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The Daily Insight

How do I upload a file with the same name in SharePoint?

Author

Christopher Pierce

Updated on February 25, 2026

1 Answer. No, unfortunately this is not possible. SharePoint treats the file name as the primary key identifier for a document so if you try to upload a second document with the same name it will assume this is a new version of the file.

What special characters are not allowed in SharePoint file names?

You cannot use the following characters anywhere in a file name:

  • Tilde.
  • Number sign.
  • Percent.
  • Ampersand.
  • Asterisk.
  • Braces.
  • Backslash.
  • Colon.

How do I mass upload documents to SharePoint?

Drag files to your OneDrive or SharePoint site library

  1. Open the OneDrive or SharePoint site library.
  2. On your computer select Start.
  3. Navigate to the folder with the documents that you want to upload.
  4. Drag the files to the space in the SharePoint library where it says drag files here.

How do you name files in SharePoint?

You can change file name right within Word, Excel or PowerPoint, but you have to open the files via Office Online (in the browser). Once you open and edit files in the browser, just click on the top bar where the file name appears. And, viola, you can change it right there, “on the fly”.

How do you upload multiple documents?

Upload multiple files

  1. Browse to the page where you want to upload the files.
  2. Go to Edit > More, then select the Files tab.
  3. Select Upload:
  4. On the Upload a file screen, select Browse/Choose Files:
  5. Browse to the files you want to upload from your computer and use Ctrl/Cmd +select to choose multiple files.
  6. Select Upload.

How many files can you upload to SharePoint at once?

Number of items that can be synced or copied When using onedrive.com, you can only copy up to 2500 files at one time. Although SharePoint can store 30 million documents per library, for optimum performance we recommend syncing no more than 300,000 files across all document libraries.

How do you rename a file in SharePoint?

Open the document library and hover over the file you want to rename. Click the ellipses (…) to the right of the item name, and then click Rename. In the Rename dialog, type the new name into the field, and then click Save.

How do I rename a document library in SharePoint?

Browse to the document library >> Click on “Document Library Settings” under the Library Settings group of the ribbon. Click on the “List Name, Description and Navigation” link under General Settings. Provide a new name to your list under the “Name” field. Click Save button to commit your changes.

Can you put a in a file name?

And it works the other way around too: you can’t use a / in a file name with the terminal, but a : is OK and will show up as a / in the Finder.

Does uploading file with same name create new document ID in SharePoint?

According to my research, upload file with same name to replace the original file in SharePoint will indeed create a new Document ID. It is correct behaviour in my opinion. Because Sharepoint cannot know whether the document is “same”.

What is SharePoint document ID and how to use it?

SharePoint Document ID is a greatly appreciated feature since it allows for renaming and movement of files while maintaining link integrity. However, when doing proper change management on documents the editing of the doc happens away from the location where it is published for “public” consumption.

Why can’t I edit a document that has the same name?

Because Sharepoint cannot know whether the document is “same”. In other words, SharePoint will consider these to be two different files, regardless of whether they have the same name or not The only way is to update and edit the file directly in its Sharepoint-Location. If an Answer is helpful, please click ” Accept Answer ” and upvote it.

How do I edit a SharePoint file?

The only way is to update and edit the file directly in its Sharepoint-Location. If an Answer is helpful, please click ” Accept Answer ” and upvote it. Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.