====== 🧰 Squirrel Archiving – User Guides ======

Welcome to the **Squirrel Archiving User Guides** – your central resource for learning how to use and manage Squirrel effectively.

Squirrel is a powerful archiving solution designed to help organisations reduce their SharePoint and Teams storage usage while keeping documents accessible to end users. These guides are split into two main categories:

  * 👨‍💼 **Administrator Guides** – for IT teams deploying and managing Squirrel
  * 👩‍💻 **End User Guides** – for staff who want to restore or archive files themselves

To learn more about what Squirrel does and how it works, visit the official product page:  
👉 **[Squirrel at smikar.com](https://www.smikar.com/squirrel/)**

Whether you’re performing a full-site archive or just restoring a single document, this section will walk you through the process step by step.

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===== 🧑‍💼 What is Squirrel Archiving? =====

Squirrel helps organisations regain control of their Microsoft 365 storage by archiving unused or older files to Azure Blob Storage, replacing them with lightweight **stub files** that include a self-service **restore** or **archive** button.

Key benefits:

  * Reduce storage bloat in SharePoint and Teams
  * Keep archived files accessible with one-click restore
  * Ensure data sovereignty with geo-specific deployments
  * Restore files directly from synced folders or Teams channels

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===== 🗂️ Guide Structure =====

We’ve broken down our documentation to make it easier for you to find what you need:

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===== 👨‍💼 Administrator Guides =====

For IT admins, engineers, and support staff responsible for managing the platform. These guides include:

  * [[software:squirrel:full_site_archive_restore|Full Site Archive]]  
    Learn how to archive an entire SharePoint site, including subfolders and document libraries, while preserving structure.

  * [[software:squirrel:full_site_restore|Full Site Restore]]  
    Restore entire SharePoint sites or large volumes of files in bulk using the restore engine.

Visit the full admin guide here:  
👉 [[software:squirrel:Admin Guides|Admin Guides]]

Admin topics may also include:

  * Setting up stub file buttons (SPFx deployment)
  * Connecting securely to SharePoint using PnP PowerShell
  * Archiving by folder path or targeting specific libraries
  * Reviewing logs and monitoring archive/restore activity
  * Handling special cases like Teams Private Channels

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===== 👩‍💻 End User Guides =====

For general staff, project team members, or knowledge workers who want to restore or archive files directly within SharePoint or Teams.

  * [[software:squirrel:end_user_restore|End User Restore]]  
    How to use the **Restore** button in SharePoint or Teams to recover a previously archived document.

  * [[software:squirrel:end_user_archive|End User Archive]]  
    How to manually request a file be archived using the **Archive** button (if enabled by your organisation).

Visit the full end user guide here:  
👉 [[software:squirrel:End User Guides|End User Guides]]

These guides walk through:

  * What archived files look like (stub files)
  * How to restore from within a synced folder on your desktop
  * When to request archiving manually vs. waiting for policy-based automation

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===== 🧩 How Squirrel Works (In a Nutshell) =====

1. **Detection**  
   Squirrel identifies files that meet your archive policies (e.g., not accessed in 180 days).

2. **Archiving**  
   Files are moved to Azure Blob Storage. A stub file remains in SharePoint or Teams with a clickable link.

3. **Self-Service Access**  
   Users can restore files themselves via the button, or request archive (if allowed).

4. **Full Audit Trail**  
   All actions are logged for compliance and monitoring.

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===== 📞 Need Help? =====

If you can't find what you're looking for or need further help:

  * 📧 Email us: [support@smikar.com](mailto:support@smikar.com)
  * 🌐 Visit the main product site: [https://www.smikar.com/squirrel/](https://www.smikar.com/squirrel/)
  * 📚 Explore more documentation: [[https://wiki.smikar.com]]

We’re here to help you make the most of Squirrel.