Restores

Once a resource has been backed up, you can browse its recovery points and get data back in three ways: restore it to Microsoft 365, download it, or send a share link. Everything starts in the Explorer, where you browse recovery points and select items.

Restoring to Microsoft 365

A restore pushes items from a recovery point back into Microsoft 365. Select the items in the Explorer and click Start new restore. In the Restore dialog:

• Recipient: Choose Original owner to restore to the same user or mailbox, or Another user to restore to a different user or shared mailbox in the same tenant.
• Location: Choose where the restored items land (see below).

The dialog summarizes what will happen before you click Start restore. Restores can take a few minutes. You can track progress from the Restores page.

By default, restores never overwrite live data in Microsoft 365. Restored items land in a new folder or next to the originals. To also allow restores that replace live data, turn on Allow replacing live files and directory users in Account Settings.

Application	New SlideRestore folder	Original structure (add alongside)
Mail
OneDrive
Calendar, contacts, tasks
SharePoint
Teams

SharePoint can also restore into a new document library. See SharePoint.

Restored Files

OneDrive and SharePoint restores bring back each file's content, but not everything around it:

• Dates and people: Original created and modified dates, and the Created By and Modified By people, aren't restored. Restored files show the restore time and Slide as the author.
• Sharing and permissions: Who a file or folder was shared with is backed up but not reapplied. Restored items get the permissions of the place they're restored to. A SharePoint restore to a new document library is the exception: the new library gets the original library's permissions. See SharePoint.
• OneNote notebooks come back as an ordinary folder of section files, because Microsoft doesn't allow a folder to be restored as a notebook. OneNote for the web shows "This section needs to be converted". OneNote for Windows can open and convert the sections.

Mail

Mail is always restored to a new SlideRestore folder in the recipient's mailbox. Your live mail is never changed.

OneDrive

• New SlideRestore folder (default): Restored files and folders go into a new folder named SlideRestore_ followed by the restore date and time, keeping their original folder structure. Your live files are never changed.
• Original structure, Add alongside: Files are restored to their original folders, and each restored file's name includes the backup it came from, so nothing is replaced. This option isn't available when restoring an entire recovery point.
• Original structure, Replace: Restored files replace the live files at the same paths. This option only appears if replacing is allowed in Account Settings.

Replace overwrites live files

With Replace, each restored file overwrites the file at the same path in the recipient's OneDrive, including any changes made since the backup. Keep in mind:

• If you restore to Another user, files are written into that user's OneDrive, and any of their files at the same paths are overwritten.
• Files in the OneDrive that aren't part of your selection aren't changed or deleted.
• Before the restore starts, the dialog shows a warning and you must confirm that live files will be overwritten.
• If a file is replaced by mistake, use OneDrive version history to get the previous version back.

To restore without changing live files, use New SlideRestore folder or Add alongside instead.

SharePoint

SharePoint restores work like OneDrive restores, and also bring back each file's column values and content type. Choose where the restored items land:

• New SlideRestore folder: Restored files and folders go into a new SlideRestore_ folder inside each original library, keeping their folder structure.
• Original structure, Add alongside: Files are restored to their original folders, and each restored file's name includes the backup it came from, so nothing is replaced.
• Original structure, Replace: Restored files replace the live files at the same paths. This option only appears if replacing is allowed in Account Settings. The Replace warning for OneDrive applies here too.
• New document library: Each original library is recreated as a new library named with the restore time, for example "Contracts (Slide Restore 2026-11-04 15-04-05 UTC)". The new library gets the original's columns, content types, and permissions. The original libraries aren't changed.

A restore covers one site, and files go back to the site they came from. If you select items from two sites, Slide asks you to restore one site at a time.

Column values: Most column types are restored, including text, choice, number, currency, date and time, yes/no, person or group, lookup, hyperlink or picture, image, managed metadata, geolocation, and location. A person is restored only if they're still in the site's user list, and a lookup only if the item it points to still exists. For an image column, the value points to where the image was stored; the image itself isn't copied. Calculated columns are recalculated by SharePoint. External data and task outcome columns aren't restored. SharePoint's own columns, such as Created, Modified, approval status, and ratings, are never written.

A column value that can't be restored never fails the file. The file is restored, and the restore details list the column with the reason, for up to 100 files plus a count of the rest.

Limitation	Applies to	What you see
A person who has been removed from the site's user list, or a lookup item (or its whole list) that was deleted, isn't restored.	All locations	Listed as "person or item not found". Other values in the same column are restored.
Columns of a type that can't be restored are skipped.	All locations	Listed as "column type can't be restored".
Columns or content types deleted from the library since the backup are skipped.	Original structure, SlideRestore folder	Listed as "not in the destination library". A file whose content type was deleted keeps its current content type, or gets the library's default if it's new.
A file checked out to another user can't be replaced.	Original structure	That file fails as locked. The rest of the restore continues.
A folder that was deleted comes back without its column values.	Original structure	The folder and its files are restored, but the folder's columns are empty.
Managed metadata and location columns can't be created in a new library.	New document library	The column is missing, and its values are listed as "not in the destination library".
A new library gets the original's columns and content types, but not its views, versioning or check-out settings.	New document library	The new library uses SharePoint's defaults for those.
A new library's permissions match the original library's, with two exceptions.	New document library	Users and groups with Full Control on the original library get edit access on the new one. A SharePoint group keeps its access only if it has the same permission level on the site now as it had on the original library. Site owners keep Full Control and can grant what wasn't copied.

After a restore:

• Versions: Restoring a file adds one version for its content. A file with column values or a custom content type gets one more version for each update to them, usually one or two. In a library that requires check-out, a restored file adds one version in all.
• Check-out: In a library that requires check-out, restored files are checked in when the restore finishes, so other users can see them.
• Lookup columns in a new library point to the same lists as the original library's, so their values keep working.
• Folder columns: Folders get their column values back in a SlideRestore folder or a new document library.

Entra

Entra users, groups, roles, app registrations, and Conditional Access policies are restored into the same tenant. By default, only items that are missing are recreated. Existing users and groups are skipped and left as they are. If replacing is allowed in Account Settings, you can choose Update existing items instead. Backed-up values then replace the current values of existing users, groups, and roles, and group owners and members are changed to match the backup.

• App registrations: A deleted app registration comes back from Entra's deleted items with everything it had, including its service principal, owners, granted permissions, and client secrets. A permanently deleted one is recreated with a new client ID, so give the new ID to the apps that sign in with it. Its certificates and federated credentials are restored, but its client secrets aren't, so create new ones. Users and groups assigned to it aren't restored. A restored app also gets back the application permissions and admin consent it had, including privileged ones, so check that each one should have its access back.
• Conditional Access policies: Restored policies are always turned off, so a restore can't lock anyone out or change MFA requirements. Review each restored policy in Entra and turn it on when it's ready.

An Entra restore puts back directory objects: users, groups, roles, app registrations, and Conditional Access policies. It doesn't restore:

• Passwords and MFA settings: Recreated users need a new password and need to set up MFA again.
• Licenses: Assign licenses to recreated users in Entra.
• A group's data: Restoring a Microsoft 365 group brings back the group itself, with its settings, owners, and members. Its team, mailbox, and SharePoint files are separate applications and aren't part of an Entra restore.
• Exchange-only settings: Settings that are managed in Exchange Online rather than in Entra.
• Time-bound (PIM) role assignments

Users and groups synced from on-premises Active Directory are marked as such and must be restored on-premises.

Restore Results

Open a restore from the Restores page to see its status (In progress, Completed, Partially restored, Failed, or Cancelled), how many items were restored, and the reason for any items that failed, such as Rate limited by Microsoft or Destination out of space (the recipient's mailbox or OneDrive is full). You can cancel a restore that's still in progress.

Deleting a restore only removes it from Slide. It doesn't change anything in Microsoft 365.

Downloading

To download items, select them in the Explorer (or open a recovery point's menu) and click Download.

• File Based: A single item downloads as its own file. Several items download as a ZIP archive. Mail, calendar items, contacts, and tasks download as .eml files.
• PST: One Outlook data file that keeps the mailbox's folders, including calendar items, contacts, and tasks. PST is only available when every selected item is from Mail and the selection comes from one mailbox and one recovery point.

Slide prepares the download and then your browser starts downloading it. Large PST files can take a few minutes to prepare.

SharePoint downloads include files and folders only, with each library in its own folder. Column values and content types aren't included.

Share Links

A share link lets someone download items from a backup without a Slide Console account. Select the items in the Explorer and click Share link.

Warning

Anyone with the link can download the selected items until the link expires. Only send share links to people who should have access to the data.

• Link expires in: 1 hour, 4 hours, 24 hours (default), 3 days, 7 days, or a custom date and time.
• Max downloads: The maximum number of times the link can be used. Leave it empty for unlimited downloads.
• Message: A message shown to recipients on the download page.

The selected items download as a single ZIP archive (or PST file, for mail). After you create the link, click Copy link to send it to your client.

Managing Share Links

Share links appear on the Restores page as Microsoft 365 Share link, with one of these statuses: Ready, Expiring soon (less than 4 hours left), Limit reached, or Revoked. Click a share link to see who created it, when it expires, and how many times it's been downloaded.

From the share link's Settings tab, you can:

• Change the expiry: Extend or shorten the link. You can also extend it by 24 hours or 7 days from the row menu on the Restores page.
• Change the download limit: The limit can't be lower than the number of downloads already used.
• Change the message.
• Revoke Share Link: Anyone with the link immediately loses access. You can revive a revoked link later with Revive Share Link.
• Delete: Permanently deletes the share link. A deleted link can't be revived.

Share links are deleted automatically once they expire. Every share link download, successful or not, is recorded in your activity logs.

Download Errors

If a download fails, Slide shows an error code. Share link recipients see a page saying the link is invalid, no longer available, or temporarily unavailable. The error code for their attempt is recorded in your activity logs.

Error code	Meaning	What to do
DL-101	The mailbox has more than one Deleted Items folder, so it can't be exported as a PST.	Download it as File Based instead, or contact Slide support.
DL-102	The recovery point was removed after the download or share link was created, usually by retention. This mostly affects share links, which can stay open longer than the recovery point they were made from.	Pick a newer recovery point and create a new download or link.
DL-201, DL-202, DL-203	Slide couldn't prepare the download in time. Large PST files can cause this.	Try again later. If it keeps happening for a large PST, try downloading fewer items.
DL-301	The download was interrupted after it started, so the file is incomplete.	Try again. If it keeps failing, contact Slide support.
DL-302	The browser or network connection dropped during the download.	Try again.
DL-100	Something unexpected went wrong.	Contact Slide support.