How to Migrate Public Folders to Office 365 Efficiently (2023)

"Summary:A public folder contains an organization's most important email and other data. As an Exchange admin, you know how to migrate public folders to Office 365 whenever the migration situation arises. "

But when we talk about the migration methodology, let's talk about Office 365 and why it is so popular among users. Office 365 is a cloud-based service that Microsoft offers to users. It offers a wide range of products. Users can easily access it from anywhere and anytime. In addition, it also includes desktop applications that allow users to make their jobs easier. When we talk about Office 365 pricing, it has better pricing for every user.

In this article, we will introduce you the methods to export Exchange public folders to Office 365 environment. We will introduce the manual and professional approaches to complete the migration job.

Table of contents

Manual solution to move Exchange public folders to Office 365

Users need proper planning before undertaking this migration task. If you make a mistake, you could lose your data permanently. If we talk about the manual method, there are two ways to migrate public folders to Office 365. Moreover, the manual process is free for the users. Let's go over both ways of running it.

Way 1: By using Microsoft's public folder migration script

Step 1:First, you need to download the public folder migration script, which you can download from Microsoft's official website.

Easy steps to download Microsoft public folder migration script

Go to Microsoft's official website.
Open the Download Center tab on your screen.
After that you can download it directly.

Step 2:Save the script to the local storage where you want to run the power shell.

Step 3:You must download the Mail-Enabled Public Folders - Directory Sync script.

Step 4:Lastly, download the sourcesidevalidationps1. And save it where you saved all previous scripts.

Step 5:Run the Sourcesidevalidationps1 script in Power Shell. It helps to scan the Exchange and spot any problems.

Step 6:If a problem is detected during the Exchange scan, fix the problem.

Way 2: Via Microsoft Outlook

In this way, you have to use the Outlook Import Export Wizard to help youExport Exchange Public Folders to Outlook PSTDate Format.

Step 1:Open Outlook on your system and click on the opened tab.

Step 2:Now select the Import/Export option.

Step 3:Tap the Export to a file option and then click Next.

Step 4:In the next step, select the Outlook data file (.pst) and click Next.

Step 5:Select the public folder from the list and if you want to select the subfolders, click the check box.

Step 6:You need to browse the location where you want to export Exchange public folders to PST file format.

Time to import the exported PST file to Office 365. To do this, you need to follow the steps below.

First, you need to download the public folder migration script.
Now run this script to generate a CSV file.
Select Map the source public folders to Office 365.
Now you need to create a public folder in Office 365 based on the mapping file.
Create a public folder in each public folder mailbox using the New-PublicFolder cmdlet.
Open the Outlook Import/Export Wizard to import the PST files to Office 365.
You must use the EAC to allow public folder permissions.

Limitation of manual method of exporting Exchange public folders to Office 365

The manual method does not charge users any fee, but it has some disadvantages. There are limitations when adding multiple and large public folders. Moreover, it comes with high risk risk and you know that every user wants to migrate public folders to Office 365 without any error. Due to the technical interface, users need excellent technical skills to perform the migration. In addition, the manual method is very time-consuming and tedious for users. Even technical users face problems when migrating public folders to Office 365 cloud service.

Most importantly, the folder hierarchy and meta properties of the data are not preserved. In addition, users may lose their data permanently if any error occurs. If you have the time and excellent technical skills, use the manual method to migrate public folders to Office 365 cloud-based service.

Need help migrating public folders to Office 365? Don't worry, there are better alternatives that will make your job easier.

Skip the tedious manual method; Use the Shoviv Exchange Server Tool

I won't suggest manual methods for non-technocrats, as a single wrong script can corrupt your public folder. One can useShoviv Exchange Server-Suiteto migrate public folders to Office 365 cloud service. This software is the same as a mobile application; You can monitor everything in a single dashboard. In addition, the software eliminates the risk of data loss and offers advanced features to improve user experience.

Let's talk about some advanced features of this software:

This software has an incremental export option to continue the process from where it stopped. Also, it prevents the likelihood of data duplication.
In addition, the folder structure and the integrity of the data are perfectly preserved even after the completion of the public folders to Office 365 migration task.
It has a search option to find the items you want in a snap by adding specific field names.
When we talk about the GUI, it is straightforward and easy to understand for any user. Even inexperienced users can easily migrate public folders to Office 365.
The preview option of this tool allows users to check the added items before starting the migration.
This tool allows users to recover the EDB, PST and OST files.
A splitter option is also available to split the resulting PST file.
Users can include or exclude the items before processing the Office 365 public folder migration task.
In addition, users can export the public folders directly to Live Exchange Server.
There are no restrictions on adding the numerous Exchange mailboxes.

A free trial version of this software is available for users to download to check its functionality.

Migrate public folders to Office 365 without risk of data loss:

First, install and open the software.
To add the Exchange public folder, you need to click Outlook profile store. After that, select the profile from the drop-down list. When you're done, click Next.

Now the software will show the mailboxes where you need to select the public folder. Click on the "Finish" button to continue.

After that, go to the ribbon and select Office 365 as the destination.

Now check the Subfolders box to add the subfolders and click Next.

You will need to provide your Office 365 account credentials, e.g. B. Email ID, server name and password. Also, enable the option "Grant full access rights to all mailboxes" and then click "Next".

From here you can also map the source folder to the destination. After that, you need to validate the target mailbox. Now press the Next button.

Now use the filter option to include or exclude the items you want and click Next.

This tool will start migrating the public folder and a status report of the whole process will be displayed on your screen. Additionally, if you want to save this report, tap on the option to save the report and click on the “Finish” button.

Diploma

The manual solution requires few permissions before starting the migration, while users don't need any permissions to migrate public folders to Office 365 environment. Thus, third-party software eliminates the process that takes a lot of time and provides quick results. Migrating public folders manually is just some people's thing. Now it depends on user's opinion which way they want to use to accomplish this migration task. But with the Shoviv Exchange Server Suite, anyone can achieve it.

Author
recent posts

Stuart

Stuart Clark has been a technical content writer at Shoviv Software for the past 3 years. In his spare time he enjoys writing about new technologies and reading non-fiction, his favorite being Coolen Hoover's It Ends With Us.