Using Takeout to Export Google Workspace Data

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Last updated: Mar 28, 2024 by Dan Jakubiak
5 min read

Students, faculty, and staff can export their Google Workspace data to Google Takeout, the backup service provided to you through your Google Workspace Account.

You can also use Google Takeout to transfer files directly to a personal Google account.

If you are an active UConn student or employee, you can instead use Takeout to transfer work- or school-related files to your UConn OneDrive account.

If you are an active employee, you must store your university data in OneDrive and/or SharePoint

Takeout cannot export data within a Shared Drive. Follow the “less then 25 files” steps below for exporting Shared Drive data.

Takeout will not export files/folders that have been shared with you. If appropriate, you will need to request access to these files once you are using a personal Google account. Review to learn more.

What Can I Export with Google Takeout?

Google Takeout can be used to export all active google applications. For example, Drive, Photos, Calendar, Maps, etc.

Learn more about Takeout before using it:

If you have less than ~25 files or a specific data set

If you have a small number of files, you may decide not to use the Takeout tool. When using the Takeout Tool, your only option is to export your entire Drive. If this is not what you need, you may follow the instructions below.

  1. Navigate to drive.google.com

  2. Sign in with your UConn email address and Google password.

  3. Click on My Drive in the left-hand menu.

    1. If you’re now looking at your Drive in the Grid View, you may want to change it to List View

      Click on My Drive

  4. Click on the first file. Then hold down the Shift key on your keyboard and click on the last file. This will highlight all files in-between.
    Alternatively, click on Shared drives in the lefthand menu, find your desired Drive, then select the desired files.

  5. Click on the Download button at the top of the page.

  6. Google will then “zip” the files together. This process is grouping the files together into one or more .zip files to simplify the download process.
    Depending on the size and number of files, this may take some time.

  7. Once the files have been prepared in a .zip file, they will be ready for download.

  8. Download this .zip to your computer.

  9. Right-click on the file to Extract All.
    Leave the default “Files will be extracted to this folder:” file path.

  10. Once extraction finishes, navigate to s.uconn.edu/onedrive. In this Help Guide, we will be placing the files into our OneDrive.

  11. At the OneDrive website, click on Add new and then Folder upload.

  12. In the popup window, find the recently extracted folder and click once on it. Do not open the folder. Click on Upload.

  13. You are now uploading the files you have exported from Google.

If you have more than ~25 files: Use Google Takeout

  1. Navigate to takeout.google.com and sign in with your UConn credentials.

  2. Click on Deselect all to remove other Google products from your export.
    Begin by deselecting all items because this page has every bit of information Google knows about you (ex. advertising information). This is data is not related to the files you have stored in Google.

  3. Items in the list you may want to export are Calendar, Drive, Google Photos, Keep, Mail, and Tasks.
    Check the boxes of the data you wish to export.
    Check this guide for important information about exporting Google Photos:

  4. Scroll down to the bottom and click on Next step.

  5. Leave “Transfer to:” as “Send download link via email”.

    1. The “Add to OneDrive” option may sound appealing, but you will need to download the export to your computer to extract it anyway, so ITS recommends skipping using OneDrive as a “middleman” at this step.

  6. You have a choice of file size for the resulting .zip files.

    1. Choosing a low file size:

      1. You will end up with more zip files that you need to download and extract.

      2. If you don’t have a strong internet connect, this option may be safer for you, as each download is smaller.

      3. If you have a slower computer, it will be easier for you to extract smaller .zip files.

    2. Choosing a larger file size:

      1. You will have less .zip files to download and extract, but they will take substantially longer to download. The downloads will be interrupted if you navigate away from the page, of if the page is left in the background for 15 minutes.

      2. Your computer will take a longer time to extract the data from the .zips and multitasking during this time may be hindered.

      3. If you have a strong internet connection and a modern computer, a larger file size can be a safe choice. ITS has tested the 50GB choice and confirms it works in this given scenario.

    3. If a single file is larger than your chosen .zip size, you will receive a download link specific to that single file.

  7. Click Create export.

  8. You do not have to stay on this page. An email will notify you when the zip file is available. This may take a while depending on the amount of data you have stored.

Accessing Files from the Backup

  1. When you receive an email from Google notifying you of the completed Takeout process, visit the webpage linked in the email.

  2. Download the zip files.
    This download may take a long time. Please keep the Google Takeout window open to ensure the downloads complete; if you close the window or work in another window, the downloads will fail after 15 minutes due to a need to authenticate.

  3. Windows and macOS have the ability to open .zip files without 3rd-party programs. You can view the folders inside the zip file and move them anywhere.