This is the complete onboarding task flow for migrating folders and documents from Dropbox to SharePoint.
- Due to the latest Dropbox update, admin access is no longer automatic. Moving forward, to have access to a team folder by default, you will need to add yourself to the folder from the admin console. Admins will always have access to all team folders in the admin console on the Team Folders page.
- Important: MigrationWiz does not support the migration of Dropbox Teams Folders from the home location at this time If you want to migrate a Teams Folder, it has to be copied under the owner’s folder in the home location. Please see the Advanced Options section below for more details.
- Important: MigrationWiz currently does not support migration for new Team Space in Dropbox.
As per Dropbox help documentation, ‘Some teams have access to the new team folder structure. If you see a purple folder icon with one person on it on dropbox.com, you have the new team space.’ - To enable folder mapping during your migration, see Dropbox Migration FAQs.
- We recommend using Microsoft-provided Azure storage only when the migration project size is less than 5GB. Use Custom Azure storage if migration project is larger than 5GB.
- Folder permissions are not migrated
SharePoint migrations
SharePoint has certain limitations. You need to be aware of these limitations before beginning your migration.
File path limitation
SharePoint and OneDrive for Business have a 400 character limit that applies to file paths and file names. Character limits might not be enforced in other document storage services, like Google Drive or Dropbox. When migrating from one of those platforms to SharePoint or OneDrive for Business, you might need to shrink file paths and file names. Use the "ShrinkFoldersMaxLength=300" advanced option as described in the Advance Options portion of this migration guide.
File and folder name extension limitation
Microsoft has a list of file extensions that are not allowed to be created inside of SharePoint and OneDrive for Business.
The list currently contains: .ashx, .asmx, .json, .soap, .svc and .xamlx as blocked by default when working with SharePoint server. In addition, folder names may not end with any of the following strings: .files, _files, -Dateien, _fichiers, _bestanden, _file, _archivos, -filer, _tiedostot, _pliki, _soubory, _elemei, _ficheiros, _arquivos, _dosyalar, _datoteke, _fitxers, _failid, _fails, _bylos, _fajlovi, _fitxategiak There are currently no file type limitations for SharePoint.
This may be changed at any time by Microsoft. Additionally, an administrator may add other extensions to this list.
Review the following links before commencing the migration.
- Types of files that cannot be added to a list or library
- Information about the characters that you cannot use in site names, folder names, and file names in SharePoint
- Contributors are not permitted to upload SWF files onto SharePoint 2010
First migration?
We’ve created a guide on scoping, planning, and managing the migration process for your use. If this is your first migration, we recommend reading this guide carefully.
MigrationWiz
MigrationWiz is a migration tool, not a syncing tool. If changes are made at the source after migration, they will not sync to the destination, nor will changes made at the destination sync to the source. We do not have “live” monitoring of changes (as with a sync agent) and we cannot handle scenarios such as conflict resolution without user interaction.
Migrated
- Folders
- Shared Folders
- Code Files
- Documents
- Images
- Forms
- Executables
- Videos
- Audio Files
Not Migrated
- Dropbox shared folder permissions
- Dropbox Notes
- Dropbox Bookmarks
- Dropbox Tags
- Dropbox Teams
- Version history
- Last Modified
- .paper files
MigrationWiz supports the capability to share migration projects across a Workgroup. When the Project Sharing feature is turned on, all Agents besides those who are Inactive can view all migrations projects.
We are not able to support migrations with two-factor or multifactor authentication.
Prerequisites
This migration requires an appropriate number of Shared Document Licenses.
The Shared Document license applies to any document migration projects involving SharePoint or Google Shared Drives. This license type migrates up to 50GB of data per license.
This license migrates:
-
Documents
-
Folders
This license does not support the use of downloaded BitTitan software such as DeploymentPro.
To purchase licenses:
- Sign in to your BitTitan account.
- In the top navigation bar, click Purchase.
- Click the Select button and choose the license type you need.
- Enter the number of licenses you want to purchase. Click Buy Now.
- Enter a Billing address if applicable.
- Click Next.
- Review the Order Summary and enter a payment method.
- Click Place Your Order.
Licenses are released once payment has been received:
- If you purchase via credit card, licenses will be available immediately upon payment.
- If you purchase via wire transfer (100+ licenses), licenses will be available once payment has been received and accepted.
- We do not accept purchase orders, because of processing overhead.
In both cases, you will be notified by email that payment has been accepted and licenses will be available in your account upon notification.
For more information on licensing, including coupon redemption and other licensing types, see our Licensing FAQ.
Prepare the Source Dropbox Environment
- Create a Dropbox Business user account that will be used for the migration, and grant team administrator privileges to the user. Follow the instructions in the Dropbox admin guide from Dropbox.
- Create a list of the Dropbox user accounts that need to be migrated from the Source.
Prepare Azure Environment
Microsoft-provided Azure storage
We recommend using Microsoft-provided Azure storage only when the migration project size is less than 5GB. Use Custom Azure storage if migration project is larger than 5GB.
Refer to Microsoft documentation for more details. If you choose this option, skip to Prepare Destination Environment.
Own Azure storage
If you plan to use your own Azure storage, refer the following steps to prepare your Azure environment. We recommend that you create your Azure storage account in the same Microsoft data center as the destination Microsoft 365 tenant. You do not need to create any Azure containers for this migration.
- Estimate Azure storage costs. This step is optional but is useful in order to provide the customer with up-front storage costs ahead of time.
- Buy an Azure subscription (or use the free one-month trial, and be aware that this option is only viable if you are performing a very small migration).
- Create an Azure storage account. You will need to set up a STORAGE (General Purpose v2) account rather than a storage blob.
- Take note of the storage account name and the primary access key. (In Azure, from the storage screen, click Manage Access Keys at the bottom of the screen.) These need to be entered into the MigrationWiz migration project when specifying the destination settings.
To create the Azure storage account:
-
- Visit the Azure portal.
- Click New.
- Select Storage > Storage account.
- Enter a name for your storage account.
- Choose Resource manager for the Deployment model.
- Choose STORAGE (General Purpose v2)
- Record the storage account name (-accesskey, example: “accountname”) and primary access key (-secretkey, example: “W1RrDfkPNkfYfdVqizMNJjn5mXchwMP5uYBY8MsMqWTA7EubG911+4fZlki0Gag==”)
- In the Replication field, select Locally Redundant Storage (LRS).
- Select the subscription in which you want to create the new storage account.
- Specify a new resource group or select an existing resource group.
- Select the geographic location for your storage account.
- Click Create to create the storage account.
Now the storage account appears in the storage list.
Prepare the Destination SharePoint Environment
- Create a SharePoint administrator or Site Collection administrator account to be used for migration or use the Global Administrator account for the tenant. More information on these can be found here.
- Create the SharePoint site.
- Make a note of the site URL where the document libraries will be stored. This will be entered when creating your Destination endpoint.
- Create the structure of the document libraries, then create the actual document libraries on the Destination SharePoint site, before beginning the migration project. Refer to this Microsoft training video for steps: Create your document library.
Enable App-Based Authentication
These are the steps to enable permission level at the source only. This authentication process gives you control over who is entitled to use the source.
- Ensure you are signed in as a Global Admin.
- Go to either MigrationWiz-SharePoint-ReadOnly or to MigrationWiz-SharePoint-FullControl and consent to the app access when prompted.
- Create a new Security Group named “MigrationWiz” on the Office 365 Admin Portal.
- Create new user.
- Add new user to previously created security group as a member.
- Create MigrationWiz project.
- When creating the endpoints, enter the new user credentials.
- Add support option UseApplicationPermission=1
MigrationWiz Steps
Create a Document Project
- Log in to MigrationWiz.
- Click the Go to My Projects button.
- Click the Create Project button.
- Select the Document project type.
- Click Next Step.
- Enter a Project name and select a Customer.
- Click Next Step.
- Select endpoints or follow the steps below to create new endpoints.
Endpoints
Endpoints are now created through MigrationWiz, rather than through MSPComplete. The steps for this section outline how to create the endpoints in MigrationWiz.
If you are selecting an existing endpoint, keep in mind that only ten endpoints will show in the drop-down. If you have more than ten, you may need to search. Endpoint search is case and character specific. For example, Cust0mer will not show up if the search is customer. We recommend keeping a list of endpoints you have created, along with any unique spellings or capitalization you may have used.
You may either use existing endpoints, or create new ones.
To create a new source endpoint:
- Click Endpoints
- Click Add Endpoint
- Select Dropbox.
- Leave the Provide Credentials option selected.
- Click Add Endpoint.
To create a new destination endpoint:
- Click Endpoints
- Click Add Endpoint
- Enter endpoint name
- For endpoint type, select SharePoint.
- Enter the Site Collection URL for the top-level SharePoint document library, i.e., the site URL displayed in the SharePoint Admin Center.
- Enter the administrator username and password in the fields. This must be either a Global administrator, SharePoint administrator, or a Site Collection administrator account.
- Select Which Azure Storage to use
- If using Custom Azure Storage enter the Storage Account Name and Access Key that was acquired in the `Prepare Azure Storage` section earlier in this guide.
- When entering the Azure Storage Account Name for the destination endpoint, only numbers and lowercase letters can be used. If you enter an upper case letter, your migration will fail.
- Click Add Endpoint
Authorization
At the Authorization tab, click the Request Access Token button. On the page entitled 'Dropbox -API Request Authorization', enter the email address and password for the Dropbox administrator account, and click the Allow button at the next screen.
Add Users
SharePoint URL
The name that needs to be entered under Destination in MigrationWiz will be the text that is at the end of the site URL. Most commonly you'll have a custom site collection created, if you navigate to the SharePoint site you want to migrate data from, the URL format you should see is:
https://tenant.sharepoint.com/sites/site-name
This would be the URL to specify in the endpoint of the project. If you see something like this:
https://tenant.sharepoint.com/sites/site-name/SitePages/page-name.aspx
You would exclude `SitePages/page-name.aspx`.
Destination library
Most commonly all of the data for a SharePoint site is within the default library which will simply be Shared Documents.
To verify or find out what to input as the Document Library in the project, navigate to the to the SharePoint site and open one of the libraries, usually on the left hand side of the main page, and the URL will be formatted as:
https://tenant.sharepoint.com/sites/site-name/Library%20Name/Forms/AllItems.axpx
The Document Library name is Library%20Name, you'll remove the %20 and use Library Name for the project.
Configuring the destination library occurs during the following "Add Users" stage. Configuration may be done via the "Destination Email" field in the CSV for Bulk Add projects, or it can be manually added during the Quick Add process.
Adding Users
Add the user accounts that will be migrated to the project. MigrationWiz allows you to bulk import users into the system.
You may use Bulk Add, Quick Add, or add the accounts to the MSPComplete customer.
Bulk Add
To import one or more accounts:
- Sign in to your MigrationWiz account.
- Select the Project for which you want to perform the bulk import.
- Click on Add .
- Click on Bulk Add .
- Follow the instructions on the page.
Quick Add
This option allows you to add items one at a time. You need to enter an email address, login name, and password for each user if you didn't enter administrative credentials when setting up the project. You only have to provide an email address if you entered administrative credentials when setting up the project.
Add Advanced Options
Team folders are a feature of Dropbox Business that allows admins to create folders that are instantly shared with all members of their team or organization. However, unlike standard shared folders, team folders don't have an owner assigned to them in Dropbox, and so they are not migrated by default as part of a document migration project.
Under Support/Support options:
- InitializationTimeout=8. This will increase the timeout initialization timeout window to 8 hours. There are no spaces on either side of the "=" sign, and the entries are case-sensitive, so pay special attention to the capital letters in the commands above.
- ShouldMigrateSharedWithMeFolderAsSource=1
- TeamFolderOwnerEmail=<team admin email address> - This migrates the team folder only under the defined team admin account.
Run Verify Credentials
- Sign in to your MigrationWiz account.
- Open the Project containing items you wish to validate.
- Select the items you wish to validate.
- Click on the Start button in your dashboard.
- Select Verify Credentials from the drop-down list.
Once complete, the results of the verification will be shown in the Status section.
Notify Users
Notify users that a migration is occurring. Send email to all users telling them the time and date of the migration. During this time, they should not modify any documents in their Source Dropbox accounts, because any modifications will not be included in the migration.
Run Migration
For small migrations, we suggest skipping the pre-stage pass and simply performing the full migration. However, for large migrations with more than fifty users, we do recommend the pre-stage migration.
Pre-Stage pass
- Select the users you wish to migrate
- Click the Start button from the top
- Select Pre-Stage Migration
- Under the Migration Scheduling section, from the drop-down list, select 90 days ago
- Click Start Migration.
Full pass
- Select the users
- Click the Start button from the top
- Select Full Migration
- Click Start Migration
Run Retry Errors
Look through the user list and click any red "failed migration" errors. Review the information and act accordingly.
If problems persist, contact Support.
Request Statistics
Click the pie chart icon in the MigrationWiz dashboard to receive an email containing all the project migration statistics.
Post Migration
Suspend the Source Dropbox user accounts to prevent users from inadvertently logging in and using the wrong accounts. Follow the instructions in the How do I suspend a team member's account on my Dropbox Business team? article from Dropbox.