Microsoft Adds Minor Improvements to SharePoint Migration Tool -- Redmondmag.com

Microsoft Adds Minor Improvements to SharePoint Migration Tool

By Kurt Mackie
01/07/2019

Microsoft has improved its free SharePoint Migration Tool, which is used to shift files from SharePoint Server 2013 to SharePoint Online and OneDrive.

The minor improvements appear to be mostly user interface changes, according to Microsoft's Monday announcement. The updated tool includes a new "Start new migration" button, which allows users to initiate a new migration without having to restart the tool. Settings controls are simplified, as well, Microsoft claimed.

The improvements apparently are just available with version 3 of the SharePoint Migration Tool. The reference page for downloading the tool, though, still pointed users to version 2 at press time, so possibly the new tool isn't available yet. Users of Google Chrome browsers will get directed to install a Google plug-in to download the tool, per Microsoft's reference page.

Microsoft first released the SharePoint Migration Tool commercially last year. Version 2 was first released at the beta stage last April, adding the ability to carry out bulk migrations using JavaScript Object Notation files or comma-separated value files. In September, Microsoft noted that the SharePoint Migration Tool was capable of moving complete SharePoint Server 2013 sites, in addition to data from file shares, libraries and lists.

Another possible use for the SharePoint Migration Tool is to use it to move SharePoint Server 2013 folder data to Microsoft Teams folders in the Office 365 service, according to a recent post by Bill Baer, a senior product marketing manager for SharePoint.

Baer explained that Teams has a similar structure to SharePoint team sites:

Microsoft Teams and SharePoint team sites are each organized by project, organization, topic, or other area of interest for a group of people. Similar to traditional SharePoint implementations within organizations, Microsoft Teams and its channels will often align to the same information architecture.

Migrations from SharePoint Server 2013 to Teams require using the bulk migration option when using the SharePoint Migration Tool via either JavaScript Object Notation or comma-separated values files, Baer noted.

So far, there's just a migration path from SharePoint Server 2013 to Office 365 applications using the SharePoint Migration Tool. The tool doesn't have support for any other SharePoint Server versions.

About the Author

Kurt Mackie is senior news producer for 1105 Media's Converge360 group.

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