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Migration guide

Move media from Google Drive, Dropbox and SharePoint to FileSpin

Move the media your team searches for, prepares and shares again and again, and set up searchable records, reviews and reusable outputs in FileSpin as part of the move. Everyday documents stay in your office tools.

There are two ways to run the move. Both start with an inventory and a representative sample before the full transfer.

Assisted migration
We provide the necessary tools to migrate assets from on-premise and cloud storage while your technical team runs the migration, including metadata mapping, import and validation.
Managed migration by FileSpin
The FileSpin team carries out the migration: source extraction or export coordination, field mapping, import, validation and cutover support. Your team grants source access and signs off the result.
Four migration stages, retrieve, map and import, validate and cut over, showing who carries out each one in an assisted migration and in a managed migration by FileSpin
Who carries out each stage in an assisted and a managed migration.

1. Retrieve the source files and records

For Google Drive, the selected shared drives are listed through an admin-approved Drive API connection, keeping each file’s ID and labels. Binary files are downloaded, and Google Docs, Sheets and Slides are exported to the format you choose (up to 10 MB per file through the standard export); shortcuts are recorded as links to the files they point to. For Dropbox, every team space and team folder is listed from the team root with its file IDs, revision values and paths. For SharePoint, Microsoft Graph lists each library and its column values, each file is downloaded through a fresh download link, and requests back off when Graph returns HTTP 429 or 503 with Retry-After. Each service’s change feed records what moves after the first pass.

Retrieval uses an authorised source account, with credentials kept out of exports, screenshots and public URLs. Each completed inventory page and download is saved, so interrupted work resumes where it stopped, and expired download links are refreshed.

2. Create a manifest you can reconcile

One record per source file or retained version: source system, asset ID, file or version ID, original name, source path, file type, bytes, a checksum recorded at download, tags, custom metadata, collection membership, rights information and source update time. The FileSpin asset ID and transfer status are added as work progresses.

Original files are kept separate from thumbnails and delivery renditions. Every exception, such as a missing original, a restricted download or an unsupported format, is listed with its resolution.

3. Map what moves and what gets rebuilt


Part of the library

What happens

Originals

Authorised source files downloaded and reconciled against the manifest

Metadata

Folder paths, labels and columns map to FileSpin fields and collections, and each record keeps its source file ID and chosen revisions. Live documents, document editing, retention policies and collaborative histories stay in the office system they belong to.

Collections

Collections built from the folders, shared drives or libraries you choose, matched by source file ID

Versions

The revisions you choose, retrieved alongside the current files while each service still holds them

Access

Roles, media shares and private delivery set up in FileSpin; folder sharing stays in your office tools

Delivery

Media shares and access roles are set up in FileSpin, and links embedded in websites and feeds switch to FileSpin URLs. Everyday document collaboration stays in your office tools.

History

Retained revisions come across with the files; activity and sharing logs stay in your Google, Dropbox or Microsoft admin tools

An illustrative shared-drive record (file ID, folder path, SKU label, revision, and items not moved here) mapped to a FileSpin record in the E-Commerce schema with SKU 31077 and season SS27, and the tote folder recreated as a collection
A shared-drive record (synthetic example) mapped to the imported FileSpin asset.

4. Improve the workflow as you migrate

Use the move to improve how your team works. Add any of these to the scope; each is configured and checked alongside the transfer.

Turn folder knowledge into searchable records
Useful folder names, Drive labels or SharePoint columns become SKU, market, campaign or event fields, with conflicting values resolved by a content owner. Collections group assets without another copy for each campaign. Check: a colleague who did not create the folders finds the intended assets by business fields and identifies the current version.
Replace repeated exports and review handoffs
The web image outputs you need and a FileSpin review workflow are set up, with branded shares for the files partners need; collaborative documents and their histories stay in the office system. Check: a team member requests a review and shares the correct output, and the next revision is reviewed and delivered without a folder of manual exports.
Give recurring media work an owner
A Scheduled Agent can apply agreed tags to a selected collection on a schedule, within a set user budget, with activity and resource use visible to the operator (Team plan and above). Check: the first run selects the intended assets and records its outcome.

5. Import and check a sample

The sample includes several file types, a multi-value metadata field, an asset in more than one collection, a retained revision and restricted content. Files are loaded, FileSpin IDs recorded, mapped metadata applied and relationships rebuilt.

In an assisted migration, your team stages the retrieved files with the tools we provide and loads metadata through the mapping. In a managed migration, the FileSpin team carries out these steps.

The sample passes when:

  • The correct file and intended version opens in FileSpin.
  • Required fields, types and controlled values match the mapping.
  • Collection membership counts match and related assets resolve.
  • Version records and current files match the scope.
  • An authorised user gets access and an unauthorised user is refused.
  • A content owner finds the selected assets by business fields and completes a review.
  • Real pages, players and feeds return the intended output, including after a replacement.
  • A test campaign link and a share download appear in Delivery Insights and Share analytics.
  • If agent work is included, its first run touches only the selected assets, stays within budget and reports its outcome.
  • Every exception is listed and resolved before the full run.
FileSpin Overview showing users, assets, collections, shares and total storage used
FileSpin Overview: compare asset and collection counts with the source inventory.
FileSpin AI Usage account ledger listing credit grants and debits with amount, running balance and operation source
AI Usage ledger: credits used by each agent run, for the budget check.

Shared drives migration questions

Do our shared-drive links keep working?
Yes, while the files stay where they are. A Google Drive, Dropbox or SharePoint link opens the file in that service, so it keeps working as long as the file and its sharing remain; it doesn’t redirect to FileSpin. The media your websites, feeds and partners use switches to FileSpin links, and branded Share Pages replace folder shares.
Can we keep working in our shared drives during the migration?
Yes. Your team keeps using Google Drive, Dropbox or SharePoint as usual while FileSpin copies the media. The Drive change list, the Dropbox folder cursor and the Microsoft Graph delta feed record what changed since the first pass, and the final sync brings it across before each collection moves.
Do folder names, labels and columns come across?
Yes. Folder paths, Google Drive labels, SharePoint columns and Dropbox file properties map to FileSpin fields and collections, so your team searches by SKU, market or campaign instead of by folder name. Each asset keeps its source file ID, and the revisions you choose come across with the current file.
Do we need to run the migration ourselves?
No. In a managed migration, the FileSpin team carries out the transfer. In an assisted migration, we provide the tools and your technical team runs it. Either way, you provide read access to the shared drives, Dropbox team folders or SharePoint libraries in scope, through an app connection your administrator approves.

6. Cut over

1. Set the switch-over
Agree when FileSpin becomes the system of record and how new uploads and replacements are handled.
2. Final sync
Pick up the last changes through the source’s change mechanism or a refreshed inventory, import them and reconcile counts.
3. Switch one route first
Move a selected collection or application route to FileSpin, then test public output and protected access.
4. Expand and retire
Keep the source available through the recovery window, with a rollback for each route, then expand and retire it.

7. Sign off the result

  • Every in-scope source file has a destination ID or an accepted exception.
  • Required metadata, relationships, versions and access controls pass the agreed checks.
  • Applications use the intended delivery route and updates appear correctly.
  • The exception report, ownership map and recovery procedure are handed over.
Reconciliation report for four synthetic shared-drive files: source file IDs beside FileSpin asset IDs, file, metadata and collection checks, and one exception where the season existed only as a folder name
Reconciliation report with synthetic source records: one row per source file, its FileSpin ID and checks, and the exception resolved before sign‑off.

Plan your migration with FileSpin. Tell us the size of your library, the history you need and the systems it feeds, and we’ll scope an assisted or managed migration with you.