How to Enable Tree View in SharePoint Online? A Detailed Guide

To enable tree view in SharePoint Online, open the Site settings > Look & Feel > Navigation elements and enable tree view. This simple action creates a new navigation panel for your SharePoint site. This allows you to see the complete structure of document libraries and other files on the left-hand side of your SharePoint site page. It also has multiple benefits which will be covered in the upcoming section.

In this detailed write-up, you will find out how to make most of the SharePoint Online by using the tree view. Here you will learn the different approaches in detail to enable tree view easily including PowerShell.

Benefits of Enabling Tree View in SharePoint Online

Go through some common advantages of enabling tree view in SharePoint Online.

• Optimized Site Navigation – Tree view adds a collapsible sidebar to the left of the SharePoint page, there is a difference between SharePoint site and page. It simplifies the understanding or navigation between the complex folders.
• Content Management – SharePoint’s tree view helps to organize the content in a well-mannered. Due to this, organizations can keep track of the overall data storage through a visual representation.
• Quick File Access – Tree View in SharePoint Online provides quick access to the files to users who are not familiar with the file’s complex structure.
• Data Collection – While there is a need to backup SharePoint Online to local storage, the tree view helps to give a complete picture of the overall data on the site.

6 Steps to Enable Tree View in SharePoint Online

There is a prerequisite for the smooth enabling of tree view of SharePoint Online is converting the library list experience to classic. You can update it from the Library settings. After updating the SharePoint list experience, you can execute the below steps to enable tree view in SharePoint Online.

Step 1. Launch the SharePoint with the appropriate credentials.
Step 2. Now open the SharePoint site for which you want to enable Tree View.
Step 3. Click on Site Settings.
Step 4. From the Look and Feel section, click on the Navigation Elements.
Step 5. Now, tick the checkbox in front of the Enable Tree View.
Step 6. Lastly, hit the OK button to accomplish the process of enabling tree view in SharePoint Online.

PowerShell Commands to Enable Tree View in SharePoint Online

If you are comfortable with the PowerShell, then you can save a good amount of time. Using PowerShell commands, you can automate the process and enable tree view of multiple sites using a few commands.

$YourSite_address = “enter complete site address”
Try {
Connect-PnPOnline -Url $YourSite_address -Interactive
$Web_1 = Get-PnPWeb -Includes TreeViewEnabled
$Web_1.TreeViewEnabled = $True
$Web_1.Update()
Invoke-PnPQuery
Write-Host “SharePoint’s Site Tree View is Enabled Successfully!” -f Green
}
Catch {
Write-host “There is an error:”$_.Exception.Message
}

Troubleshooting Tree View Enabling Errors

Although the enabling of tree view looks simple, sometimes it also frustrates users when they face some errors regarding it. So, let’s take a look at the common errors and their solutions.

1. Tree View Doesn’t Appear After Enabling

One of the common issues is tree view not showing even after enabling. Then you need to check your permissions. Ensure you have sufficient permissions to view the tree view. Also, check you are using the classic SharePoint sites.

2. Tree View Doesn’t Show All Folders

Verify that there are no hidden or restricted folders. Also, validate that your SharePoint document library does not contain large-sized files. Sometimes, tree view requires more time to show the large files and folders.

3. Navigation Elements not found

In the modern SharePoint site, the navigation elements are dissimilar to the classic ones. So, switch to the classic SharePoint site.

Concluded Words

In this write-up, we have explained the benefits of enabling tree view such as content management and quick file access. Now, by using the above-outlined methods, you can efficiently enable tree view in SharePoint Online.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q 1. Why I am unable to see the Tree View in SharePoint after enabling it?
A – It is because of several reasons including:-

• Not having the appropriate permission to view it.
• Your SharePoint site is modern, not classic.
• Caching issue with your browser.

Q 2. How do I enable Tree View on multiple SharePoint sites?
A – You can enable tree view for multiple SharePoint sites using the above-mentioned PowerShell commands.

Q 3. Why Is Tree View Not Displaying All My Folders?
A – This might be because of the folder permissions or limitations of the document library to see the folders in the tree view.

Q 4. How to disable the Tree View in SharePoint?
A – You can just uncheck the checkbox of the Enable Tree View to disable the tree view for the site.