Converting SharePoint Sharing Links to Canonical URLs
Summary
During a recent community discussion, Suhail Sayed presented an interesting challenge that many organizations face during SharePoint tenant migrations. The problem? Converting sharing links to their canonical URLs when documents are migrated between tenants.
The Challenge
When migrating SharePoint documents from one tenant to another, organizations often encounter a specific issue with document references:
The Problem Scenario:
- Source tenant: Documents contain reference links to other documents
- Migration requirement: Update these links to reflect the new tenant
- Complication: Links were created using the Share option, not the Copy Link option
Why This Matters:
When you generate a link using SharePoint's Share function, it creates a unique link with a randomly generated ID that redirects to the correct canonical URL. These unique IDs have no meaning on the new tenant, making simple find-and-replace operations ineffective.
Example URLs:
Sharing Link Format:
https://contoso.sharepoint.com/:f:/s/Company311/Et83kyw3weBCqfgt9R73ZVgBDxDRU71gOt1Qkqb99kKubQ
Canonical URL Format:
https://contoso.sharepoint.com/sites/Company311/Shared Documents/Test1/Folder_57/TestDoc_6.docx
The script is to extract sharing link information and map them to their corresponding canonical URLs.
Prerequisites
- The user account that runs the script must have access to the SharePoint Online site.
param(
[Parameter(Mandatory=$true)]
[string]$LinkUrl
)
# Extract site name from sharing link
$siteName = $LinkUrl.Split('/')[5]
Write-Host "Extracted site name: $siteName" -ForegroundColor Green
$path = "sites"
# Build site URL from site name
$uri = [System.Uri]$LinkUrl
$tenantUrl = "$($uri.Scheme)://$($uri.Host)"
$siteUrl = "$tenantUrl/$path/$($siteName.ToLower())"
Write-Host "Built site URL: $siteUrl" -ForegroundColor Cyan
connect-PnPOnline -Url $siteUrl
# Function to find file URL by searching sharing links
function Find-FileUrlByLinkUrl {
param(
[string]$SearchLinkUrl
)
Write-Host "Searching for file URL corresponding to sharing link..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
# Get all lists in the site
$lists = Get-PnPList | Where-Object { $_.BaseTemplate -eq 101 -and $_.Hidden -eq $false }
# Flag to track if we found a match
$found = $false
foreach ($list in $lists) {
if ($found) { break } # Exit if already found
Write-Host "Searching in library: $($list.Title)" -ForegroundColor Cyan
try {
# Search folders first
$Folders= Get-PnPListItem -List $list -Fields "FileRef", "FileLeafRef", "FileSystemObjectType" | Where-Object { $_.FileSystemObjectType -eq "Folder" }
foreach ($folder in $folders) {
if ($found) { break } # Exit if already found
$flinks = Get-PnPFolderSharingLink -Folder $folder['FileRef'] -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
foreach ($flink in $flinks) {
# Check if the link URL matches our search URL
if ($flink.Link.WebUrl -eq $SearchLinkUrl) {
Write-Host "✓ Found matching folder!" -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host " Folder Name: $($folder['FileLeafRef'])" -ForegroundColor White
Write-Host " Folder URL: $($folder['FileRef'])" -ForegroundColor White
Write-Host " Full URL: $tenantUrl$($folder['FileRef'])" -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host " Library: $($list.Title)" -ForegroundColor White
Write-Host " Link Type: $($flink.Link.Type)" -ForegroundColor White
Write-Host " Link Scope: $($flink.Link.Scope)" -ForegroundColor White
return @{
FileName = $folder['FileLeafRef']
FileUrl = $folder['FileRef']
FullUrl = "$tenantUrl$($folder['FileRef'])"
Library = $list.Title
LinkType = $flink.Link.Type
LinkScope = $flink.Link.Scope
SharingLink = $flink.Link.WebUrl
}
}
}
}
# Search files only if not found in folders
if (-not $found) {
$items = get-pnplistitem -List $list -Fields "FileRef", "FileLeafRef", "FileSystemObjectType" -PageSize 5000 | Where-Object { $_.FileSystemObjectType -eq "File" }
foreach ($item in $items) {
if ($found) { break } # Exit if already found
# Get sharing links for each item
$sharingLinks = Get-PnPFileSharingLink -Identity $item['FileRef']
foreach ($link in $sharingLinks) {
# Check if the link URL matches our search URL
if ($link.Link.WebUrl -eq $SearchLinkUrl) {
Write-Host "✓ Found matching file!" -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host " File Name: $($item['FileLeafRef'])" -ForegroundColor White
Write-Host " File URL: $($item['FileRef'])" -ForegroundColor White
Write-Host " Full URL: $tenantUrl$($item['FileRef'])" -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host " Library: $($list.Title)" -ForegroundColor White
Write-Host " Link Type: $($link.Link.Type)" -ForegroundColor White
Write-Host " Link Scope: $($link.Link.Scope)" -ForegroundColor White
return @{
FileName = $item['FileLeafRef']
FileUrl = $item['FileRef']
FullUrl = "$tenantUrl$($item['FileRef'])"
Library = $list.Title
LinkType = $link.Link.Type
LinkScope = $link.Link.Scope
SharingLink = $link.Link.WebUrl
}
}
}
}
}
}
catch {
Write-Host " Error searching in $($list.Title): $($_.Exception.Message)" -ForegroundColor Red
}
}
Write-Host "No matching file found for the provided sharing link." -ForegroundColor Yellow
return $null
}
# Search for the file corresponding to the sharing link
$fileInfo = Find-FileUrlByLinkUrl -SearchLinkUrl $LinkUrl
if ($fileInfo) {
Write-Host "`n========================================" -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host "FILE FOUND!" -ForegroundColor Green
Write-Host "File: $($fileInfo.FileName)" -ForegroundColor White
Write-Host "URL: $($fileInfo.FullUrl)" -ForegroundColor White
Write-Host "========================================`n" -ForegroundColor Green
}
Check out the PnP PowerShell to learn more at: https://aka.ms/pnp/powershell
The way you login into PnP PowerShell has changed please read PnP Management Shell EntraID app is deleted : what should I do ?
Source Credit
Sample first appeared on Converting SharePoint Sharing Links to Canonical URLs with PowerShell
Contributors
| Author(s) |
|---|
| Reshmee Auckloo |
Disclaimer
THESE SAMPLES ARE PROVIDED AS IS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, MERCHANTABILITY, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT.