Managing Folders in a Document Library

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Create a Folder in a Document Library

By default the New Folder command is turned on in SharePoint document libraries. A library owner or a user with design permissions can enable the New Folder command.

1. Go to the site containing the SharePoint document library where you want to add the folder. 
2. Select the title of the library on the Quick Launch bar to open it, or click Settings, and select Site contents, and then select the title of the library you want to add folders to.

3. On the ribbon, click the Files tab, and then in the New group, select New Folder.

           Notes: If the New Folder command is not available, you can turn it back on with the proper permissions.  Check with your site owner.

• On the Library tab of the ribbon, click Library Settings, and then select Advanced settings.
• In the Folder section, for Make New Folder command available, ensure that the Yes option is selected.
• Select OK.

4. In the New Folder dialog, enter a folder name in the Name field, and then click Save.

5. When you're done, select Create.

How do I change a folder name?

1. To change the folder name later on, click ... (ellipses), and in the dialog, click ... (ellipses), and then select Rename. In the Name field, change the folder name.
2. If you don't see Rename, select Edit Properties, and change the Name field. When done, click Save.
3. To quickly go to the next level up in the folder hierarchy, on the ribbon, select the Library tab, and then select Navigate Up.

APAN BEST PRACTICE:

Depending on your situation, you might consider using views instead of folders, because they enable content to be filtered, grouped, and sorted in multiple ways. If you have a large library, a combination of views and folders might work best. 

You can also use MetaData.

Move or Copy Files to a different Library

If you are working from exercise to exercise, you may wish to move or copy files to a new site.  

• Send to copies one file at a time to another library. 
• Send to doesn't provide the option to copy folders. The destination copy will have a connection to the original file.

Note: Send to copies the published version of a document. For more info on versions, see 
How does versioning work in a list or library?

1. In a document library, click to the left of the file name to select a file.  
   
2. In the ribbon, click Files > Send To in the Copies The option is available when one, and only one, file is selected.
3. Select Copy or Other Location.  
   
4. Do one of the following:
   • When the Destination document library or folder field appears, it should have the base URL of your site. If so, go to the end of it and type in the name of the library you want to copy the file to.
   • If the library you want to send your file to is in the Quick Launch bar, right click the name of the library, and select Copy shortcut.  
     
5. Paste the destination library URL into the Destination document library or folder field in the Copy dialog box.
6. If you can't get the previous methods to work, try this workaround:
   1. Open the document library you want to send the files to, and copy the address from the address bar. You may need to edit the URL to remove extra characters.
   2. Paste the URL into NotePad, and remove the content after the name of the library you want to copy to as shown in this illustration.  
      
      1. The base URL for the library.
      2. The Name of the library, with %20 characters replacing spaces in the name.
      3. Extra content not needed.  Delete this part.
7. Check the destination URL with (Click here to test). The destination library will open in another tab or window. You can leave it open to check your copy later, or close it.  

Note: Some URLs exceed 255 characters, and can't be used. If you can, use the Quick Launch bar or add the name of the library to the base URL in the Destination field to get your shortcut, as the address bar can contain additional content.

1. If you want the copy to have another file name, type it into the optional File name for the copy
2. Optionally, you can also choose to ask the author to send out updates when the file is checked in, or set up an alert on the source document. For more on alerts, see Create an alert.
3. Click OK when you're done. Click OK on the Copy Progress page to start the copy.
4. If the copy was successful, click Done. If it failed, note the error and correct it.  
   
5. Check to be sure your file copied to the new destination successfully. If you want to delete the source copy, you need to 
   unlink the copy, then delete it.

Unlink a Copy From its Source, and Delete it

If you want to completely delete an item that is a copy of another item, first you must ensure that this item is removed from the source file's list of items to update. Otherwise, the item may be recreated whenever someone chooses to update any existing copies of the source file. It is also recommended that you unlink the copy from its source file. After you have completely unlinked the source file and its copy, you can delete the copy.

1. If the library that contains a copy that you want to update is not already open, click its name on the Quick Launch.

If the name of your library does not appear, click Settings   , click Site contents, and then click the name of your library.

2. Click to the left of the name of the file you want to update to select it, and then click the Files
3. In the Copiessection of the ribbon, click Go To Source.
4. In the ribbon, click Manage Copies.
5. Click Editnext to the item.
6. Click Remove Link.
7. In the confirmation dialog, click OK.

This action removes the copy from the list of copies that can be updated from the source file.

8. Return to the library that contains the copy that you want to unlink from the source file.
9. Right-click name of the copy that you want to unlink, and then click Properties.
10. At the top of the page, click Unlink, and then click OK.

This action removes the copy's link to its parent source file.

11. To delete, right-click the name of the copy, click Delete, and then click OK.

10. Check to be sure your file copied to the new destination successfully. If you want to delete the source copy, you need to ,
    unlink the copy, then delete it.

Delete a file or folder

Important: When you delete a folder, it deletes the folder and any files or subfolders it contains. Consider moving or archiving the contents of the folder before deleting it. You or your administrator might be able to recover a folder and its contents from the Recycle Bin.

1. Navigate to the SharePoint site containing the library for which you want to delete the item.
2. Select the name of the library on the Quick Launch bar, or select Settings  , select Site contents, and then select the name of the library.

Note: Designers can modify the appearance or navigation of a site significantly. If you cannot locate an option, such as a command, button, or link, contact your administrator.

3. Select the ellipses (...) on the row you want to delete, and select Deleteor Delete Item. If you don't see Delete, or Delete Item, select the ellipses (...) on the dialog, and then select Delete.
4. In the confirmation dialog, click OKor Delete.

Restore Items in the Recycle Bin that Were Deleted

When you delete items from a document library or list in Microsoft Teams or SharePoint, they aren't immediately removed. Deleted items go into the SharePoint site recycle bin for a period of time or until 
they are emptied from the recycle bin. The SharePoint site recycle bin isn't the same as the Windows recycle bin that you see on your desktop.

While items are in the site recycle bin, you can restore items you deleted to their original location. 

You can restore items that you delete and items other people delete (as long as you have edit permissions).

1. Go to the SharePoint site that the items were deleted from. (In Microsoft Teams, from the Files tab at the top of your channel, select More> Open in SharePoint.)
2. In the Quick Launch bar navigation on the bottom left of the screen, click Recycle bin.

If you don't see the Recycle bin on the Quick Launch bar, follow these steps:

• Click Settings  , and then click Site contents.
• The recycle bin is in the top right portion of the Site Contents page.

3. On the Recycle bin page, click the box to the left of the items or files you want to restore.
4. Click Restore.

Note: If you don’t see the item you’re looking for, and it was deleted recently, a site collection administrator might be able to restore it from the site collection recycle bin. Contact APAN for further assistance; however, this is NOT a guarantee that the content can be restored.