Let's POWER Automate

From no-code to low-code

Menu
  • Expressions
  • Filters
  • General
  • Application specific solutions
    • Dataverse
    • Excel
    • Forms
    • Outlook
    • Planner
    • Power Apps
    • SharePoint
    • Teams
  • Triggers
  • Ready to use solutions
    • Approval Process Solution
    • Task Delegation App
    • The Ultimate Power Automate expressions cheat sheet
    • Power Automate HTTP requests to SharePoint cheat sheet
    • Power Automate HTTP requests to Graph API cheat sheet
  • ABOUT ME
  • Get help with your flow
  • POWER PLATFORM SERVICES
Menu

3+1 ways to copy files in SharePoint, classic and modern

Posted on June 29, 2020October 26, 2020 by Tom

There’re situations when it’s not enough to have documents in a single library. You might need to share a copy with your colleagues, create a backup elsewhere or just archive the old files to a different library.


Which option is the best for you depends on your specific situation. Where do you want to copy the files? Which SharePoint experience is used on the libraries? How many files do you need to copy?

Between SharePoints of different organizations

This is not what SharePoint was designed for. You have to manually download the files from your library to your local drive and then upload them to the other library.

In Classic experience this can be simplified by using the Open in Explorer functionality, reducing it to ‘drag and drop‘ work.

In Modern experience Microsoft disabled the Open in Explorer function. You’ll have to do the download and upload using the web browser interface.

SharePoint in the same organization, Classic experience

If you’re still using the Classic experience, or if you’re able to switch to it, you can use the same Open in Explorer functionality from here.

It’s a good option no matter how many files you need to copy.

SharePoint in the same organization, Modern experience

Modern experience removed possibility to open the libraries in File Explorer. But it added Copy to functionality directly into the web browser interface, as you can see here.

Good choice if you need to copy a small amount of files. You can’t use drag and drop but you’ll manually select the files you want to copy.

SharePoint in the same organization + Power Automate

Power Automate enables you to automate some of the manual work and let the platform do it for you. A simple Power Automate flow can take all documents in your library and copy them to another library.

If you need to copy the files more often or if the library contains lots of documents, the time spent on building such a flow will pay off in the future.


πŸš€ Master Power Automate

Join 2,100+ professionals getting actionable Power Automate tutorials, solutions, cheat sheets & tips every week.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

πŸš€ Master Power Automate

Join 2,100+ professionals getting actionable Power Automate tutorials, solutions, cheat sheets & tips every week.

No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.

Still exchanging emails to get things approved?

Get the Approval Process solution to skip the hard part and deploy an automated, fully functional approval solution on a SharePoint list in minutes! And then the next one, and the next one...

Approval Template Preview ✨ Learn more ✨

Are your approvals stuck due to unavailable approvers?

Keep your approvals running with the Approval task delegation app! Reassign any existing approval task to another user with a single click - no more waiting for absent approvers!

Power Automate approval task delegation ✨ Learn more ✨

Turn ideas into flows with ease!

Grab the complete Power Automate Cheat Sheet Bundleβ€”everything you need to master expressions, SharePoint HTTP calls, and Graph API in Power Automate.

Cheat Sheet Bundle Preview ✨ Get the Cheat Sheets

Didn't find what you were looking for?
Need to adjust a solution to fit your needs?
Or would you just like to get an assistance from somebody with thousands of hours of experience with Power Automate?

Power Automate blogs worth visiting

Damien Bird
Dennis (Expiscornovus)
Paul Murana

©2025 Let's POWER Automate | Theme by SuperbThemes