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User Migration Guides | Dropbox for Business to SharePoint

User Migration Guides | Dropbox for Business to SharePoint

 

 

 

Contents

Introduction 

DryvIQ is an enterprise data integration platform that enables organizations to maximize business value and productivity from their content.  It connects disparate storage platforms and business applications together, allowing organizations to move, copy, synchronize, gather, and organize files as well as their related data across any system. DryvIQ empowers your users with unified access to the most relevant, complete, and up-to-date content—no matter where it resides.    

DryvIQ delivers a user-friendly, web-based experience optimized for PC, tablet, and mobile phone interfaces, so you can monitor and control your file transfers anywhere, from any device.   

DryvIQ’s true bi-directional hybrid/sync capabilities enable organizations to leverage and preserve content across on-premises systems and any cloud service. Seamless to users, new files/file changes from either system are automatically reflected in the other.  


How does DryvIQ Work? 

Cloud storage and collaboration platforms continue to be the driving force of digital transformation within the enterprise. However, users need to readily access the content that resides within your existing network file systems, ECM, and other storage platforms—enabling them to be productive, wherever they are.  DryvIQ is purpose-built to provide boundless enterprise content integration possibilities. The DryvIQ Platform is 100% open and provides a highly-scalable architecture that enables enterprises to meet evolving technology and user demands—no matter how complex. 

The DryvIQ platform provides: 

  • A low risk approach to moving content to the cloud while maintaining on-premises systems

  • No impact to users, IT staff, business operations, or existing storage integrations

  • The ability to extend cloud storage anywhere/any device capabilities to locally-stored content

  • Easy integration of newly acquired business storage platforms into existing infrastructures

The Engine 

DryvIQ’s bi-directional synchronization engine enables your enterprise to fully-integrate and synchronize your existing on-premises platforms with any cloud service. It empowers your users to freely access the content they need while IT staff maintains full governance and control. DryvIQ integrates with each system's published Application Program Interface (API) at the deepest level—optimizing transfer speeds and preserving all file attributes. 

Security 

DryvIQ’s 100% security-neutral model does not incorporate or use any type of proxy cloud service or other intermediary presence point. All content and related data is streamed directly via HTTPS [256-bit encryption] from the origin to the destination system(s). Additionally, DryvIQ works with native database encryption. For more information, please see DryvIQ Platform | Security Whitepaper

Analyzer | Simulation Mode

The DryvIQ analyzer is a powerful enterprise file transfer simulation that eliminates the guesswork. You will gain granular insight into your entire content landscape including its structure, usage, age, type, applicable metadata, and more no matter where the files are located (in local storage, remote offices, or on user desktops). 

Simulation mode allows you to create a job with all desired configuration options set and execute it as a dry-run. In this mode, no data transfers, no permissions are set, and no changes are made to either the source or the destination. This can be useful in answering several questions about your content prior to running any jobs against your content.

Command and Control 

Via highly-advanced web, DryvIQ Command-line Interface (CLI), RESTful API, and/or .NET interfaces, DryvIQ administrators can easily integrate systems, control interactions and behaviors, or create and control end-user experiences for advanced self-service capabilities. 

Features and Functionality 

The DryvIQ Platform enables you with complete integration and control over: 

  • User accounts 

  • User networked home drives 

  • User and group permissions 

  • Document types, notes, and file attributes 

  • Timestamps 

  • Versions 

  • Departmental, project, and team folders 

  • Defined and custom metadata 

Architecture and Performance 

The DryvIQ platform is built on a pluggable, content–streaming architecture that enables highly–automated file/data transfer and synchronization capabilities for up to billions of files. File bytes stream in from one connection endpoint (defined by the administrator) and across a customer-owned and operated network and/or cloud service. They are then streamed out to a second connection endpoint. Content can also flow bidirectionally across two endpoints rather than solely from an "origin" to a "destination."

Supported Features

The DryvIQ Platform Comparison tool allows you to compare platform features and technical details to determine which are supported for your transfer scenario. Viewing the Platform Comparison results for your integration will display a list of features of each platform and provide insight early in the integration planning process on what details may need further investigation.

The Platform Comparison tool is available through the Platforms menu options. For further information, see Platform Comparison.

Connection Setup

DryvIQ is built on a concept of connections. A connection is made to the source platform, and another connection is made to the destination platform. A job is created to tie the two platforms together. When DryvIQ connects to a content platform, it does so by using the publicly available Application Programming Interface (API) for the specific platform. This ensures DryvIQ is “playing by the rules” for each platform. 

Connections “connect” to a platform as a specific user account. The user account requires the proper permissions to the platform to read, write, update, and/or delete the content based on the actions the DryvIQ job is to perform. The connection user account should also be set up so the password does not expire; otherwise, the connection will no longer be able to access the platform until the connection has been refreshed with the new password. Most connections require a specific user account and its corresponding password. The user account is typically an email address. 

Authenticated Connections

Authenticated Connections are accounts that have been verified with the cloud-based or network-based platform when created. The connection can be user/password-based or done through OAuth2 flow, where a token is generated based on the granting authorization to DryvIQ through a user login. This authorization allows DryvIQ access to the user's drive information (files and folder) on the platform. These connections are used as the source or the destination authentication to transfer your content.

 

OAuth2 Interactive (Web) Flow

Connectors such as Box, Google Drive, and Dropbox use the OAuth2 interactive (or web) flow.

 

OAuth2 Client Credentials Flow

Connections such as Syncplicity and Google Workspace uses the OAuth2 client credentials flow.

 

SharePoint

SharePoint (all versions, CSOM) uses a custom username/password authentication model.


OAuth2 Interactive (Web) Flow

You will need the following information when creating a connection to Network File System, Box, Dropbox and Dropbox for Business:

  • A name for the connection

  • The account User ID (such as jsmith@company.com)

  • The password for the User ID.

Create Connections

Creating a connection in the DryvIQ Platform user interface is easy! Simply add a connection, select your platform, and enter the requested information. DryvIQ will securely validate your credentials and connect to your source content. 

Dropbox for Business

The Dropbox connector in DryvIQ allows you to analyze, migrate, copy, and synchronize files to your Dropbox account from cloud storage repositories and on-premise network file shares. The first step is to create the Dropbox connection by providing the connection information required for DryvIQ to connect to the server. The connector can be created using a standard Dropbox account or a Dropbox for Business account. However, when creating a connection using a Dropbox for Business account, you must use an Administrator account. Standard accounts will return an error from the Dropbox for Business platform. 

 

For more information on using a standard Dropbox account, please refer to the Dropbox connector page.

Create Connection | User Interface

  1. Select Connections > Add connection.

  2. Select Dropbox for Business as the platform on the Add connection modal.

  3. Enter the connection information. Reference the table below for details about each field.

  4. Select Sign in with Dropbox for Business.

  5. On the Dropbox API Request Authorization modal, enter the Email and Password required to log in to the account and select Sign In. Only an Administrator account can be used for Dropbox for Business. Standard accounts will return an error from the Dropbox for Business platform.

  6. Select Allow when prompted to authorize the connection.

  7. You will see a "Connection test succeeded" message on the Add connection modal. (If you don't see this message, repeat the sign in and authorization steps above.)

  8. Select Done to finish creating the connection. 

 

Add Connection Modal - Dropbox for Business

 

 

Field

Description

Required

Field

Description

Required

Display as

Enter the display name for the connection. If you will be creating multiple connections, ensure the name readily identifies the connection. The name displays in the application, and you can use it to search for the connection and filter lists.

If you do not add a display name, the connection will automatically be named, "Dropbox for Business." DryvIQ recommends that you edit the name to more readily identify the connection. 

Optional

Platform API client credentials

Required

Use the system default client credentials

Select this option to use the default DryvIQ client application.

 

Use custom client credentials

Select this option to use custom client credentials provided by your administrator. When selected, two additional fields will be available to enter the credentials.

 

Client ID

This field displays only when you select Use custom client credentials. This value will be provided by your administrator.

Required when using custom credentials

Client Secret

This field displays only when you select Use custom client credentials. This value will be provided by your administrator.

Required when using custom credentials

 

Dropbox API Request Authorization modal

 

 

Allow Access to Dropbox 

 

 

Connection Test Succeeded

 

Features and Limitations 

Platforms all have unique features and limitations. DryvIQ’s transfer engine manages these differences between platforms and allows you to configure actions based on Job Policies and Behaviors. Utilize the Platform Comparison tool to see how your integration platforms may interact regarding features and limitations.

Files and Folders

Below is list of Dropbox's supported and unsupported features as well as additional file/folder restrictions. 

Supported

Unsupported

Other Features/Limitations

Supported

Unsupported

Other Features/Limitations

Version preservation

File lock propagation

Invalid characters

< > \\ / : ? * \ | ~

Timestamp preservation

Mirror lock ownership

File size maximum: 50 GB or smaller
All file uploads must be smaller than the account storage space.

Author/Owner preservation

Restricted types

Path length maximum: n/a

Account map

Tags map

Segment path length: 255

Group map

 

Maximum number of files per folder: 10,000

Permission preservation

 

No trailing spaces after file extensions

User impersonation

 

 

Metadata map

 

 

 

Author Preservation

The Dropbox connector uses "per-request impersonation." This means DryvIQ makes requests to the platform on behalf of the account owner, not the administrator. Therefore, files created by other users will fail to upload unless the account owner mounts the shared parent folder into their Dropbox drive before uploading the file. (See https://help.dropbox.com/files-folders/add-shared-folder  for more information.) Failed uploads will be logged with a message similar to the following example: "[PermissionFailure] The account 'Joe Smith' is not authorized to perform the requested operation."

Business Team Folders

Team folders transfer automatically with any transfer job; however, Team and Shared folders must first be mounted in Dropbox (Dropbox for Business API only surfaces mounted Team and Shared folders). If you include Job Filters | Filter Shared Content, Team Folders will not be transferred. The Dropbox for Business connector creates shared user folders by default.  To create shared folders in a Team Folder, the root Team Folder must be created in the Dropbox UI and selected as the root of the job. Shared folders that are created in a Team Folder support permission disinheritance.  Shared folders created in a user folder do not support disinheritance and will log a warning.

Character Sanitization

DryvIQ will sanitize file names that contain combined Unicode characters by replacing the characters with an underscore (_).

Dropbox Paper

DryvIQ does not support Dropbox paper. Dropbox Paper is a separate work space that stores Paper documents in your account on http://paper.dropbox.com . DryvIQ doesn't support have access to these documents as part of your Dropbox connection. 

Path Lengths

Dropbox does not impose restrictions for the total path length.

Segment path lengths are limited to 255 character. Segments are delimited by a forward slash (/). For example, <max 255 characters>/<max 255 characters>.

Versioning

The Dropbox platform treats content version history differently than other cloud platforms, with each native move and rename tracked as a new version. In order to only transfer true version history, enable the Scripting option on step 6 during job creation and copy the following JSON into the scripting box:

{ "transfer": { "versioning": { "preserve": "native", "select": "published" } } }

 

 

For more information about how to use Advanced Scripting, refer to the Advanced Scripting | Additional Configuration Options page.

 

Version Limits

While Dropbox allows you to store unlimited versions, the platform restricts version downloads to 100. This means only the most recent 100 versions for a given file will be transferred to the destination. Refer to the Dropbox API Documentation for more information.  You can also find additional information in the Dropbox Forum.

 

If you want to transfer just teams folders, you can use the Dropbox for Business Teams Folders connector to create a connection that will transfer only teams folders. 

 

Create Connection | REST API

Create a New Dropbox for Business Connection

The following GET will return a target URL. Use this URL to log in to the Dropbox for Business account to authenticate and create the connection. Make sure you connect using an Administrator account. 

GET {{url}}v1/connections/platforms/dfb/new

 

Create a New Dropbox for Business Connection Using Custom Credentials

Create a new connection using custom credentials with the example call below. Replace the name, client_id, and client_secret with information relevant to your connection. 

{ "name": "Dropbox for Business", "platform": { "id": "dfb" }, "auth": { "client_id": "{{clientID}}", "client_secret": "{{clientSecret}}" } }

 

Dropbox for Business with Single Sign-On (SSO)

Create a new connection using single sign-on with the example call below. You will need to obtain the applicable access token for your Dropbox for Business account.

{ "name": "Dropbox for Business", "platform": { "id": "dfb" }, "auth": { "access_token": "{{access_token}}" } }

 

Create Job | Dropbox for Business Account Admin Connection

Create a simple transfer job using the example call below. Replace the information with information relevant to your job and connectors. 

Note that the following are known issues when creating a job for a Dropbox for Business account using an Administrator account connection.

  • Connection-based Impersonation should be used due to a caching issue which may incorrect shared folder detection

  • Connection-based Impersonation is shown in the user-interface as "Run As...." option on the Locations step when creating a new job.

  • Path-based impersonation should not be used, first 'folder' is a user name such as "path": "/user@company.com/"

 

{ "name":"Simple Job", "kind": "transfer", "transfer": { "transfer_type": "copy", "source": { "connection": { "id": "{{DropboxForBusiness_Admin_ConnectionID}}" }, "impersonate_as": { "email": "user@company.com" }, "target": { "path": "/sourceFolder" } }, "destination": { "connection": { "id": "{{OneDriveForBusiness_connection_destinationID}}" }, "target": { "path": "/Documents/destinationFolder" } }, "simulation_mode": false }, "schedule": { "mode": "manual" }, "stop_policy": { "on_success": 5, "on_failure": 5, "on_execute": 25 }, "category": { "name": "Report Category {Name}" } }

Transferring Dropbox for Business Team Folders

  • Team folders will transfer automatically with any transfer job; however, Team and Shared folders must first be mounted in Dropbox (Dropbox for Business API only surfaces mounted Team and Shared folders)

  • If you include Job Filters | Filter Shared Content, Team Folders will not be transferred

  • The Dropbox for Business connector creates shared user folders by default.  To create shared folders in a Team Folder, the root Team Folder must be created in the Dropbox UI and selected as the root of the job.

  • Shared folders that are created in a Team Folder support permission disinheritance.  Shared folders created in a user folder do not support disinheritance and will log a warning.

 If you want to transfer just teams folders, you can use the Dropbox for Business Teams Folders connector to create a connection that will transfer only teams folders. 

Microsoft SharePoint On-Premise

DryvIQ connections to SharePoint 2013, 2016, and 2019 on-premise platforms can be made by using any valid SharePoint user account with applicable permissions to access content. There are several ways to transfer content, this document outlines each of those situations and how to configure them.

Microsoft SharePoint supported versions: 2013, 2016, and 2019

Create Connection | User Interface

  1. Select Connections > Add connection.

  2. Select Microsoft SharePoint as the platform on the Add connection modal.

  3. Enter the connection information. Reference the table below for details about each field.

  4. Select Test connection to ensure DryvIQ can connect using the information entered.

  5. You will see a "Connection test succeeded" message on the Add connection modal when DryvIQ establishes connection. (If you don't see this message, verify the information you entered.)

  6. Select Done.

 

Add connection modal - Microsoft SharePoint

 

Field

Description

Required

Field

Description

Required

Display As

Enter the display name for the connection. If you will be creating multiple connections, ensure the name readily identifies the connection. The name displays in the application, and you can use it to search for the connection and filter lists.

If you do not add a display name, the connection will automatically be named using the SharePoint URL. For example, Microsoft SharePoint (http://sharepoint.url.com/). If it will be useful for you to reference the connection by account, you should use the default name. 

Optional

URL

Enter the URL for SharePoint including the site collection where the target document library exists.

Required

User Name

Enter the SharePoint username. It can coincide with the Active Directory Universal Principal Name (UPN).

Required

Password

Enter the password for the username added in the previous field.

Required

SSO Provider

Only Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) is supported as an SSO provider for SharePoint at this time. 

Optional

SSO URL

Enter the URL of the configured SSO provider.

Optional

Authentication type

Select the authentication method the server uses: Basic, Forms, or NTLM. You can select the Detect automatically option to have DryvIQ automatically detect the authentication type when testing the connection. This is the default selection. 

Optional

 

Connection Test Succeeded

 

 

Features and Limitations 

Platforms all have unique features and limitations. DryvIQ’s transfer engine manages these differences between platforms and allows you to configure actions based on Job Policies and Behaviors. Utilize the Platform Comparison tool to see how your integration platforms may interact regarding features and limitations. For more information on SharePoint restrictions, see Microsoft’s official documentation.

 

Features and limitations may vary between SharePoint versions. Refer to Microsoft's official documentation for your specific version of SharePoint for a full list of supported features and limitations.

Files and Folders

Below is list of Sharepoint's supported and unsupported features as well as additional file/folder restrictions. 

Supported Features

Unsupported Features

Supported Features

Unsupported Features

Version preservation

Mirror lock ownership

Timestamp preservation

 

Author/Owner preservation

 

File lock propagation

 

Restricted types

 

Account map

 

Group map

 

Permission preservation

 

User impersonation

 

Metadata map

 

Tags map

 

 

Other Features/Limitations

SharePoint 2013

SharePoint 2016

SharePoint 2019

Other Features/Limitations

SharePoint 2013

SharePoint 2016

SharePoint 2019

File size maximum

2 GB

2 GB

15 GB

Path length maximum

260

260

400

Segment path length

128

128

260

Invalid characters

| # { } % & \ ~ + / : * ? < > \\ “

| # % \ \\ / : * ? < > “

| \ \\ / : * ? < >  "

Restrictions

  • Consecutive periods

  • Leading tildes

  • Leading periods

  • Trailing periods before extension

  • Trailing periods after extension

  • Leading whitespace

  • Trailing whitespace before extension

  • Trailing whitespace after extension

  • Non-printable

  • Leading tildes without an extension

  • Trailing periods after extension

  • Leading whitespace

  • Trailing whitespace after extension

  • Non-printable

  • Trailing periods after extension

  • Leading whitespace

  • Trailing whitespace after extension

  • Non-printable

Check Out

DryvIQ does not support Libraries that have Require Check-out enabled.

Date Preservation

Date preservation works with SharePoint if you are using author-preservation.

Enterprise Keywords

SharePoint doesn't allow duplicate Enterprise Keywords. The longest string allowed in an Enterprise Keyword is 255 characters. 

File Extensions

SharePoint restricts certain file extensions in different versions. Click here for the complete list.

Invalid Characters and Spaces

DryvIQ verifies file and folder names to identify unsupported characters based on the platform. It then replaces invalid characters with an underscore (_) so the files and folders can be transferred. 

The logic includes leading and trailing spaces in file and folder names. DryvIQ replaces the space rather than trimming it because trimming the space could cause duplicate file names. Adding the underscore ensures the name remains unique.

Okta

DryvIQ does not support Okta with SharePoint.

Restricted File/Folder Names

The following are restricted file and folder names:

  • _vti_test

  • _w

  • _t

The following are restricted folder names:

  • Test_files

Folder names cannot end with the following:

DryvIQ Migrate Version: 5.9.17
Release Date: April 3, 2026