How To Move Files Between Document Libraries With Metadata And Version History

In this blog we will take you through the steps for moving a document from one location to another whilst preserving its metadata and version history.

Before moving files between document libraries, SharePoint users often worry about preserving the metadata and version history at the destination. In this blog we will take you through the steps for moving a document from one location to another whilst preserving its metadata and version history.

 

Below are the steps you need to take to move files between document libraries whilst maintaining all metadata properties:  

1. Select which documents you want to move to another document library. Note the marked fields in the below screenshot, representing the version history and metadata properties.
   
    
   
   
2. Go to Site Actions -> Site settings -> click on “Content and structure” under Site Administration.
   
   
   
   
3. Open the SharePoint data library and select the items that you want to move.
   
   
   
   
4. In the Move dialog box, select the destination document library in which you want to move the documents and then click OK.
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. In the destination document library you will see that all the documents have been moved. In the below screenshot, the “modified” and “modified by” fields of both source and destination are the same. This means that the documents have retained their version histories and metadata properties through the migration.
   
   
   

Using this method you can preserve version history and metadata properties whilst migrating files between document libraries. This method is perfectly adequate if you have the time to go through the whole process manually. However, there are easier ways to go about it. Using a SharePoint migration tool, like LepideMigrator for Documents, enables you to migrate metadata automatically while providing customizable mapping of attributes (metadata) during the migration.