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Migrating Data out of Google Workspace using Google Takeout

You can use Google Takeout to download all of your Google Workspace data (Gmail, Docs, Contacts, Calendar, etc.). You can send that data directly to another cloud storage services you might use, such as a personal OneDrive account or Dropbox. When you download or transfer your Google data with Google Takeout, it will be in one or multiple Zip files depending on the amount of data.

This may take up to 2 weeks to complete.

Follow the instructions provided by Google.

Here are some things to note:

  • Open an incognito/private window in your browser before navigating to Google Takeout. Then sign in with your CWRU network ID and passphrase. This ensures Google does not confuse your university account with your personal account.
  • There are checkboxes in Google Takeout for each Google service (Gmail, Drive, Calendar, Contacts, etc.) so that you can decide which data you want to export. For example, click "Deselect all" and then only check the box for Google Drive if you only want to move Google Drive data.
  • Under Google Drive, you can click the "All Drive data included" button to select specific folders to download or transfer
  • Sharing permissions do not migrate
  • Google file formats (Docs, Sheets, Slides) are automatically converted to the Microsoft equivalent format (Word, Excel, and PowerPoint)
  • If you have a lot of data, you may want to change the default file size for the Zip file exports. The default is 2 GB, but you can make each exported Zip file as large as 50 GB.
  • This process will make a copy of your data, not move it, so there is no risk of data loss in the process.
  • By default, Google Takeout cannot move Shared Drives. However, if you are a manager of a Shared Drive, you can download or move it by doing the following:
    1. Create a folder in My Drive to receive the contents of the Shared Drive
    2. Open the Shared Drive
    3. Select all of the files and folders in the Shared Drive using command+A on a Mac or control+A on a PC
    4. Right-click on any selected file or folder and select "Move to"
    5. Browse to the My Drive folder you created above
    6. Click the "Move" button
    7. Once all of the Shared Drive files and folders have moved to the My Drive folder, you can use the instructions above to download or move that folder