When using SharePoint Online as your document management system, you can link a matter to an existing SharePoint folder rather than always creating a new one. Once a matter is linked, you can also move its folder to a different parent location directly from the matter — without unlinking and relinking. Both actions are available from the matter's SharePoint panel.
Note: Manual linking is controlled by a location feature toggle. If the folder search field does not appear on your matter, contact your administrator to confirm the feature is enabled for your location.
Prerequisites
The following must be in place before you can use manual linking:
SharePoint Online must be configured as your Document Management System.
Linking Mode must be set to Manual Only in the SharePoint Online integration settings (see below).
Manual linking feature toggle must be enabled for your location by an administrator.
Admin setup: configure manual linking
This section is for administrators. It covers the settings required to enable manual linking for your location.
Go to Admin > Integrations > Document Management and select SharePoint Online as the provider. Open the General Settings tab.
Configure the following settings:
Linking Mode — set this to Manual Only. This prevents Xakia from automatically creating or linking a SharePoint folder when a matter is saved, giving users control over linking from the matter directly.
Search Scopes — add one or more scopes to define which parts of your SharePoint site users can search when selecting a folder. Each scope requires a Site URL, a Library or Folder Path, and a Display Name. The display name appears in the folder search results to help users identify the correct location.
Searchable Columns (optional) — enter the name of any SharePoint column that users should be able to search on when selecting a destination folder. For example, adding a column such as Matter description allows users to search by that metadata when picking a folder.
Enabled — toggle this on to activate the SharePoint Online integration for your location. The integration must be enabled for the manual linking options to appear on matters.
Path length limit: SharePoint in Microsoft 365 cannot contain a file path longer than 400 characters. Keep folder and matter names concise, and plan your folder structure to avoid deeply nested paths. See the Microsoft documentation for full details.
How it works
In Manual Only linking mode, Xakia does not automatically create or link a SharePoint folder when a matter is saved. Instead, you control when and where the folder is linked from the matter itself. The SharePoint panel on the matter detail page provides a folder search picker for first-time linking, and a Move folder action once the matter is already linked.
The move action relocates the existing SharePoint folder to a new parent without breaking the link — the matter stays connected and the linked URL updates automatically once the backend confirms the move.
Navigate to the SharePoint panel
Open the matter you want to link. On the matter detail page, locate the DMS File # field in the right-hand column and click the SharePoint button next to it. The SharePoint Online panel slides open on the right side of the screen.
Link to an existing SharePoint folder
When the matter has no folder linked, the SharePoint panel shows a folder search field. To link to an existing folder:
Type a search term into the search field. Xakia searches across your configured search scopes and returns matching folders.
Select the folder you want to link from the results list. A confirmation view appears showing the folder name, scope, and server-relative path.
Review the details and click Link Folder. A Linking… message is shown while the backend processes the request.
Once the link is confirmed, the panel updates to show the linked state.
No results? If the search returns no matching folders, check that your Search Scopes are configured correctly in Admin > Integrations > Document Management > General Settings.
Move a linked folder to a different parent
If the matter already has a linked folder, you can move it to a different parent location without unlinking. This is useful when a folder was linked in the wrong location or needs to be reorganized.
To move the folder:
5. In the linked state panel, click Move folder…. The folder search picker replaces the linked state view.
6. Search for and select the new parent folder. The same confirmation view as first-time linking is shown, displaying the folder name, scope, and path.
7. Click Link Folder to confirm. The move is processed in the background and the linked folder URL updates automatically — no page refresh is required.
8. To cancel at any point, click Cancel to return to the linked state with no changes made. If you are on the confirmation view, click Back to return to the search list without exiting move mode.
Move is available in the main app only. The Move folder action is not available in the Outlook Add-In. First-time linking is available from both the main app and the Outlook Add-In.
Step 3: Resolving folder name conflicts
If the destination folder already contains a folder with the same name as your matter's folder, Xakia cannot complete the link or move. An inline error message appears on the confirmation view — no toast notification is shown.
To resolve the conflict:
Select a different parent folder from the search results. Selecting a new folder clears the inline error.
Rename the conflicting folder directly in SharePoint, then return to Xakia and confirm the original destination.
Result
Once a matter is successfully linked, the SharePoint panel shows the linked state. From here you can:
Open in SharePoint — opens the linked folder in SharePoint Online in a new tab.
Refresh — re-checks the link status and updates the last linked timestamp.
Move folder… — opens the folder search picker to move the folder to a different parent (Manual Only mode only).
The last linked timestamp is displayed at the bottom of the panel.
Limitations
Manual linking and Move folder are only available when Linking Mode is set to Manual Only. In Automatic linking mode, these options are not accessible.
The Move folder action is available in the main app only — it is not available in the Outlook Add-In.
There is no Unlink option for SharePoint Online. To change a linked folder, use the Move folder action instead.
The manual linking feature must be enabled via a location feature toggle. Contact your administrator if the folder search field does not appear on your matters.
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Need help?
If you have any questions, please contact us at support@xakiatech.com or reach out to your Customer Success Manager.