Copy Column View Formatting to different environment using PnP PowerShell

Copy Column and View Formatting using PnP PowerShell

There is a great sample script how to backup all column, view and content type formatting by Dan Toft. If you need to copy column and view formatting across different environments, such as from Dev to Test, UAT, and Prod, especially when dealing with multiple lists/libraries, the script may help you.

PnP PowerShell Script

param (
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$false)]
    [string]$SourceSiteUrl = "https://contoso.sharepoint.com/teams/d-app-test",
    [Parameter(Mandatory=$false)]
    [string]$DestinationSiteUrl = "https://contoso.sharepoint.com/teams/t-app-test"
)
$VerbosePreference = 'SilentlyContinue'
#Array of Lists and Libraries
 $Lists = @("list1", "list2", "list3", "lib1", "lib2", "lib3")
# Connect to the source and destination SharePoint sites
Connect-PnPOnline -Url $SourceSiteUrl -Interactive
$SourceConn  = Get-PnPConnection
Connect-PnPOnline -Url $DestinationSiteUrl -Interactive
$DestConn  = Get-PnPConnection
$sWeb = Get-PnPWeb -Connection $SourceConn
$dWeb = Get-PnPWeb -Connection $DestConn
 
# Generate a unique log file name using today's date
$dateTime = (Get-Date).toString("dd-MM-yyyy")
$invocation = (Get-Variable MyInvocation).Value
$directorypath = Split-Path $invocation.MyCommand.Path
$fileName = "CopyFieldFormattingReport-" + $dateTime + ".csv"
$OutPutView = $directorypath + "\Logs\"+ $fileName
 
$fieldsGroupCollection = @()
    Write-Host "Starting copy of column and view formatting" -ForegroundColor Yellow;
    Get-PnPList  -Includes Id, Title, Views, Fields -Connection $SourceConn | Where-Object { -not $_.Hidden -and $Lists -contains $_.Title } | ForEach-Object{
        $list = $_
   
        $list.Fields | Where-Object { $null -ne $_.CustomFormatter  -and $_.CustomFormatter -ne "" }| ForEach-Object {
            $field = $_
            try{
                Write-Host "List '$($list.Title)' > field: '$($field.Title)'";
                $dField= Get-PnPField -List $list.Title -Identity $field.Title -Connection $DestConn -ErrorAction Ignore
                if($dField){
                    Set-pnpField -List $list.Title -Identity $field.Title -Connection $DestConn -Values @{CustomFormatter= $field.CustomFormatter}                    
                    $ExportVw = New-Object PSObject
                    $ExportVw | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -name "Source Site Name" -value $sWeb.Title
                    $ExportVw | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -name "Desctination Site Name" -value $dWeb.Title
                    $ExportVw | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -name "List Name" -value $list.Title
                    $ExportVw | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -name "Type" -value "Field"
                    $ExportVw | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -name "Name" -value $field.Title
                    $ExportVw | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -name "Old Json" -value $dField.CustomFormatter
                    $ExportVw | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -name "New Json" -value $field.CustomFormatter
                    $fieldsGroupCollection += $ExportVw
                }
            }
            catch{
                Write-Host "Error: $($_.Exception.Message)" -ForegroundColor Red;
            }
        }
       
        $list.Views | Where-Object { $null -ne $_.CustomFormatter -and $_.CustomFormatter -ne "" }| ForEach-Object {
        $view  = $_
            try {
      
                $NView= Get-PnPView -List $list.Title -Identity $view.Title -Connection $DestConn -ErrorAction Ignore
                if($NView){
                    Set-PnPView -List $list.Title -Identity $view.Title -Connection $DestConn -Values @{CustomFormatter= $view.CustomFormatter} | out-null
                    $ExportVw = New-Object PSObject
                    $ExportVw | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -name "Source Site Name" -value $sWeb.Title
                    $ExportVw | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -name "Desctination Site Name" -value $dWeb.Title
                    $ExportVw | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -name "List Name" -value $list.Title
                    $ExportVw | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -name "Type" -value "View"
                    $ExportVw | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -name "Name" -value $view.Title
                    $ExportVw | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -name "Old Json" -value $NView.CustomFormatter
                    $ExportVw | Add-Member -MemberType NoteProperty -name "New Json" -value $view.CustomFormatter
                    $fieldsGroupCollection += $ExportVw
                }            
            }
            catch {
                Write-Host "Error: $($_.Exception.Message)" -ForegroundColor Red;
            }
     }
    }
    $fieldsGroupCollection | sort-object "List Name" |Export-CSV $OutPutView -Force -NoTypeInformation

This script connects to both the source and destination SharePoint sites, and then proceeds to copy the column and view formatting.

Output

The script generates a CSV report containing details about the copied formatting, such as source site name, destination site name, list name, type (field or view), name of the field/view, old JSON formatting, and new JSON formatting.

Here’s an example of the output: Output

References

Export All Formatting