We have a SharePoint site with several subsites and our customer wants that every month we export all the files (PDF, DOC, XLS ...) and put this on a CD-ROM for them. What is the best approach to do this? Are there any good tools for this?

How about using the stsadm cmdline tool like this:

stsadm.exe -o backup -url http://server/site -filename backup.dat

You can schedule it with "Scheduled Tasks".

This customer is really only interested in the standalone files. They want a simple directory with all the .PDF, .DOC, .XLS files ... In the command line you suggested we are going to create a backup.dat file. But this would be unusable by our customer.

Maybe you can use WebServices in your own program?

Good links for information about Sharepoint and Webservices:

http://www.developer.com/tech/article.php/3104621

and

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa159897(office.11).aspx

I think you should use the DWS.asmx

Okay here is the deal. We are for Customer A working on Project X on a remote location thus not at the location of Customer A. We use Team Foundation Server and a SharePoint portal. In this SharePoint portal we upload all our architecture documents and other information. The Customer A wants to get a CD every months of all updated versions of all our documents. Due to technical reasons it is not possible to give Customer A remote access to our Sharepoint portal. I just can't imagine that it is not possible to extract all the documents from the sharepoint portal to the file system and then burn a CD from these files.

There's lots of ways to do this - one approach is to use the custom stsadm extension exportlistitem2 found here: http://stsadm.blogspot.com/2007/08/stsadm-commands_09.html

This custom command will dump all the files from a list out to your file system and will mirror the folder structure - it will also create a manifest file containing all properties associated with the documents.

While I always like Gary Lapointe's custom extensions, and there are many different ways to accomplish what you are trying to do, I think I would try to synchronize the document library folders witha local folder using Microsoft SyncToy. You could set it up to run as a scheduled task every x days, and then when you are ready to burn the files to CD you havea recent set of them to work with.Theonly limitation that I could think of would begetting files that are saved as attachments to lists, butI think you can find those in the folder structure as well.

Download and install SyncToy:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/prophoto/synctoy.mspx

Then create a mapped drive to the UNC path of the sharepoint site's document libraries, and save a local copy of the files.

Hope this helps.

SharePointDave2007

Relating to Synctoy

Is there a way for me to find out the UNC path of my document libraries - do I need to contact my network administrator for this?

Craig

Hi,

You can develope a simple app which will use SharePoint's built in Webservie Lists.asmx. You can use a method of this web service to download all attachments.

Thanks
Sohel Rana

Your can try mapping a network drive from your local machine to the URL of your document library, just leave off the /Forms/AllItems.aspx part of the URL.

Create a WEBDAV view of the SharePoint site-- to do this go to Network Places (on your Windows computer) and "Add a new Network Place" to the http URL. As long as you do this with admin credentials that can see everything, you should be able to copy all the files relatively easily this way as you'll just be accessing the files through Windows Explorer as if it was a network share.

Check out "Exporting documents from SharePoint using RoboCopy / RichCopy utility" article to do just what you need:

http://www.paulgrimley.com/2010/03/exporting-documents-from-sharepoint.html

And of course you can always user this Codeplex utility: http://spiefolder.codeplex.com

Hi I prefere a simple way using Sharepoint Workspace.

it supports CTRL+C, CTRL+V

Hi

I came across this thread while trying to figure out how to extract multiple files from a SharePoint library all at once. When selecting more than one file, the download a copy button became unavailable on the SharePoint Website, as well as the extract option from the SharePoint Designer. None of the answers here worked for me (or were simple enough), but I finally came in contact with a SharePoint expert who showed me a simple button to get this done.

In the SharePoint website, go to the library which stores the files you wish to extract. Click the Library option at the top of the page. Among the many confusing buttons is one that says "Open with Explorer." Click this to open the library in Windows [File] Explorer. From here you can select multiple files and drag&drop or copy&paste into a folder on your local machine!

Hope this helps someone!

• Proposed as answer by Shilezi Wednesday, June 13, 2012 6:47 PM
• Marked as answer by Steven AndrewsEditor Tuesday, July 10, 2012 1:52 PM

bgreatbri1...that method worked very well I must say

Very slick... I was looking for a way that I could easily explain to a client.  This does it!  Thanks.

Unfortunately after the 2013 upgrade of Office 365 this option does not work. Here is the recap:

Need to download multiple files FROM sharepoint to the desktop using Explorer :

Library
On the Library ribbon click on
Connect and Export
Click on "Open with Explorer"

After the 2013 upgrade you get this error:
"We're having a problem opening this location in File Explorer.
Add this web site to your Trusted Sites list and try again."

Now you go to Internet Explorer Privacy and Security setting and add your Intranet site to the list of trusted sites.
 Come back to the SharePoint Library. You get the same error. This used to work before the upgrade. It is creating a huge mess for my users.

Thanks, it worked!

Add A network Drive

Sync Option if you have one drive installed

Open with explorer would do

Add A sharepoint shortcut on you desktop from sharepoint

Yes. We have users that are not alloved to change IE Security settings.
Downloading works through "Open with Explorer" workes very well for me, but it requires accenture.com to be added as secure sites, wchich will not be straight forward. Can this be fixed in another way?

Why don't you allow mulitple files to be downloaded thorugh "Download a Copy"?

I have a old TFS sharepoint 2010 on a superseded server that I have to get all the files from and this worked for me

Go download RichCopy

Ensure you have full permissions to the TFS document library

In your Windows File Explorer right click on C drive and choose Map Network Drive

Paste in the URL link to the sharepoint document library you want

Drive is mapped, e.g. as Y:\ 

In RichCopy as the source path type in as Y:\ then in dropdown menu select which document library folder you want to get the files from 

You have to go folder by folder but much better than download files individually especially if you turn on the multithreading in RichCopy

This made my Friday a HAPPY DAY!