Drawbacks of current List Export and Import MOSS 2007 Content Migration APIs

 

[Note : This post is part of  my main blog “Moving Large MOSS 2007 Sites” and “SharePoint 2010 Migration”]

Some Background.

Suppose you are considering using the SharePoint Content Migration API for copying your SharePoint content from one site to another site. Consider below tested scenarios on what you will actually get out of the API usage results  for your implementation.

When you are using SharePoint SPWeb Object as source to Export/Import API Process, you will get the SharePoint Permissions, SharePoint Users and the SharePoint Groups as well as Site Permissions. In additionally since all the List and list items are part of the larger scope of the SPWeb, you will also get the entire list and list item level permissions copied as well.

Other than security all of your metadata, date and time stamps is all retained. Hence you are covered for the most part. (Excluding any of your customizations, workflows, alerts etc. which you are responsible to appropriately make the transition).

I have experienced a lack of security data being transferred appropriately when it comes to Export/Importing anything  below the SPWeb object.

What security information does SharePoint List Export/Import API Process copy?

• Copies only the Users/AD Groups  and the SharePoint Groups and their members.

Source	Target
Users	Users Users are missing.
Permission Levels	Permission levels Custom Permission Level(s) are missing (Publishing Portal specific Permission Levels will also be missed if the target site collection is not a Publishing Site which is fine).

 

What security information does SharePoint List Export/Import API Process not copy?

• Does not copy Web Level Permission Assignments.
• Does not copy List/Lib Level Permission Assignments (Other than the OOTB Groups and OOTB Permission Levels).
• Does not copy List/Lib Item/Folder Level Permission Assignments (Other than the OOTB Groups and permission levels).

Source	Target
Web Level Permissions	Web level Permissions All Web Level permission assignments are missing.
Library Level Permissions	Library Level Permissions All Library Level permission assignments are missing.
Library Item Level Permissions	Library Item Level Permissions All Library Item Level permission assignments are missing.

 

How to fix this gap?

See my other blog on How to programmatically copy Web Level, List level and List Item Level Security Information for SharePoint Sites

Technorati Tags: MOSS 2007 Export and Import API