How to Map SharePoint as a Network Drive for ReplaceMagic

Mapping SharePoint as a Drive — When and How

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Mapping SharePoint as a Windows network drive letter is the simplest way to make SharePoint documents accessible to any Windows application — including ReplaceMagic. Once mapped, ReplaceMagic treats SharePoint documents exactly like files on a local or network drive.

In some cases you might need to access SharePoint folders through Windows Explorer. To be able to do that you have to map SharePoint as a normal drive.
There is very good article how to do that for SharePoint Online: Mapping Network Drive for Office 365 and SharePoint Online.
Same approach can be also used for on-premise SharePoint.

Few details what you will get with this approach but also what you will lose:

• Check-out / Check-in of SharePoint documents => will not work
• Forced check-in of documents => will not work
• Number of shown documents are set by SharePoint configuration
• With native SharePoint integration you can process files in document libraries, with mapped SharePoint you can process all documents across SharePoint
• Risk: if you set that all documents should be processed over mapped drive approach you might make changes in core SharePoint files impacting system. We certainly recommend that you test in sandbox environment before you start to process production system.

How to Map SharePoint Online as a Drive

1. In Windows Explorer, click "This PC" then "Map network drive"
2. Choose a drive letter (e.g. Z:)
3. For SharePoint Online, enter the WebDAV URL of your document library: https://yourcompany.sharepoint.com/sites/SiteName/DocumentLibraryName
4. Tick "Connect using different credentials" if your Windows login differs from your Microsoft 365 credentials
5. Enter your Microsoft 365 email and password when prompted
6. The SharePoint library now appears as drive Z: in Windows Explorer and is accessible by ReplaceMagic as a normal folder path

How to Map SharePoint On-Premises as a Drive

1. In Windows Explorer, click "This PC" then "Map network drive"
2. Enter the WebDAV URL: http://sharepoint.yourcompany.com/sites/SiteName/DocumentLibraryName
3. Use your Windows domain credentials when prompted
4. The SharePoint library appears as a mapped drive accessible to ReplaceMagic

Native Integration vs Mapped Drive: Which Should I Use?

Mapped Drive advantages:

• Simple setup, works with any application
• No special SharePoint configuration needed
• Familiar Windows interface

Mapped Drive limitations:

• Cannot preserve last-modified date or author metadata after changes
• No check-in/check-out management
• No forced check-in for locked documents
• Slower for large libraries (WebDAV overhead)
• May show fewer documents if SharePoint view threshold (5000 items) is hit
• Cannot process SharePoint Canvas/Wiki pages

Native Integration advantages:

• Preserves last-modified date and author metadata
• Automatic check-in/check-out management
• Forced check-in for locked documents
• Can process Canvas and Wiki pages
• Better performance for large libraries
• Full SharePoint API access

Recommendation: Use Native Integration for any production migration or large-scale processing. Use Mapped Drive only for quick tests or when native integration is not available.

Troubleshooting Drive Mapping Issues

• Cannot connect: check that WebDAV is enabled in your SharePoint settings; on-premises SharePoint may require WebClient service running
• Credentials rejected: ensure you are using your Microsoft 365 email (not just username) for SharePoint Online
• Only some documents visible: SharePoint view threshold (5000 items) may be filtering the list; use native integration to avoid this
• Drive disconnects: mapped drives to SharePoint Online may require periodic re-authentication; check Windows credential manager settings
• Slow performance: WebDAV over internet is inherently slower than native API; switch to native integration for large libraries

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Main drivers for ReplaceMagic in combination of native integration with SharePoint:

In case of any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.