How to Synchronise a SharePoint Document Library with a File Share

Overview

This article describes how to use Data Synchronisation Studio to Synchronise a File Share with a SharePoint Document Library. This could be useful during a migration from a traditional file server to SharePoint or to just publish internal documents to SharePoint.

Step 1 - Install Custom Web Services Solution

Download our custom SharePoint Web Services solution below and deploy to your SharePoint environment. To install the solution into your SharePoint environment use the STSADM application for example

STSADM.EXE -o addsolution -filename Simego.SharePoint.Services.wsp

Then deploy the solution from the SharePoint Central Administration console.

This custom web service allows us to update the Modified Timestamp on files that are synchronised with SharePoint.

Download SharePoint Solution Package

Step 2 - Connect to File Share

Enter the Path to your file share in the connection dialog for datasource A you can also define an ignore pattern list and optionally choose to recuirse through all sub directores.

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  Connect File Share Data Source

Step 3 - Connect to the Destination SharePoint Document Library

Enter the Url to your SharePoint Site in the connection dialog for datasource B.

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  1 - Connect to SharePoint Document Library Data Source
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  2 - Connect to SharePoint Document Library Data Source

Step 3 - Disable Compare on File Length

Set the compare option on the File Length Property to False to disable comparing the file length as the value reported by SharePoint is different to the file system length.

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  Data Sync Schema Map

Step 4 - Compare A->B and Synchronise

Run an initial compare to look for the new documents that need to be added to SharePoint in this case we should see all documents as the SharePoint list contains no documents.

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  Compare Results
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  Start a Synchronisation
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  Document Library in SharePoint Populated

Other Options

• Synchronise Document Library to a File Share by reversing this process.
• Synchronise Documents between different SharePoint Environments or Site Collections by connecting two SharePoint Document Libraries.
• Synchronise two file shares by connecting two different file shares.