Tell me more ×
SharePoint Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for SharePoint enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 3 down vote favorite

I have a list sitting on a production server. I would like to copy the list, both structure and content from the production server to a dev machine.

I am not too worried about preserving permissions.

Can this be done?

share|improve this question
1  
what if both sharepoint servers are of different version: 1. Sharepoint 2010 2. Sharepoint 2010 SP1 as when i try to restore a list / site etc to the latter one, it sames different versions and cannot import using powershell. So how can i export lists, calendars etc from one sharepoint to the another. Please guide, thanks – user5343 Oct 21 '11 at 4:53

5 Answers

up vote 4 down vote

This answer is for WSS3.0 but all the same applies to SharePoint 2010

As you are talking about from production to dev I am assuming that you're talking about a rolldown type procedure so you may want to check out Gary Lapointes STSADM gl-exportlist and gm-importlist extensions because as well as working very very well they will allow you to automate easily.

share|improve this answer
This is the problem I have with the template import / export routine. - msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/lists(v=office.12).aspx - so unfortunately it's out of the question. – JL01 Apr 18 '11 at 23:10
JL01 - eh? Thats a link to the lists web service. Have you looked at teh gl-exportlist/importlist suggestion (it doesn't rely on exporting/importing templates) – Ryan Apr 19 '11 at 8:29
no I haven't but it it doesn't use templates, then it could possibly be the solution I am after. thanks! – JL01 Apr 19 '11 at 11:45
up vote 4 down vote

Theres several ways to do this. One is to export the list using "save as template" and check "include content". Theres limitations on that approach depending on list size. AFAIR the limit here is 2 gb.

Another way is to simply restore the database into your dev machine and get to the list from there.

EDIT: Just saw you were using SP2010. In Central Administration in SP2010 you have new features for granular backup. CA > Backup and Restore > Granular Backup > Select Export a Site or List. Select the Site collection > Site > List and export to .cmp file. Here you also do have the possibility you mention to include security. You can also select what versions to export. There are no GUI for recovering data: "To recover the data use the PowerShell import command Import-SPWeb. For more details, type Import-SPWeb -? at the PowerShell command prompt."

PowerShell example:

Import-SPWeb http://site -Path export.cmp -UpdateVersions -Overwrite
share|improve this answer
Thanks Anders, but I wouldn't call restoring an entire database to retrieve 1 list a simple solution :) I was hoping for something easier. – JL01 Apr 18 '11 at 22:58
DO you have any code snippet for doing this using sharepoint list service? IT will be really helpful. – sss Jan 25 at 6:58
i added a code sample taken from official documentation – Anders Rask♦ Jan 25 at 11:28
up vote 1 down vote

Save the list as a template, with content. Export the template from the template gallery and import it into your dev list template gallery. Create a new list from the template.

share|improve this answer
1  
I can't do that because the dev site is based on a differant custom template to production :( as detailed here : support.microsoft.com/kb/825215 – JL01 Apr 18 '11 at 21:10
up vote 0 down vote

One way to do this is to use the SharePoint List service. This usually can be done without having to deploy any code to the server.

Not a great idea if you don't speak CAML

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/lists(v=office.12).aspx

share|improve this answer
up vote 0 down vote

My solution will be to use the OOTB feature "Content Deployement" in central admin. But I don't know if this feature is available for WSS Edition. But use this only for long term procedure. If it's just one-shoot, use another feature like Export/Import ...

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.