DDM Help
External sources

SharePoint

Take over documents from the document library of a SharePoint site – with an app registration in Microsoft Entra ID.

With the SharePoint system type, DDM fetches the files from the document library of a SharePoint site – all of it or from a folder within it – and keeps them up to date. The library's folders can become categories.

DDM does not sign in as a person but as an app: you register DDM once in your Microsoft Entra ID and give the app the right to read SharePoint. Nobody has to sign in to Microsoft in DDM, and no personal password is stored.

Available from the Professional plan – see Plans.

Before you start

You need somebody who may register apps and grant admin consent in your Microsoft Entra ID – usually IT with the Application Administrator or Global Administrator role.

1. Register DDM in Entra ID

Register the app

Open the Microsoft Entra admin center and go to Identity › Applications › App registrations › New registration.

  • Name: e.g. DDM SharePoint import.
  • Supported account types: Accounts in this organizational directory only.
  • Redirect URI: leave it empty – DDM does not need one.

Click Register.

Note the IDs

The app's overview page shows two values you will enter in DDM shortly:

  • Application (client) ID – the Client ID.
  • Directory (tenant) ID – the Directory (tenant) ID.

Create a client secret

Go to Certificates & secrets › Client secrets › New client secret. Choose how long it is valid and click Add.

Copy the Value straight away – not the Secret ID. Entra shows it only this once.

Grant read access to SharePoint

Go to API permissions › Add a permission › Microsoft Graph › Application permissions and choose Sites.Read.All. Then click Grant admin consent for ….

In the list, the permission must say Granted for …. Without consent, Microsoft refuses every request from DDM.

Sites.Read.All allows the app to read all sites of your tenant. If DDM should only see one particular site, take Sites.Selected instead and have your IT give the app the read right for exactly this site (via Microsoft Graph or PowerShell). DDM works the same with either.

2. Add the source in DDM

Under Settings › External sources, add a source with New source, give it a name and choose SharePoint as the System type.

FieldWhat to enter
Site URLThe site's address as it appears in the browser – without the library after it, e.g. https://company.sharepoint.com/sites/sales
Directory (tenant) IDThe app's Directory (tenant) ID
Client IDThe app's Application (client) ID
Client secretThe client secret's Value. It is stored encrypted and never shown again
Folder (optional)A folder in the library from which files are taken over, e.g. /Pricelists. Empty = the whole library

DDM reads the site's default document library – the one usually called Documents in SharePoint. A source cannot reach other libraries of the same site; for files there, set up a site or move them into the default library.

If you change the Directory (tenant) ID or the Client ID, DDM deletes the stored Client secret – it belonged to the old app. Enter it again afterwards.

3. Test the connection

Click Test connection. DDM gets an access token from Microsoft and looks for the site.

MessageWhat to do
Connected — “…” is readable.All good – DDM names the site it found.
Details are still missing — the site URL or user, the directory ID and the client ID.The site URL, directory ID or client ID is missing.
Microsoft rejected the app — check the client ID, the directory ID, the client secret (expired?) and the admin consent.Microsoft refused the app: the client secret is wrong, missing or has expired, the client or directory ID is wrong, or admin consent is missing.
The site, user or folder was not found — check the details and whether the app may access them.The site or the folder was not found – a typo in the site URL, or with Sites.Selected the app does not yet have a right for this site.
The address does not answer — check the URL, the port and the firewall.The DDM server cannot reach Microsoft. With a DDM on your own network: outgoing connections to login.microsoftonline.com and graph.microsoft.com must be allowed.

4. Import scope and sync

Under Import scope, decide how the library's folders become categories and which files count, click Sync now once and then switch on Source active – see Overview.

What applies to SharePoint:

  • DDM takes over all files of the library from the given folder, in sub-folders too. Lists, pages and the folders themselves are not documents.
  • A file is recognised by its path in the library. If you rename or move it in SharePoint, DDM creates it as a new document; the old one stays.
  • DDM does not take over permissions from SharePoint. Who sees a document is governed by the category's permissions in DDM.
A client secret expires – in Entra after two years at most. After that every sync fails with Microsoft rejected the app. Create a new one in good time and enter it under Client secret.

Overview

Bring documents into the CMS automatically from SharePoint, OneDrive, Google Drive, an FTP server or your own interface – how to set up a source, what a sync does and what it never does.

OneDrive

Take over documents from a person's OneDrive – with an app registration in Microsoft Entra ID.