Move Items from One SharePoint List to Another in 3+ Ways
Organizations that rely on Microsoft 365 often find themselves stuck whenever they have to move items from one SharePoint list to another list. This scenario is a common occurrence whenever there is a need to merge workflows or share an assignment between employees Moreover, creating a new list from scratch is too time-consuming. So we have come up with a guide to help you out. Let us look at what options admins have at their disposal.
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Methods to Move Items from One SharePoint List to Another
On the whole, we have three different ways in which we can duplicate an existing SharePoint list. Manual copy is the basic method that almost all users know of. Another more technical option is to create a Flow via Power Automate. And lastly, we have the easiest and most professional solution.
The manual method is only preferred when you have a small list that is a marginal improvement over new list creation. However, as the number of contents in a list increases so does the chance of failure while copying. That’s when admins decide to move on to Power Automate. Nevertheless, the complexities involved in setting up a Flow prove too much even for experienced personnel.
That’s why the majority trust the tool and include it in their SharePoint migration checklist as well. Regardless of the situation, we can only fully grasp the limitations of the manual methods by looking at them firsthand. So let us start by discussing manual copying.
Default Way to Send List Items Across Sites
Even the copy mechanism has its sub-divisions. However, don’t confuse it with a copy SharePoint Document library task as both are entirely different. Choose the path you want to take depending on how much resemblance the target list has to have with the source. Although Microsoft itself has no such definition based on our interaction with the lists app we found that users can either perform a soft copy or a hard duplication. So let’s get straight to it.
Steps to Copy List Structure
Lists can be part of SharePoint or exist as a separate application on Microsoft 365. Due to it being a low-use or more accurately a specific-use app you won’t see it in the default apps menu.
- Step 1. To see the List toggle the More Apps >Select SharePoint > Open A Site > Open a Site > Click on New > Pick Lists from the Drop Down.
- Step 2. Once you are on the Create a List window select From Existing List.
- Step 3. Select the list that you want to copy and hit Next.
- Step 4. Type a unique name and select a location. (Note other options like color and icon are optional and can be set afterward.)
- Step 5. Click on Create.
- Step 6. The copied list structure opens on your screen.
Now the reason to call it a soft copy must be clear. As users can see only the overall structure is duplicated while all the items themselves are missing. In case you are not satisfied with this type of result there is another way to make a one-on-one copy. For that steps vary a bit so much so that you have to revisit the original list.
Make a Complete Copy of the List Items to Another List in SharePoint
- On the Source list click on the Export button.
- From the Dropdown select Export to CSV.
- Don’t Choose Excel as instead of an XLSX file you are given a query.iqy file. Moreover, you won’t be able to use this file in its current state as neither does SharePoint provide an option to load it nor does accept it with Excel or CSV type.
- So first users will have to open this file in Excel and save it with the default “.xlsx” extension. Additionally, you have to log in to Excel with the same account that you got the list from. Otherwise, it won’t open.
- Then create a new list in the same way as before. This time when you are on the Create a List window select “From CSV” or “Excel File”.
- Click on Upload file and Browse for the recently available .csv/.xlsx file.
- Select it and Click on Upload.
- A preview of the rows appears, toggle the items you do not want to import, and Click Next.
- Follow from Step 4 onwards of the previous section.
Even the hard copy mechanism has its flaws like the automatic addition of new columns like Item Type and Path if you forget to remove it. Manual removal ends up extending the duration of the task resulting in productivity losses. Moreover, users should not go with CSV options as in our testing SharePoint Lists outright refused to accept them as valid source files. This was despite being exported out of the same SharePoint account a few minutes earlier. So inter-user list comping is guaranteed to introduce issues. For those who are unfamiliar with PowerAutomate and Wish to try our flow creation can check out the next section.
Power Automate Flow That Moves Items from One SharePoint List to Another with Attachments
- Select Trigger: Choose “When an item is created or modified” and select the “Express Pickup Hold Rack” list from the SharePoint site.
- Add Condition: Check if the “Collected” column value is “YES”.
- Create Item in Archive: In the “If yes” branch, add the “Create item” action, select the “Express Pickup Hold Rack Archive” list, and map the fields from the original item to the archive list.
- Delete Original Item: Add the “Delete item” action to remove the item from the “Express Pickup Hold Rack” list after archiving.
This might sound simple but has possible points of failure in each of its steps. Moreover, in case of any non-apparent mistakes this flow can result in PowerAutomate depositing the SharePoint list items in an entirely different target.
Automated Way to Move Items from one SharePoint List to Another
The solution is the SysTools SharePoint Migration utility. This is the first choice for all situations where a data transfer between two SharePoint locations is required. With an easy-to-use interface and the ability to copy every SharePoint list on a Site, this is the best solution so let’s see how it works.
In a few simple steps, any admin can conduct a mass movement of SharePoint links in both inter and intra-tenant situations.
- Launch the utility on your workstation and select Office 365 (As SharePoint is part of this Cloud Suite) as both your source and destination.
- In the workload scroll down till you find the SharePoint Sites option. There mark the box next to lists. If you want there is also the ability to setup a Date filter as well.
- Next comes Source Validation which uses the admin-level credentials and application ID. Press Next to continue.
- Likewise, Validate the Target as well and move on to the next screen.
- On the user/Site mapping page, you have three options. Fetch, Import CSV, or Download edit, and upload template.
- Wait for the results to appear on the preview screen. Validate and Start Migration.
This tool makes it possible to replicate the site lists and if you want even perform a complete SharePoint Tenant to Tenant Migration for your organization.
Conclusion
In this write-up, we taught users how to move items from one SharePoint list to another. Among all the manual methods which included soft copy, hard copy, and Power Automate flow one issue or the other popped up. So as an alternative, it is better to rely on a tried and tested professional solution.
