In this article, we will see how we can create a new SharePoint connection. So, let's get started.
Once you launch the SQList Manager and select the 'SharePoint Connections' tab, you will be able to view the list of existing connections, if any, and as well as have an option to create a new connection.
In order to create a new SharePoint connection, Click on 'New SharePoint connection'. Once you click it, a new form will open up on the right side of the window. It consists of three main sections namely site details, connection details, and advanced settings. we will cover all these sections in detail.
Site Details: This section covers up all the aspects related to the SharePoint site that you need to connect to export the lists.
Connection Name: It is an arbitrary or friendly name given to the connection so that it can be easily identified later when you have got numerous connections. It is a mandatory property. It is worthwhile to note that the connection names must be unique, so you cannot give two different connections the same name.
Table Prefix: This property takes care of adding a specific prefix, if required, to all the generated SQL Server tables as a part of the replication. It is a mandatory property as well.
Site URL: You need to specify the URL of the SharePoint Site over here from where you intend to export the list or sub-sites. It has to be kept in mind that you need to specify the URL of the site or the sub-site not the URL of the individual list.
Connection Details: This section covers up the details of the connection which SQList uses to connect to the SharePoint site.
Type of Authentication ( How would you like to authenticate?): This property specifies the type of authentication you want to choose to be used to authenticate yourself while establishing the connection. You have a bunch of options over here. If your SharePoint site uses a SharePoint Online or OnPrem type of authentication then you can opt for Online or OnPrem authentication. You need to specify the username and password which will be used for authentication. But if your SharePoint site uses a two-factor authentication then you can opt for "Web Login (Office 365)" as it uses a web interface for authentication. Also, SQList lets you use AppID and secret Keys for connecting to SharePoint Site but these must be already set up in the SharePoint site.
Test Connection: This functionality can be used to test the connection in a quick manner to avoid running into issues later. Once you have specified all the required details, you can click on the button to test the connection.
Advance Settings: This section covers some of the advanced features that you may need to configure to override the default behavior of SQList to suit your requirement.
Lookup Column Threshold: SharePoint has a constraint on the maximum permissible number of columns in a single query. In most of the cases, it is 8, meaning that you can retrieve a maximum of eight columns in a single query. This is known as lookup column threshold.SQList lets you specify the threshold of the source SharePoint site, the default is 8. That does not mean that you can export a list having more than 8 columns. SQList queries in such a manner that it adapts to the specified threshold but retrieve all columns irrespective of the count.
Throttling Control Delay: In order to keep the database in sync with the SharePoint lists, SQList on a continuous basis polls the SharePoint site for identifying any change to be replicated. SQList uses SharePoint Web Services for polling. Such continuous polling can create a good amount of load on SharePoint Site. SharePoint employs throttling to counter this and places a limit on the number of concurrent calls to prevent overuse of resources. SQList uses a default throttling of 200 milliseconds. If you are aware that the source SharePoint site you are using as a source uses an extended throttling, then you can increase the delay appropriately.
Once you have specified all the details, then you can click on the 'Save' button at the bottom right to save all the details provided. As soon as you click on 'Save', the connection will be saved and you can see the connection in the list of available connections.
It is worthwhile to note that, you can edit, delete or create a duplicate of an existing connection with simple button clicks.