Forum Discussion
MichaelBoye
Nov 20, 2025Copper Contributor
Issue with Moving Data Between SharePoint Sites Using Synced Document Libraries
Hi everyone, I work at an MSP IT company, and over the past 14 days, I’ve encountered the same issue with two different users from separate customers. Both users have synchronized document librarie...
virendrak
Nov 24, 2025Brass Contributor
When you move files between two different synced SharePoint libraries, OneDrive doesn’t really see it as a move. Instead, it treats it like you copied the files into the new library and left the originals behind. File Explorer makes it look like everything moved, but the cloud doesn’t catch up until OneDrive processes a delete. Sometimes that delete never fires, so the old files stay online. If you right‑click the OneDrive icon and choose View sync problems, you’ll often see errors like - “can’t move between libraries”
Because the sync client isn’t reliable for cut/paste between libraries, the safer options are:
- Use Move To in the SharePoint web browser, this handles permissions and metadata correctly.
- Or copy the files to a local folder (like Downloads or Temp), let the source sync update, then paste them into the new library.