SharePoint Document Issues

How to Force Classic Experience in SharePoint Server Subscription Edition

Bushra Parveen Sep 29, 2026 869 views

Question details

Administrators want to make the Classic Experience the default across their SharePoint environment and prevent users from switching back to the Modern Experience.

How to Force Classic Experience in SharePoint Server Subscription Edition

Product: SharePoint Server Subscription Edition
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Configuring the default user interface experience for SharePoint sites, lists, and document libraries.
Observed behavior: The environment currently uses a mixture of Classic and Modern Experiences, and users can manually toggle between the two interfaces.

Before you start

Ensure you have SharePoint farm administrator privileges and access to the SharePoint Management Shell on your server to run the necessary scripts.

Solution 1Recommended

Set Classic Experience Using Server-Side PowerShell

Execute a server-side PowerShell script to iterate through document libraries and programmatically set their experience options to Classic.

Using the SharePoint Management Shell, administrators can force the classic UI on all visible document libraries within a specific web environment by updating the ListExperienceOptions property.

Open SharePoint Management Shell

Log into your SharePoint server as an administrator and launch the SharePoint Management Shell.

Define the target site

Retrieve the target SharePoint web object by running the command: $web = Get-SPWeb "http://your-sharepoint-site-url"

Filter the document libraries

Retrieve all visible document libraries by executing: $libraries = $web.Lists | Where-Object { $_.BaseType -eq "DocumentLibrary" -and $_.Hidden -ne "True" }

Update the experience options

Run a foreach loop to update each library: foreach ($library in $libraries) { $library.ListExperienceOptions = "ClassicExperience"; $library.Update() }

Set Classic Experience Using Server-Side PowerShell

User Overrides: Users may still be able to select 'Exit classic experience' manually unless that option is disabled by a specific environmental policy or UI customization.

Solution 2

Activate the Site Collection Feature

Enable the appropriate SharePoint site collection feature that disables the Modern list and library experience across the site.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Will this PowerShell script affect hidden system libraries?

No, the provided PowerShell script specifically filters out hidden libraries by checking that the 'Hidden' property is not equal to 'True'. It only affects visible document libraries.

How can I prevent users from clicking 'Exit classic experience'?

To completely prevent users from switching back to the Modern Experience, you may need to implement custom CSS injections or deploy a specific administrative policy to hide the 'Exit classic experience' link from the user interface.

Can I revert a document library back to the Modern Experience?

Yes, you can easily revert the changes by running the same PowerShell script and changing the 'ListExperienceOptions' value from 'ClassicExperience' to 'NewExperience' or 'Auto'.

Document & File Issues