Utility for Renaming Files and Folders for SharePoint Import
from the author of
PurgeIE - Purge Cache, Cookies and Tracks for Internet Explorer
SharePrep is a special-purpose utility program for SharePoint that you can use to correct file and folder names in preparation for importing data into Microsoft's SharePoint Server and MOSS. The folder and filenames within SharePoint have more restrictions than for normal Windows operation. These restrictions are for both special characters and length of the file names and folder names.
If you have seen the following message, SharePrep can help...
| The file or folder name <name> contains invalid characters. Please use a different name. Invalid characters include the following: ~ " # % & * : < > ? / \ { | }. The name cannot begin or end with dot and cannot contains consecutive dots. |
The current version of SharePrep is 1.04.
SharePrep supports Win-2000, XP, 2003 and VISTA
Recent changes include a "Logging file" for recording name changes and a File Filter on the Scan and Repair Window.
The following are the currently known File and Folder name
restrictions for SharePoint:
1. The name can not contain any of the following characters:
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"
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-
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Quotation mark |
#
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-
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Number sign |
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%
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-
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Percent Sign |
&
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-
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Ampersand |
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*
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-
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Asterisk |
:
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-
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Colon |
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<
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-
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Less than Symbol |
>
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-
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Greater than Symbol |
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?
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-
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Question Mark |
\
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-
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Backslash |
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{
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-
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Left Brace |
}
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-
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Right Brace |
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|
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-
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Pipe |
~
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-
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Tilde |
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/
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-
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Slash |
2. The name can not begin or end with a period
3. The name can not contain a double period
4. The file name can not exceed 128 characters in length
5. The folder name can not exceed 128 characters in length.
SharePrep provides a convenient user interface to allow you to search your file names and folder names for the above restrictions and provides functions for automatically renaming the file and folder names to replace the restricted characters.
You can define the action to be used by the rename function for each of the restricted characters. For each, you can choose to delete the character, replace with a blank or replace with a character or string of characters you specify.
You can add additional entries to Options table. Actually, a string of characters can be used for both the search and the replacement characters.
SharePrep provides a convenient User Interface for selecting the folder for processing, setting the Options table and Repairing the file and folder names.
SharePrep is not just for SharePoint. Some customers are using SharePrep in their routine maintenance procedures to bulk rename invalid files and folders. For example, some backup / recovery programs have name restrictions. These customers are dealing with files downloaded from the Web and files from non-Windows systems.
The current version of SharePrep implements batch execution. This incorporates use of a command file and provides for use of an alternate options file.
The current version also provides for user override of the 128 byte length tests. This is to give non-SharePoint customers a means for avoiding the name length error messages.
Trial Period and Limitations
SharePrep is currently distributed only as a "Demo".
The rename and delete functions are disabled in "Demo" mode.
You can use the program in "Demo" mode to analyze your files
for needed name changes. The reason for this marketing approach is that
many organizations may need SharePrep for only a single one-day conversion.
However, this approach permits you to use SharePrep as a
diagnostic tool to check the lengths of file and folder names as well as
to identify the quantity of names that require renaming. In short,
you can determine whether you need the rename functions of SharePrep
before committing to the purchase of a license.
Upon purchasing a license, you will be sent a Registration Code which
you enter into SharePrep to complete the registration process. This
will enable all of the program's functions.
Site Licenses and Server Licenses are available for larger companies
that need them. These licenses are priced based on the number of computers
that would make use of the program.
If your company requires you to fully test software prior to purchase and you are likely to purchase if you could verify that SharePrep would work on your projects and systems, please check Request a Trial Registration.
SharePrep makes use of the short form of file and folder names to perform the renames. This is the older 8.3 format of the names that are normally maintained in the directories of the drive volumes. Some have modified their systems to avoid the creation of the 8.3 names on NTFS volumes. This can cause some renames to fail.
Further, some larger data centers have transferred MAC-created files to their servers. As MAC systems allow filenames considered invalid to Windows systems, SharePrep may have trouble with these particularly when the invalid character occurs within the short name.
Therefore, Assistance & Resources for Computing, Inc. will refund the license fee upon receipt of proof that SharePrep is unable to perform as advertised. Any request for a refund must be made within 30 days of the purchase.
Credits
The credit for the idea to create SharePrep belongs to Göran Husman.
He is an author, SharePoint MVP, Consultant & Trainer residing in
Stockholm, Sweden. Göran is president of HumanData Inventus AB
- http://www.humandata.se/
He has published several SharePoint books.
Göran first requested a change in the scan function of Delete
Invalid Files, to search for additional characters. After
receiving a pre-release copy of the program with the enhanced function, he
requested that the program be enhanced to automatically rename files to
replace the given characters.
He explained that he had a client with
a project containing over 55,000 files to be imported into SharePoint.
The scan revealed that there were over 1,000 files with restricted
characters that would have to be manually modified before importing into SharePoint.
Development of SharePrep began the next day.