How to transfer folders in Microsoft Teams from one channel to another?

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Here’s a question from Hector:

Greetings. Sounds like a simple question, but i can’t really figure it out. I know that is quite easy to move files between channels in Microsoft Teams, but why can’t i move folders as well between different Teams and Channel?

Move folders between Teams channels

In order to move folders between different Teams, proceed as following:

  1. Open your Teams Channel.
  2. From the Files tab, select Open in SharePoint.
  3. In SharePoint, navigate to the folder you would like to move and mark the check box at the left hand side of the folder name.
  4. Hit Show Actions and hit Move To.
  5. Select the target SharePoint location you would like to transfer your folder into
  6. Hit Move Here.

Using SharePoint to move folder between Teams channels

As of December 2021, Microsoft Teams doesn’t offer a simple option for moving folders. That said, as Teams files and folders are actually stored as Microsoft SharePoint libraries, we can use SharePoint capabilities to manipulate the folder structure in our channels.

  • Open Microsoft Teams and search for the relevant channel.
  • From the Header menu hit Files.
  • Navigate your channel folder structure, until you see the folder that you would like to move.
  • Now hit the Open in SharePoint button as shown below.
  • The SharePoint document library that hosts the files in your Teams folder will open up.
  • Now mark the relevant folders you would like to move. In our case we’ll transfer the Shared Documentation folder from the Miami and the London offices.
  • Next hit the Show Actions sign and select Move to. Note that a Move To button is also available in your document Library menu. Note as well that you might decide to copy the folder between your Teams right from your header menu or from Show Actions.
  • Next, select the target channel (can be within the same team or in other team which you are a member of). Note that you are also able to move the file to OneDrive for Business if that suits your needs.
  • Once select hit the Move here button.
  • SharePoint will notify you on the successful transfer of your folder/s.
  • Now return to your target channel, in our case the London office and hit the Files menu.
  • The folder has been moved as shown below.

Teams web users: In case you don’t see the transferred folders in your target channel, simply refresh the browser (hit F5).

Can you merge or combine folders in Teams?

As shown below, SharePoint offers a bunch of capabilities to create, move or copy folders that you can use in order to restructure the Teams folder structure in your relevant channels.

Can you drag and drop folders in Teams?

As of today, Microsoft doesn’t support drag and drop of files and folders between channel in a Team or different Teams.

Transferring SharePoint files to Teams

You can easily add SharePoint files to Teams by using the Add Cloud Storage button available in your channel Files tab. Then, go ahead and select the SharePoint option and pick the relevant document library you would like to add to your Teams folder.