copy list items from one list to another in sharepoint

Question

In Sharepoint how can you copy a list item from one list to another list eg copy from "List A" to "List B" (both are at the root of the site)

I want this copying to occur when a new list item is added to "List A"

I tried using the CopyTo() method of an SPListItem inside the ItemAdded event receiver but couldnt figure out the url to copy to.

Answer 1

Here is the code I use. Pass it a SPlistItem and the name of the destination list as seen in Sharepoint(Not the URL). The only restriction is that both list must be in the same site:

private SPListItem CopyItem(SPListItem sourceItem, string destinationListName) {
        //Copy sourceItem to destinationList
        SPList destinationList = sourceItem.Web.Lists[destinationListName];
        SPListItem targetItem = destinationList.Items.Add();
        foreach (SPField f in sourceItem.Fields) {
            //Copy all except attachments.
            if (!f.ReadOnlyField && f.InternalName != "Attachments"
                && null != sourceItem[f.InternalName])
            {
                targetItem[f.InternalName] = sourceItem[f.InternalName];
            }
        }
        //Copy attachments
        foreach (string fileName in sourceItem.Attachments) {
            SPFile file = sourceItem.ParentList.ParentWeb.GetFile(sourceItem.Attachments.UrlPrefix + fileName);
            byte[] imageData = file.OpenBinary();
            targetItem.Attachments.Add(fileName, imageData);
        }

        return targetItem;
    }

Answer 2

Indeed as Lars said, it can be tricky to move items and retain versions and correct userinfo. I have done similar things with that before so if you need some code examples, let me know through a comment and can supply you with some guidance.

The CopyTo method (if you decide to go with that) need an absolute Uri like: http://host/site/web/list/filename.doc

So, if you are performing this in an event receiver you need to concatinate a string containing the elements needed. Something like (note that this can be done in other ways to):

string dest= 
 siteCollection.Url + "/" + site.Name + list.Name + item.File.Name;

Answer 3

Copying and moving files, items and folders in SharePoint can be tricky if you want to retain all metadata, timestamps, author info and version history. Take a look a CopyMove for SharePoint - it also has a Web Service API.

Answer 4

There's many tools on the market for copying a list item to another list (avepoint, metavis, etc.) but they are pretty expensive if you're planning to do this on only one list.

If you can do this manually once a week for example, look at the following tool : http://en.share-gate.com/sharepoint-tools/copy-move-sharepoint-list-items-with-metadata-and-version-history