Nested Folder Structures

The SharePoint Connector supports nested folder structures, allowing you to create hierarchical organization for your documents. This page explains how to configure and use nested folders.

Nested Folder Concepts

What Are Nested Folders?

Nested folders are subfolders within a record's main SharePoint folder:

/Customers/Contoso Ltd/
├── Contracts/           ← Subfolder
├── Invoices/            ← Subfolder
├── Correspondence/      ← Subfolder
└── Projects/            ← Subfolder

Benefits

Benefit	Description
Organization	Categorize different document types
Findability	Easier to locate specific documents
Access Control	Can set different SP permissions per subfolder
Scalability	Handle many documents without clutter

Auto-Create Subfolders

The connector can automatically create subfolders for your records.

Configuring Auto-Create Subfolders

Open the Table Mapping Card (or the Table Mapping list) for the relevant table
Click the Auto-create subfolders action
Add entries for subfolders you want created

Note: The Auto-create subfolders page is not searchable in Business Central and is not part of SharePoint Setup -- it opens from the Auto-create subfolders action on the Table Mapping card or list, already linked to that table.

Auto-Create Subfolder Fields

Field	Description	Example
Subfolder Name	Name of the subfolder	`Invoices`
First File Placement	Place the first uploaded file in this subfolder	Yes/No
Auto-upload folder	Use as destination for auto-uploads	Yes/No

The table is supplied automatically by the page link from the Table Mapping -- there is no Table No. field to fill in.

Configuration Example

For Customer (table 18) subfolders, opened from the Customer table mapping:

Subfolder Name	First File Placement	Auto Upload Folder
Contracts	No	No
Invoices	Yes	Yes
Quotes	No	No
Correspondence	No	No

First File Placement

All subfolders in the list are always created together -- this setting does not control which subfolders get created. It only selects which subfolder the first uploaded file is placed in:

Setting	Behavior
No	Subfolder is created, but the first uploaded file is not placed in it
Yes	Subfolder is created, and the first uploaded file is placed in this subfolder

Auto-upload folder

When enabled:

Automatically uploaded documents go to this subfolder
Useful for routing invoices, quotes, etc.
Only one subfolder per table should have this enabled

Manual Subfolder Creation

Users can create subfolders manually from SharePoint directly, or configure auto-create subfolders from the Table Mapping Card:

Open the Table Mapping Card for the relevant table
Click the Auto-create subfolders action
Add the desired subfolder names
Subfolders are created when files are uploaded to the record's folder, or on demand via the Create subfolders action in the SharePoint FactBox

Parent-Child Table Nesting

Hierarchical Table Relationships

Tables can have parent-child relationships that create nested structures:

Customer (Parent)
└── Job (Child)
    └── Job Task (Grandchild)

Configuring Parent Relationships

In Table Mapping, configure:

Field	Purpose
Parent Table No.	The parent table number
Parent Link Field 1	Field linking to parent

Example: Jobs Under Customers

If you want Job folders under Customer folders:

Customer Mapping:

Field	Value
Table No.	18 (Customer)
Folder Name	Customers
Mapping Method	Static

Job Mapping:

Field	Value
Table No.	167 (Job)
Folder Name	Projects
Parent Table No.	18 (Customer)
Parent Link Field 1	(Bill-to Customer No.)

Result:

/Customers/Contoso Ltd/
└── Projects/
    ├── Project Alpha/
    └── Project Beta/

Document Subfolders

Routing Documents to Subfolders

Documents can be automatically placed in subfolders based on configuration:

Auto-upload destination: Configure which subfolder receives auto-uploaded docs
Template destination: Document templates can specify a subfolder
Alternative mapping: Different document types to different subfolders

Example: Invoices to Invoice Subfolder

Create Auto-Create Subfolder for "Invoices" with Auto Upload Folder = Yes
Enable auto-upload for sales documents
Posted invoices automatically go to the Invoices subfolder

Complex Nested Structures

Multi-Level Example

/Shared Documents/
└── Customers/
    └── Contoso Ltd (C00010)/
        ├── Contracts/
        │   ├── MSA.pdf
        │   └── NDA.pdf
        ├── Invoices/
        │   ├── 2024/
        │   │   ├── INV-001.pdf
        │   │   └── INV-002.pdf
        │   └── 2025/
        │       └── INV-003.pdf
        ├── Projects/
        │   └── Project Alpha/
        │       ├── Scope.docx
        │       └── Timeline.xlsx
        └── Correspondence/
            └── Emails/

Creating This Structure

Configure Customer mapping with auto-create subfolders
Configure Job mapping as child of Customer
Manual subfolders for additional organization (Emails, yearly folders)

Navigating Nested Folders

In the FactBox

Users navigate nested folders:

Click a folder name to enter it
Click ".." to go up one level
Current path shows in the FactBox header

Path Display

The FactBox shows the current location:

/Customers/Contoso Ltd/Invoices/2024/
Users can see where they are in the hierarchy

Best Practices

Planning Your Structure

Consideration	Recommendation
Depth	Keep to 3-4 levels maximum
Consistency	Use same structure across records
Naming	Use clear, consistent names
Permissions	Consider SharePoint permission inheritance

Common Patterns

Customer-Centric:

/Customers/{Customer}/
├── Contracts/
├── Orders/
├── Invoices/
└── Communications/

Project-Centric:

/Projects/{Project}/
├── Planning/
├── Deliverables/
├── Reports/
└── Communications/

Document-Type-Centric:

/Documents/
├── Sales/
│   └── {Customer}/
├── Purchasing/
│   └── {Vendor}/
└── Projects/
    └── {Job}/

Avoiding Over-Nesting

Too Deep	Better
/A/B/C/D/E/F/file.pdf	/A/B/C/file.pdf
Many empty folders	Create folders when needed
Overly specific names	Use broader categories

Limitations and Considerations

Path Length

SharePoint has path length limits:

Keep folder and file names reasonable
SharePoint's own guidance is to keep the total path under 400 characters -- this is a SharePoint platform limit, not one the connector enforces (the connector stores folder paths up to 500 characters and truncates anything beyond that)
Long paths may cause errors

Folder Creation Timing

Auto-create subfolders: Created when files are uploaded to the record's folder -- not when the record is first mapped. They can also be created via the Create subfolders action in the SharePoint FactBox, by auto-upload, or by the Create Empty Folders report when its "Create Sub folders (in record folders)" checkbox is selected
Manual subfolders: Created on demand
Child table folders: Created when child record is mapped

Performance

Deep nesting may slow navigation
Many subfolders in one folder may affect loading
Keep structure practical