#Import SharePoint Site Collections

In the classic admin center, you can import existing site collections to AvePoint Cloud Governance to manage them.

AvePoint Cloud Governance does not support creating Project Online site collections, which are site collections with the Project Web App, but you can import Project Online site collections so that you can use AvePoint Cloud Governance to manage them.

To import existing site collections, complete the following steps in order:

#1. Export Site Collection Information to a Template File

Complete the following steps to export a template file that contains information on the site collections:

1. In AvePoint Cloud Governance, navigate to Settings > Import Existing Microsoft 365 Objects and configure the following settings in the Export Mode.

2. Name and Description ‒ Enter a name for the export job. Enter an optional description for future reference.

3. Object Type ‒ Select Site Collection.

4. Scope ‒ Select a SharePoint admin center.

5. Export Location ‒ Choose to export the template file to a local path or an export location. If Export to an export location is selected, select an export location from the drop-down list or click Add New Location to create a new export location.

6. Click Save and Export on the ribbon to export the template file.

#2. Configure the Template File to Provide Governance Details

To configure an exported site collection template file, complete the following steps:

1. Navigate to the location where the exported site collection template file is saved.

2. Open the template file to view and configure the following information for each site collection:

   NOTE

   The template file contains column headings in the first row, and these headings are required. The information you enter must be precise, including spaces and capitalization.

   • URL ‒ Displays the full URL of the site collection.

   • Admin Center URL ‒ Displays the SharePoint admin center URL.

   • Policy Name ‒ Enter the name of the site collection policy that will be applied to the site collection.

   • Primary Site Collection Contact ‒ Enter the email address of a user to assign the user to be the primary site collection contact.

   • Secondary Site Collection Contact ‒ Enter the email address of a user to assign the user to be the secondary site collection contact.

   • Keep Site Collection Quota ‒ Choose whether to keep the site collection quota during the import process. Select Yes or No from the drop-down list.

   • AvePoint Cloud Governance App Setting ‒ Choose whether to add the AvePoint Cloud Governance App and Cloud Governance Panel to the site collection. Select None, Only App, or App and Cloud Governance Panel from the drop-down list. The app provides Microsoft 365 end users with easier access to AvePoint Cloud Governance without having to leave the site collection interface.

     For details, refer to Install the Cloud Governance Panel.

   • Metadata ‒ When you have metadata configured in AvePoint Cloud Governance, the metadata is included in the template file. You can remove the metadata that you do not want to apply to any site collections.

     Note the following:

     • If you select Show this field as read-only to business users/Hide this field from business users when creating the metadata, here you must enter the default value of the metadata. If you want to set different values for the sites, go to the modern Cloud Governance admin center > Profiles & templates > Metadata, edit the metadata, and change to Allow business users to configure this field/Require business users to configure this field.

     • If the type of the metadata is Hyperlink, the metadata value must be the desired text and the hyperlink address separated by a semicolon.

     • If the metadata type is Lookup, AvePoint recommends that you do not change the format of the SharePoint library/list column whose value will be retrieved as the metadata value. Make sure the metadata value is in one of the following types: Yes/No, Date and Time, and User or Group.

     • If the metadata type is Microsoft Entra property, the metadata value must be the user email address.

3. Save the template file after the configuration.

#3. Import the Template File

To import the configured template file, complete the following steps:

1. In Settings > Import Existing Microsoft 365 Objects, click Import Mode on the ribbon.

2. Name and Description ‒ Enter a name for the import job. Enter an optional description for future reference.

3. Object Type ‒ Select Site Collection.

4. Start time for object inactivity management ‒ Specify the start time to use for calculating the site collection inactivity time by choosing one of the following two options:

   • Object last active time ‒ The last active time of a site collection will be the start time for calculating the inactivity time.

   • Object imported time ‒ The time when a site collection is imported to Cloud Governance will be the start time for calculating the inactivity time.

5. Import Location ‒ Click Browse to locate the configured template file.

6. Click Save and Apply on the ribbon to start the import job and apply the governance details.

#4. View Import Results

After you start the import job, you are brought to the Job Status tab. When the import job status changes to Completed, it indicates that the site collections included in the template file have been successfully imported to AvePoint Cloud Governance.

If the import job status changes to Completed with Exception, it indicates that one or more site collections are not successfully imported. Follow the steps below to view the import results:

1. Select the import job and click Download on the ribbon.

2. Select a location to save the import result file.

3. Navigate to the location where the import result file is saved and open the file.

4. The Result column shows the import result.

   • Successful indicates the site collection has been successfully imported.

   • Failed indicates the site collection is not imported. You can refer to the details in the Comment column for troubleshooting and modify the template file.

     When you modify the template file, remove the rows of the site collection that have been successfully imported and only keep the failed site collections. After modifying the template file, you can import the template file again to re-import those site collections.

   NOTE

   All root site collections will be excluded from the import process and will not be imported to AvePoint Cloud Governance.

#Note for SharePoint Root Site Collection

The root site collection for your organization is provisioned automatically when you set up a Microsoft 365 tenant that has the SharePoint service. The URL of the root site collection is typically contoso.sharepoint.com.

If you want to import the root site collection and use AvePoint Cloud Governance to manage it, make sure custom scripts are allowed in your Microsoft 365 tenant. For more information on custom script, refer to Allow or prevent custom script.

Complete the following steps to check or enable Custom Script settings:

1. Navigate to SharePoint admin center > Settings.

2. On the Settings page, click the classic settings page link. The classic settings page is opened in a new tab.

3. Locate the Custom Script section and make sure the Allow users to run custom script on self-service created sites option is selected.

4. Click OK to save your change.

   NOTE

   Changes to Custom Script settings can take up to 24 hours to take effect.

#Note for Geo Location Changes

When your Microsoft 365 tenant has the Multi-Geo Capabilities in Microsoft 365 service plan, site collections can be stored in different geo locations.

If a site collection stored in a specific geo location is moved to a different geo location after you export the site collection template file and before you import the site collection, this site collection cannot be imported. You can export a new template file, and then re-import the site collection.