Copy options

Customize your options to fit your migration job.

The following article includes all possible copy options, though depending on the type of migration you are performing, the options may or may not be available.

Tip: To use these copy options in PowerShell, see Copy options in PowerShell.

Index

• How-to
• General
  • Template
  • Action to perform
  • Operation mode
  • Configurations
  • List experience
  • Automatic export of this migration's results
• Dependencies
• Metadata
• Filter options
  • Time range filter
  • File extensions

How-to

To access the Copy options screen:

1. Select Copy from the menu.
2. Select the migration you want to perform. 
3. Connect to your source environment. 
4. Select the source target of your migration. 
5. Click Next.
6. Connect to your destination environment. 
7. Select the destination target of your migration.
8. Click Next.
9. Select the source content to migrate.
10. Click Options in the top right corner.

You are now on the Copy options screen. Your changes are automatically saved as you update the options.

General

Template

Template options are available only when using Copy content only. You can create a template for any options menu.

Select a template from the dropdown list or create a new template. You can also choose to restore default options and import or export templates. 

Action to perform

The Action to perform option is only available when using Copy structure and content.

Copy as a subsite of 'your_destination_site'

This option will add the site as a subsite of the destination site. You can then create a:

• New title: This allows you to change the site name you are copying.
• New site address (URL): This allows you to change the URL of the site you are copying.

Merge with 'your_destination_site'

This option will merge the site with the destination site. If you select the option to merge, all of the following will occur on migration:

• Missing lists and libraries will be added to the target site, and existing lists and libraries will be merged.
• Missing site columns and content types will be added to the target site, and existing site columns and content types will be merged.
• If the option to preserve custom permissions in Configuration is selected, any new permission will be applied to the target site.
• If the option to preserve workflows in Configuration is selected, missing workflows will be added to the target site.
• If the option to preserve the site navigation in Configuration is selected, the navigation and Quick Launch settings will be updated.
• If the option to preserve required features in Configuration is selected, most missing site features will be activated on the target site.
• If the option to preserve subsites in Configuration is selected, missing subsites will be added, and existing subsites will be merged.

Operation mode

Configuration options are available when using Copy structure and content and Copy content only.

Automatic (default)

You will not be prompted to take action if any errors or warnings occur during the migration.

Select one of the following options for items that already exist at the destination:

• Copy and replace them: This option replaces items with the same name at the destination. It is the default option when using the automatic operation mode. 
• Don't copy existing items: Will not copy over items with the same name as items in the destination.
• Copy and keep both: Copies duplicate items but automatically renames one so as not to cause an error or override.
• Copy if newer (incremental): Replaces a duplicate item only if the date modified is older than the one at the source. For more information, see Copy if newer (incremental).

Manual

You will be prompted to choose an action when errors or warnings occur.

Configurations

Configuration options are available when performing copy and import migrations. The following list includes all configuration options in alphabetical order.

Depending on the type of migration you are performing, they may be unavailable.

Select which items or properties you want to preserve from the available options.

• Check in as: This option allows you to choose whether files checked out at the source are saved as Draft or Published files in the destination.
• Customized list forms: Customized lists and content type forms will be copied. Selecting this option makes the copy much slower than when it is not selected, so it should only be selected when copying lists and libraries that require it. This includes Nintex, InfoPath, and ASPX forms.
• Flatten folder hierarchy: This option eliminates any folder structure you had when copying to the destination and puts every item or document at the top level.
• List content: All list items, documents, folders, and document sets inside the lists and libraries will be copied.
• List views: Customized list views will be copied.
• Permissions: When checked, ShareGate Migrate reproduces your permissions as best as possible at the destination. When unchecked, ShareGate Migrate will not add the source's custom permissions, and your elements will inherit the parent's permissions at the destination. 
  • When you use Copy structure and content, custom permissions on sites, lists, libraries, and their content will be preserved during the copy.
    • Note: If you copy your objects to an existing destination with Permissions unchecked, your objects will inherit their parents' current permissions.
  • When you use Copy content only, all the item-level permissions will be preserved during your migration.
  • If you map users and groups, it affects how your permissions are migrated.
• Preserve authors and timestamps: This option will bring over the values in the Created By, Created, Modified By and Modified columns while copying. For more information, see Authors and timestamps.
• Preserve user alerts: This option preserves user alerts associated with the items. It requires the server extension on the source and destination sites for on-premises SharePoint environments.
• Required features: Most site and site collection features required by the copied elements will be automatically activated. For example, ShareGate Migrate cannot activate Document ID.
• Set lists to modern experience: This allows you to migrate classic lists and libraries to Microsoft 365 using the modern experience.
• Site navigation: Maintains the links and controls within your sites/site collections which help guide your users towards other relevant locations within your sites.
• Subsites: Includes the subsites of the selected site with the copy.
• Update links: When toggled on, this option corrects your source environment’s internal links to work at the destination. It updates all the URLs with the source domain and replaces them with the destination domain. For example, https://sourcetenant.sharepoint.com/sites/page.aspx will become https://destinationtenant.sharepoint.com/sites/page.aspx at the destination.
  • Modern web part links always appear updated at the destination. For more information, see Modern web part links are always updated.
• User alerts: List user alerts will be copied. The item user alerts will be copied as well if the List Content option is selected. This requires the Server extension on the source and destination server.
• Version history: This option will preserve version history while migrating. For the option to be available, versioning should be enabled on the destination list or library. If the destination only allows for major versions, only the source major versions will be copied, not the draft (minor) versions.
  • Limit to X latest versions: By selecting this and entering the desired number of versions, ShareGate Migrate will copy the number of versions you specify, while always conserving at least one Major version.
• Web parts: This option will preserve web parts (the web parts will be copied) when copying pages.
• Workflows (Out-of-the-box, SharePoint Designer, and Nintex): The workflows associated with the migrated objects will be copied to the destination. The only supported workflows are the built-in SharePoint workflows, the ones created with SharePoint Designer, and Nintex Workflows.
  • Nintex workflow history: This option will preserve the history of your Nintex workflows.

List experience

List experience options are only available when using Copy structure and content from:

On-premises to SharePoint Online/Microsoft 365/SharePoint 2019

Options available:

• Set to tenant default
• Set to new experience

SharePoint Online/Microsoft 365/SharePoint 2019 to SharePoint Online/Microsoft 365/SharePoint 2019

Options available:

• Keep source experience
• Set to new experience

Automatic export of this migration's results

ShareGate Migrate can automatically export the results of your Migration report to a SharePoint library.

For complete instructions, see Export to SharePoint.

Dependencies

Dependency options are only available when using Copy structure and content. 

Choose the location where the dependencies will be copied.

Use the radio buttons to select your preferred option.

Mirror (default)

This will copy all dependencies to the same locations in the destination as they are in the source of the migration. This means that if a site column from the parent site is used by the list being copied, this site column will be copied to the parent site of the destination site.

Root

This will copy all dependencies at the root of the site collection at the destination. This will make sure that every dependency is always available for each subsite.

Custom

This will copy all dependencies to the selected site. This allows for more flexible control over where dependencies should be copied.

For more info, see SharePoint dependencies.

Metadata

Metadata options are only available when using Copy content only and Import from file share.

Expand each content type to view the metadata options. Use the dropdown to choose from the following options.

• Set mapped value (default): Set the value specified in the source column mapped with the given destination column. An indicator will appear to let you know if it is mapped to a source property already or if you need to set the mapping. Clicking on Set mapping will open the Map Properties window.
• Set custom value: This allows you to set a specific value to be used in a given column for a given content type while copying content.
• Ask a value (manual mode only): Stops at each item being copied using this content type and will ask you to specify a value for it.
• Set mapped value or default: Does the same as Set mapped value, but if the mapped source value is blank, it will use the default value that you specified.
• Ignore: Ignores this field and skips it.

Filter options

Filter options are available on certain features, like Copy content only and Import from file share.

Time range filter

Toggle on this option to filter your migration for items created or modified within a specific date range.

File extensions

You have the following options:

• Include all: Includes all file extensions in your migration.
• Limit to: Any specified file extensions will be included in the migration, all non-specified file extensions will be excluded.
• Exclude: Any specified file extensions will be excluded in the migration, all non-specified file extensions will be included. 

To input the file extension(s), type them into the field using no periods or special characters. Add a space to separate each file extension from the next one. For example: png pdf xlsx