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Export sites, lists, or document libraries in SharePoint Server

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You can export a site, list, or document library in SharePoint Server by using the SharePoint Central Administration website or Microsoft PowerShell. The backup tool that you use depends on the kind of environment that you have deployed, your backup schedule requirements, and service level agreements that you have made with your organization.

Before you begin

We recommend that you regularly back up the complete farm. However, business or IT requirements might require you to export a site, list, or document library. Regularly exporting sites, lists, and document libraries reduces data losses that might occur from hardware failures, power outages, or other problems. It's a simple process and helps ensure that the data is available for recovery when required. You can only export one site, list, or document library at a time.

For information about what to back up and which tools to use, see Plan for backup and recovery in SharePoint Server.

Before you begin this operation, review the following information:

  • Create a folder on the local computer or the network to store the export file. For better performance, we recommend that you export to the local computer and then move the export file to a network folder.
  • You can't use SQL Server tools or Data Protection Manager to export a site, list or document library.

Use PowerShell to export a site, list, or document library in SharePoint Server

You can use PowerShell to export a site, list, or document library manually or as part of a script that can be run at scheduled intervals.

To export a site, list or document library by using PowerShell:

  1. Verify that you have the following memberships:

    • securityadmin fixed server role on the SQL Server instance
    • db_owner fixed database role on all databases that are to be updated
    • Administrators group on the server on which you're running the PowerShell cmdlets

    An administrator can use the Add-SPShellAdmin cmdlet to grant permissions to use SharePoint Server cmdlets.

    Note

    If you do not have permissions, contact your Setup administrator or SQL Server administrator to request permissions. For more information about PowerShell permissions, see Add-SPShellAdmin.

  2. Start the SharePoint Management Shell.

  3. At the PowerShell command prompt, type the following command:

    PowerShell 
    Export-SPWeb -Identity <SiteURL> -Path <Path and File Name> [-ItemUrl <URL of Site, List, or Library>] [-IncludeUserSecurity] [-IncludeVersions] [-NoFileCompression] [-UseSqlSnapshot] [-Verbose]

    Where:

    • <SiteURL> is the URL of the site you're exporting.
    • <Path and FileName> is the path and name of the file that will contain the exported data.
    • <URL of Site, List, or Library> is the relative URL of the list or library you're exporting and should start with a forward slash (/). You should only specify this parameter if you want to export an individual list or library instead of the entire site.

    The UseSqlSnapshot parameter lets SharePoint create a snapshot of the content database before starting the export, then export the site’s content from that snapshot instead of the live database. This allows users to continue to interact with the site without impacting the data integrity of the export. Once the export is finished, it will automatically remove the snapshot. Database snapshots require the Enterprise Edition of SQL Server.

    To specify which version of the site, list, or document library to include, use the IncludeVersions parameter and specify "LastMajor" (default), "CurrentVersion", "LastMajorandMinor", or "All". To include the user security settings with the list or document library, use the IncludeUserSecurity parameter. If you want to overwrite the file that you specified, use the Force parameter. To view the progress of the backup operation, use the Verbose parameter.

    The NoFileCompression parameter lets you specify that no file compression is performed during the export process. Using this parameter can lower resource usage up to 30% during the export process. Using this parameter results in a backup folder being created instead of a compressed file. If you use the NoFileCompression parameter in the Export-SPWeb command, you must also use it when you import the content by using the Import-SPWeb command.

For more information, see Export-SPWeb.

Note

We recommend that you use Microsoft PowerShell when performing command-line administrative tasks. The Stsadm command-line tool has been deprecated, but is included to support compatibility with previous product versions.

Use Central Administration to export a site, list, or document library in SharePoint Server

You can use Central Administration to export a site, list, or document library. You can only export one site, list, or document library at a time.

To export a site, list, or document library by using Central Administration:

  1. Verify that the user account that is performing this procedure is a member of the Farm Administrators group.

  2. Start Central Administration.

  3. In Central Administration, on the home page, click Backup and Restore.

  4. On the Backup and Restore page, in the Granular Backup section, click Export a site or list.

  5. On the Site or List Export page, in the Site Collection section, select the site collection from the Site Collection list, and then select the site from the Site list.

  6. If you're exporting a site, skip this step, Select the list or document library from the List list.

  7. In the File Location section, in the Filename box, type the UNC path of the shared folder and the file to which you want to export the list or document library. The file name must use the .cmp extension.

  8. If the file already exists and you want to use this file, select the Overwrite existing files check box. Otherwise, specify a different file name.

  9. If you want to export all the security and permissions settings with the list or library, in the Export Full Security section, select the Export full security check box.

  10. If you want to specify which version of the list or library to export, select one of the following versions from the Export versions list:

    • All Versions
    • Last Major
    • Current Version
    • Last Major and Last Minor

  11. When you have specified the settings that you want, click Start Export.

  12. You can view the status of all backup jobs at the top of the Granular Backup Job Status page. You can view the status of the current backup job in the Content Export section of the page. The status page updates every 30 seconds automatically. You can manually update the status details by clicking Refresh. Backup and recovery are Timer service jobs. Therefore, it may take several seconds for the backup to start.

    If you receive any errors, you can review them in the Failure Message column of the Backup and Restore Job Status page. You can also find more details in the <file name>.export.log file at the UNC path that you specified in step 6.

See also

Concepts

Plan for backup and recovery in SharePoint Server

Other Resources

Use Windows PowerShell to administer SharePoint Server