Undoubtedly, SharePoint Online is a powerful tool for ensuring collaboration and document management. However, sometimes due to its excessive usage the created folders have never been used and cluttered the document libraries. As a result, it becomes challenging for the users to get the essential data efficiently. So, deleting these empty folders is crucial for maintaining the SharePoint environment as clean and efficient. In this article, we will walk through the three methods: SharePoint Admin Center, PowerShell, and Power Automate to delete empty folders in SharePoint Online. But first, find the benefits of removing the empty folders in SharePoint.<\/p>\n
Table of Content<\/strong><\/p>\n You can also determine the count of empty folders using the folder child and item child count options. To do so, open the Document Library> Edit current view<\/strong>. Now choose the Folder child and Item child count options then press OK. <\/span>By executing the below PowerShell commands in the PowerShell, you can remove the empty folders. But before executing them, also make sure:-<\/p>\n Go with the below steps to clear empty folders using Power Automate.<\/p>\n Step 1.<\/strong> Launch the Power Automate and hit on the Instant Flow option. Step-7.<\/strong> Create an array for filtering the result. To do so, use the below expression body(\u2018GetFolders\u2019)?[\u2018value\u2019]. Press the \u201cEdit in advanced mode\u201d and then enter the expression: @and(equals(item()?[\u2018ItemCount\u2019], 0), not(equals(item()[\u2018Name\u2019], \u2018Forms\u2019))). The SharePoint administrator offers an interactive way to interact with SharePoint Online. While it does not provide any direct approach to remove the empty folders. So, you need to identify and delete them manually.<\/p>\n After the deletion of the SharePoint empty folders, these will go into the recycle bin. And stay there as per the retention period. But what if you mistakenly delete the SharePoint non-empty folder? To keep their data safe and secure from these unexpected threats, most organizations use another SharePoint site. It gives the data an additional degree of security.<\/p>\n You can use the Most Impeccable SharePoint Migration Tool<\/strong><\/a>. It is composed of multiple advanced features. It can easily perform SharePoint tenant to tenant migration<\/strong><\/a> without any data loss. You do not need to worry about the execution of this tool. It requires some easy and quick steps to accomplish the process.<\/p>\n Download Now<\/a> Purchase Now<\/a><\/p>\n Managing the SharePoint Online environment organized and uncluttered. You can use the above-mentioned PowerShell commands, Admin Center, and Power Automate steps. Through all of these methods, you can easily delete empty folders in SharePoint Online. Additionally, we have also suggested a professional tool to safeguard your data from unexpected or mistaken data loss.<\/p>\n Q1. Can Microsoft\u2019s Power Automate tool remove empty folders in SharePoint Online?<\/b><\/p>\n A –<\/b>\u00a0 Yes, you can delete all the empty folders using Power Automate. Let\u2019s see how.<\/span><\/p>\n Q2. How to clear all empty folders from SharePoint Online?<\/b><\/p>\n A – <\/b>Follow the below steps:-<\/span><\/p>\n Q3. What are the limitations of using PowerShell commands to delete the empty folders?<\/b><\/p>\n A – <\/b>There are several limitations of using PowerShell such as:-<\/span><\/p>\n Undoubtedly, SharePoint Online is a powerful tool for ensuring collaboration and document management. However, sometimes due to its excessive usage the created folders have never been used and cluttered the <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":4293,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[360],"class_list":["post-4292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sharepoint-online"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
Top 4 Advantages of Deleting the Empty Folders in SharePoint Online<\/h2>\n
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PowerShell Commands to Delete Empty Folders in SharePoint Online<\/h2>\n
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$Urlofsite = '<Your\u2013site-URL>'\r\n\r\n$site = 'sites\/lab01'\r\n\r\n$Nameoflibrary = 'Duplicates'\r\n\r\n$whatIf = $true\r\n\r\n$force = $false\r\n\r\nFunction Delete-PnPEmptyFolders([Microsoft.SharePoint.Client.Folder]$Folder) {\r\n$FolderSiteRelativeURL = $Folder.ServerRelativeUrl.Substring($Web.ServerRelativeUrl.Length)\r\n\r\n$allSubFolders = Get-PnPFolderItem -FolderSiteRelativeUrl $FolderSiteRelativeURL -ItemType Folder\r\nforeach ($SubFolder in $allSubFolders) {\r\n\r\nif (($SubFolder.Name -ne \"Forms\") -and (-not ($SubFolder.Name.StartsWith(\"_\")))) {\r\n\r\nDelete-PnPEmptyFolders -Folder $SubFolder\r\n}\r\n}\r\n\r\n$AllFiles = Get-PnPFolderItem -FolderSiteRelativeUrl $FolderSiteRelativeURL -ItemType File\r\n$allSubFolders = Get-PnPFolderItem -FolderSiteRelativeUrl $FolderSiteRelativeURL -ItemType Folder\r\nif ($AllFiles.Count -eq 0 -and $allSubFolders.Count -eq 0) {\r\n$GetParentFolder = Get-PnPProperty -ClientObject $Folder -Property GetParentFolder\r\n$GetParentFolderURL = $GetParentFolder.ServerRelativeUrl.Substring($Web.ServerRelativeUrl.Length)\r\nif ($whatIf -ne $true) {\r\nWrite-Host \"Removing folder:\" $Folder.Name \"in\" $GetParentFolderURL -ForegroundColor Red\r\nRemove-PnPFolder -Name $Folder.Name -Folder $GetParentFolderURL -Force:$force -Recycle\r\n} else {\r\nWrite-Host \"Empty folder:\" $Folder.Name \"in\" $GetParentFolderURL -ForegroundColor Red\r\n}\r\n}\r\n}\r\n\r\nFunction Connect-To-the-SharePointOnline($url) {\r\nConnect-PnPOnline -Url $url -UseWebLogin\r\nif (-not $?){\r\nWrite-Host \"connection to SharePoint Online is failed\" -ForegroundColor Red\r\nexit\r\n}\r\n}\r\n\r\n$url = $Urlofsite + '\/' + $site\r\n\r\nConnect-To-the-SharePointOnline -url $url\r\n\r\n$Web = Get-PnPWeb\r\n$List = Get-PnPList -Identity $Nameoflibrary -Includes RootFolder\r\nDelete-PnPEmptyFolders -Folder $List.RootFolder<\/pre>\nDelete All Empty Folders in SharePoint Online Using Power Automate<\/h3>\n
\nStep 2.<\/strong> Provide a name and select manually trigger a flow option.
\nStep 3.<\/strong> Click on Create and then in Edit mode hit on the + button.
\nStep 4.<\/strong> Choose the Send an HTTP request to SharePoint.
\nAdd the Site from where you want to initiate the flow, and set the methods property as GET.
\nStep 5.<\/strong> Uri needs to resemble the following \u201c_api\/web\/GetFolderByServerRelativeUrl(\u2018\/sites\/SiteName\/NameOfDocumentLibrary\u2019)\/\u201d.
\nStep 6.<\/strong> Enter the below values in the header properties
\nKey – accept
\nValue – application\/json;odata=nometadata<\/p>\n
\nStep-8.<\/strong> Now, add then another action of the same category. Select \u201cSend an HTTP request to SharePoint\u201d and finalize the \u201cApply to each\u201d in the action column.
\nStep-9.<\/strong> Put the Address of the site in the method and pick DELETE. Use the exact Uri property as discussed above.
\nStep 10.<\/strong> Finally, at last of the Uri includes:
\n\u201c(items(\u2018ForEach_Folder\u2019)[\u2018Name\u2019])\u201d. Then Save and deploy the Flow.<\/p>\nBest Practices to Manage the SharePoint Online Folders<\/h3>\n
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How to Delete Empty Folders in SharePoint Online Using Admin Center?<\/h3>\n
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How to Add an Extra Layer of Security to SharePoint?<\/h3>\n
Conclusion<\/h4>\n
Frequently Asked Questions<\/h4>\n
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