied view at the destination and check it against the original.
The view copy carries the columns, the filter, sort and grouping query, the view type (calendar views included), the row limit and paging, the folder scope, totals, the default-view setting and JSON view formatting. If the destination list already has a view with the same name, that view is updated rather than duplicated, so you can re-run a copy after fixing a missing column.
Two behaviours to plan around. A column the destination list does not have is left out of the copied view without an error, which is why steps 2 and 3 come first. And the filter and sort are copied exactly as written, so a filter on a missing column needs that column created before the view will return the right items.
Copying a whole list rather than just its views? Choose Lists & Libraries under the same Copy structure tile. The list is created with its columns and content types, and its views come too while Copy views is ticked under Settings > List Copy Settings, which it is by default. The guide to copying a SharePoint list with its items covers the content side, and the document library copy guide covers files.
Copy & Move needs a Clone Master licence or the 14-day trial. In the ShareMaster V2 beta, the equivalent is the Structure only tile, which copies list and library definitions, content types, columns, views and folder structure without any items or files.
Try Clone Master free for 14 days
Check each copied view before users find it
Whatever method you used, a view can look right at a glance and still be wrong. Put the source and destination side by side and go through this list for every view you copied:
- Column order and set. The same columns, in the same order. A missing column is the clearest sign a dependency was not created first.
- Item count in the view. If the lists hold the same data, the view should return the same number of rows. Fewer rows usually means the filter points at a column with different values or a different internal name.
- Grouping and totals. Collapse and expand a group, and check any totals row against the source.
- Formatting. Conditional colours and icons should appear on the same rows as at the source.
- Default view. Open the list from the site navigation and confirm the view users land on is the one you expect.
Only after that is the view ready for the people who will rely on it every day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you copy a view from one SharePoint list to another?
Not with a built-in command. Save view as duplicates a view within the same list. For another list you rebuild it, generate a new list from the old one, apply a site script or PnP template, or use a tool that copies views between lists.
Does creating a list from an existing list copy its views?
Yes, along with its columns and formatting, but none of its items. Microsoft notes it cannot be used on a list with more than 80 views, and it always produces a new list.
Why is Save list as template missing?
Custom scripts are blocked on that site, which is the default for modern team and communication sites. Allowing script is possible per site, but SharePoint reverts it within 24 hours.
Will a copied view keep its JSON formatting?
It can. Site scripts take it in formatterJSON, and ShareMaster's view copy brings it across with the rest of the view. Create every column the formatting refers to before you copy.
Content types are often the slowest part of this job. If yours have drifted between sites, the guide to bulk updating SharePoint content types helps line them up, and the column and content type limits reference lists the ceilings to stay under.