SharePoint Folder Copying

Well. Until I start my SharePoint For Admins Who Hate Book-Learnin' blog, I guess I will port this here so's I don't forget what I did.

My client had me set up a basic FTP-Replacement-Style SharePoint site for one of their clients. Easy. Just created a bunch of Document Libraries in a basic site and away we went. End user contacts me with the question, 'how do I copy my 24 subfolders to my 155 patient folders?' That was a good question. I did not create templates, as I had no idea what the end structure would dictate, and I am not inclined to spend to much time planning out this site, which is needed right away, and is simply a way for multiple groups to get to some pdf files.

So, I figured, let's just use Explorer View to copy and paste into the other folders. Sure enough, that worked. Sort of. The folders all showed up, but in the Hierarchical view that we prefer, over in the left column, I saw no little + sign to expand the folder structure. Hmmpf. That + sign is one of the reasons I like the Hierarchical view to begin with.

Logged out, back in, as different user - nothing. So I tried saving the whole DocLib (which in this case was really more than I wanted) as a template and then using it for a new DocLib. That put back the little + signs. So I thought about it, and figured now I would have to give the end users even more rights than I already had given them, and teach them how to use templates.

This was not excellent.

I did some quick looking on the electronic inter-webs, and found not so much, mainly because I could not figure out a decent set of search criteria.

But then I thought about the fact that, when converting a project that lives on a traditional server file structure, I use Explorer View to drag entire file structures over, I thought, let's try that.

And sure enough, that worked. So here it is, for any odd soul who ends up here at a blog I update every eon:

1. Create the proper subfolder structure in SharePoint one time (assuming you do not have a structure built on your computer or network already)
2. Switch to Explorer View, and copy all folders, and then paste them into some temporary location on your desktop.
3. Select all the files in that temporary location and copy them.
4. Move to the next location in SharePoint that needs the subfolder structure making sure you are still in Explorer View, then paste them back.
5. When you switch back to your normal view, the + signs will be there.

When I instructed the end user on this procedure, I had them open the temporary folder next to the IE window running SharePoint so they could just drag and drop. Come to think of it, I never really actually used cut and paste - I only did the drag and drop, but I assume cut and paste would work as well.

This seems odd to me that it works in such a way, but it is actually not all that hard to do this, and allows for creating desired structures "offline" as it were, and then dragging things into SharePoint.

I know that there is likely a more SharePointy way of doing this using command lines and templates and whatnot, as well as a whole community of nerds who will say that the whole point of SharePoint is to get rid of traditional file storage structures, but I don't care. This needed to be quick becuase of the immediacy of the need. And for those "flat-file-structure" nerds... get real. You are most likely the kind of I.T. people that regular folks dislike.

Nick Burns, I'm talking about you...

Careful Clicking

Apparently, it's malware season.

Here is a tip for anyone out there: don't say yes to anything, ever. Well, that might be a little harsh, but it will help you avoid some headaches. Today, we had about three clients who seem to have gotten themselves some Internet Security 2010 action, and that's not great.

I think a key for everyone is to know what products they have installed that relate to all things virus-y. So, if you have Norton, never say yes to anything but Norton. Same for AVG, McAfee, TrendMicro, Kaspersky, etc., etc.

Also, be careful of the Windows Security Center. I actually tell that thing to never alert anyone about anything, as some of the most prevalent malware spoofs the look of this legit Windows control panel and causes all sorts of trouble, getting people to think they are unprotected and whatnot.

And becuase it is kind of my 'thing,' I also want to put a word out there about buying comprehensive antivirus/antimalware/antirootkit/antispyware/antimycomputerbootsinlessthan60minutes: No matter what you have installed to 'protect' yourself, the best way is to have a little knowledge. When you take time to understand what your computer is doing, and what is installed on it, you can avoid almost all spyware and malware. Certainly, some can find its way to your computer in a sort of drive-by way, but most for most, it is you who installs it to your machine. Yes, likely unintentionally as a result of evil malicious trickery, but it is likely you who put it there.

Be careful out there. And, if you like history, go out and buy a new computer, load a copy of Norton Anti-Everything, and feel the equivalent power of a good old 486DX2 running the newest WordPerfect. Feel the burn!