SharePoint Online 5000 file limit

Question

Hi Guys,

I appreciate that this topic has been talked about in many different instances but i'm still a bit confused.

I have done a few migrations to SharePoint over the past few years and i've never really investigated the 5000 file limit but have never really had any issues because of it.

I'm doing a bit of research at the moment due to a large migration that i'm currently scoping. They have a share (currently located on a Windows Server) that contains about 800GB worth of data that I want to move into a SharePoint site. At present, the share is broken down into heavily nested folder structures and only really contains Office documents (i.e. word and excel) PDF's and photos. They don't search these libraries heavily, but they do move (often large) folders into this share and all users will be using the OneDrive sync tool to show the files in their file explorers (in the default 'file on demand' setup). There's approx. 2 million files across the entire share.
I have read online that the 5000 limit, even though it applies to the library, is most apparent on a single view that contains over 5000 items thus can be mitigated using folders - but i'm not sure whether this applies to a parent folder and its subfolders, or whether it applies to each subfolder individually (or i may just have this completely wrong).

Am I being stupid to think that a single library can support this data? If so, what should i be doing instead?

Thanks,
H

Answer 1

Hi @Rag ,
The SharePoint 5000 item limit threshold applies to the limit of items that are displayed in per view(An example is shown in the figure below).

SharePoint Online has a limit of 30 million files and folders per library(Sum of folders and files at each level), each file has a limit of 15GB uploaded to a library.
There is no explicit limit for the size of a document library in writing. Technically, a document library can hold large amount of data as long as it doesn’t exceed the limit of a site. So, it can hold up to 10 -15 TB of data.
Reference：https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/sharepoint-online-service-description/sharepoint-online-limits

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Answer 2

Hi @Xyza Xue_MSFT ,

Thanks for that, good explanation!

So there will be no service degradation with having over 5000 files in the library in its entirety, as long as the per view page doesn't exceed 5000 files?

I expect moving large folders between shares would ideally be done in the online version instead of the offline FOD cache?

I would split each main parent folder under the library into separate libraries, but I want the local cache in windows explorer to be indented once synced (i.e. Company Name>SiteNameA>User 1, Company Name>SiteNameA>User 2 instead of individually synced libraries eg Company Name>SiteNameA-User 1, Company Name>SiteNameA-User 2) if that makes sense? Unless there is a way of doing this with having them in separate libraries?

Kind Regards,
Harry.

Answer 3

Hi,

To clarify, the 5000-item limit in SharePoint isn't on storage capacity but rather on displaying items for optimal performance. While you can store over 5000 files and up to 30 million documents or items. Also, the 5000 limit applies to both parent and subfolders in a single view. For reference, you can check the Microsoft Support Page.

Regarding your large migration project, it's important to note that Microsoft Dynamics 365 SharePoint integration lacks out-of-the-box functionality to handle more than 5000 items without potential issues. Moreover, the unique permissions limit is capped at 50,000 items per document library or list, with no way to bypass this.

You can overcome these limitations by using Inogic’s innovative application SharePoint Security Sync. It allows you to customize folder structure within SharePoint for document/attachment storage. You can customize Library Structure and Record Folder Structures, enabling the creation of multiple folder structures based on period, starting character, format, or custom criteria which helps in segregating data properly and helps save time sifting through folders.

Additionally, SharePoint Security Sync supports the bulk migration of both historical and current data without disrupting daily operations. It also synchronizes the Dynamics 365 CRM security model with SharePoint. Any changes to user security roles in Dynamics 365 CRM will be reflected in SharePoint, and file-level privileges can be synced based on various access levels, such as Users, Business Units, Parent-Child Business Units, and Organizations. This ensures that files are checked and synced according to specified access-level privileges, and real-time notes will be visible only to authorized access holders.

With just a few clicks, you can install an app from Inogic or Microsoft AppSource and embark on a 15-day trial journey to explore its powerful features—all at no cost.

Curious about how it works? You can schedule a demo and see the application in action, gaining valuable insights into its functionality.

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