combine multiple sharepoint lists into one

Question

I'm working with SharePoint 2007 and a group has asked me to help with managing their sites. They set up multiple sites (one for each team = 50 or so teams >_<) and each team has their own copy of the same list created from the same template.

Recently they decided that collecting the data from 50 different sites is too much and want to combine all the lists into one at the top level but they don't want all that data left behind on the old lists (1 per site) they want it all moved into the new list that will also use the same template to be created.

I tried exporting one of the sub-site's lists to Excel (2010) and copying it over into the new master list's empty exported to excel list and then using the "Export Table to SharePoint List..." option. Each time I try, I get an error "An unexpected error has occurred. Changes to your data cannot be saved."

I thought this might have to do with the Path field that shows up in the Excel spreadsheet versions of the list data so I modified it to what the new master list should have but no luck.

Any ideas?

Thanks for your help :)

Answer 1

I don't know what rights you need to do this, but go to each site and do the following instructions:

1. Click on Site Actions
2. Click Site Settings
3. Click Manage All Site Settings
4. Under the Site Administration Group, click Content and Structure

A window comes up that looks like Window's File Manager. You are in the current site, but you can see that you can browser to other sites in your site collection from the left panel.

1. Locate the list you want to copy items from and click the name. You will see all the items, or at least in pages of 100.
2. Change the paging quantity from 100 to 1000 in the top right, where it says "Show 100".
3. Select all the items you want to copy. There's an icon that looks like a stack of papers, to select all items on this page.
4. Click Actions in the toolbar, then click "Copy...". A dialog will come up of the current site collection.
5. Choose the destination then, click Ok.
6. Repeat this until you're done copying all items from the list.

Be patient while the copy process completes, then switch to the other 49 sites.

You cannot copy from one site collection to another. You can copy between subsites or sister sites.

If you can't see the Content and Structure link in the Site Settings page, use the 12 hive URL:

http://sitecollection/_layouts/sitemanager.aspx

You'll have the items copied in no time without the help of IT/development.