View SharePoint files in File Explorer

File Explorer is the Windows file management system you use on the Windows desktop. You can open SharePoint libraries in File Explorer, and move or copy files and folders from your desktop folders to SharePoint. You can also open multiple SharePoint libraries in File Explorer, and copy or move folders between them. 

1. In SharePoint in Microsoft 365, open the document library with the file or folders you want to move or copy.

2. Select the View menu and then select View in File Explorer.
   

3. In addition to opening in File Explorer, SharePoint may also open the library in another tab in Classic SharePoint mode. You can ignore or close this library window.

4. You may get a pop-up asking if you'd rather sync the library. This is up to you. When you open a library in File Explorer, the folder on your desktop is temporary. If you use Add shortcut to My files or Sync, you'll get a persistent folder that stays in sync with the document library. For more info, see Sync SharePoint files with the OneDrive sync app.

5. If you get an Internet Explorer Security dialog, select Allow. You can also select the Do not show me the warning for this program again checkbox.

6. Open the destination document folder, and repeat step 2.

7. Now that you have both document libraries open in File Explorer—the source and the destination—you can copy or move files and folders between them.

   Arrange the two windows so you can copy or move between them. You can display both on the screen with these steps:

   • Select the source window, and press the Windows key + Left arrow. The window should dock to the left side of the screen.

   • Repeat this with the destination window but press Windows key + Right arrow to dock it to the right side of the screen. Both windows should now be visible.

     

   You can also just resize the windows and overlap them.

   

8. Do one of the following:

   • To copy, select the folders and files in the source, right-click, and select Copy, or press Ctrl+C to copy.

     

   • To move, select the folders and files in the source, right-click and select Cut, or press Ctrl+X to cut.

     

     If you're moving files, you can also select and drag the files from one File Explorer window to another, rather than using cut and paste.

   : If your library uses versioning, you only get the published or the most current documents. You can't move or copy previous versions. For more info, see Why doesn't File Explorer copy or move my versioning info?

9. In the destination folder, right-click and select Paste, or press Ctrl+V.

   

   : If you don't see Paste, return to the source folder, highlight the files and folders you want, right-click and select Cut or Copy.

   

10. When you've copied or moved all the files you want, close both File Explorer windows. Any file or folder changes you've made are automatically uploaded to SharePoint.

11. Return to the destination library in SharePoint. If the new files, folders, or changes haven't appeared yet, refresh the page.

    

    Before copying files

    

    After copying files

If Internet Explorer is your browser, you should consider switching to Microsoft Edge or another modern browser.   

If you must have versioning information included when you move a file from one SharePoint library to another, use the Move to command. For more details, read on.

Versioning is part of a SharePoint library. The versions and tracking is stored in the SharePoint data itself, and not in the files. Rather than overwrite older files when you check in a new version, SharePoint stores the older files as well as the newer ones, and differentiates between them with version numbers. The files are still separate, and are tracked in the library, but the versions are only in the SharePoint library.

FileExplorer works with files which contain only the metadata that's needed for that single file, such as modified date or author. When you copy using File Explorer, it can only copy or move files and their immediate info. The additional information and other files in SharePoint aren't included.

If you're using SharePoint, the Move to command does move the versioning history, as it is working inside the library. Move to retains versioning because only one copy of the file and structure exists. When SharePoint moves a file between folders or libraries with Move To, it includes versions and tracking information.

The SharePoint Copy to command, however, only copies the latest file. This prevents splitting the history between two locations. You can make updates to either file, but the changes are only reflected on that file.

If you're copying files to keep a backup, and want to preserve the versioning, consider using a SharePoint server based backup rather than manually copying. That way if something happens to your current files, the backup of SharePoint can be retrieved. See Best practices for backing up and restoring in SharePoint Server.