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When you click Newsfeed, OneDrive, or Sites in the header of a SharePoint site after your administrator has upgraded to the latest version of SharePoint, you’ll probably see the first-run pop-up window asking whether you want to move your documents or other files from your existing library to your new library. Your existing documents will be moved automatically or they’ll remain where they were, depending on your answer. This article describes each option.

These are the advantages of automatically moving your documents or other files:

  • You’ll have easy access to all your documents and other files anytime and anywhere from desktop or laptop devices.

  • Sharing documents or other files is easier in the new library.

  • You can easily synchronize your documents and other files in your new library to your local desktop.

Before you choose the option to automatically move your files to the new site, note the following exceptions:

  • All files from all your existing libraries and folders will appear in comparable folders in your new library.

  • Contents of your existing Personal Documents library will be moved into a single top-level folder in your new library. If you had shared these documents individually, you will have to share them again

  • Your existing Shared Documents will appear in the Shared with Everyone folder in the new library. Any permission changes on your existing Shared documents will be discarded and these documents will now be shared with everyone in your company.

  • Only Document libraries will be moved. Picture libraries, Style libraries, system-created libraries, and Site Assets will not be moved.

  • Empty libraries from the old site will not be moved.

  • Moving documents to the new site location may result in broken links which you’ll have to update manually.

  • File-access permissions will need to be re-entered.

  • Once documents have been moved to your new library, your old library will be empty and will be deleted.

To have your existing documents moved automatically to the new upgraded site now:

  • Select the option to move and then click OK.

To decline the option to automatically move your documents, do the following:

  • Clear the option to move and then click OK.
    Or, click No thanks to decline any of the suggestions in the pop-up window.

You can access your old libraries in their original structure from the new site by clicking the Settings button next to your name in the header, and then clicking View Site Contents.

You can manually move existing files to the new library later, but keep in mind that you’ll need to update links and file-access permissions once you move to the files to the new location.

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