I am sure we have all encountered the list-view threshold
limit of 5000 items many times. However, this is a scenario I have not
encountered: We have libraries that exceed the threshold limit that the users
have organized into folders. I am recommending splitting these out into
different libraries to keep below the threshold but Microsoft articles advise
that this is a reasonable way to manage large lists.
Here is my problem: what if I want to change the URL of the site? When I go to change the site title and URL I am hit with an error prohibiting the operation due to exceeding the 5000 item threshold. I assume that this is because SharePoint is updating each list item with the new site URL as the path for the item is a hidden metadata field.
Are we expected to never change the site name if we have large lists or am I missing something? I will get around this issue in the short-term by splitting the library but I am unsure what to tell future clients, especially since I can't find any articles on this specific issue online.
Thoughts / Suggestions / Recommendations / Explanation / clarification:
Point#1
You should be able to increase the list
threshold as long as you have access to Central Admin.
Point#2
You should be able to overcome this problem if
performed by a farm admin or the farm account. The threshold does not apply to
the farm account.
Point#3
Here are the exact details on this-
Point#4
There is a separate threshold applies to the
Farm Admin. By default this threshold is 20,000 http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc262787(v=office.15).aspx#ListLibrary
As other have said the threshold can be changed but this is not a best practice.
It is very likely this was an oversight by Microsoft, as the list-view threshold shouldn't be executed when updating the URL of a library. You are not viewing all your data but instead relying on a job to update the URL of all items.
Please provide your suggestions / advice /
recommendations by means of COMMENTS



