Google Takeout - Copy, Move, or Back-up Google Drive data


Introduction

Google Takeout provides a handy way to download your Google data for backup and/or copy to another device. It is a simple way to move your Google "stuff" from Google to another location of your choice. Wesleyan Faculty and Staff are limited to a maximum of 300GB of storage in their Wesleyan Google Drive.

To check your current Google Drive storage utilization:

1) You will need to access Google Drive. It can be accessed from WesPortal, or by entering drive.google.com in your web browser.

2) Sign-in to your Wesleyan Google Account.

3) If prompted, enter your Wesleyan Single Sign On (SSO) credentials and authenticate with Duo when prompted.

4) Once you are in, you can view the left-hand side of your Google Drive to locate your currently utilized storage.

Google's Google Takeout service allows for the backup and/or download of your Google data to include:

    • Calendar data
    • Chrome (exports your bookmarks, and other saved data). More information can be found here.
    • Contacts
    • Drive (most items will be stored here, however, photos are stored separately in the Photos service)
    • Gmail (exports to .mbox files, which can be viewed in Apple Mail or Thunderbird. Also exports attatchments).
    • Groups
    • Profile (exports profile picture)
    • Photos
    • Reminders
    • Tasks

A full list can be seen on https://takeout.google.com/

Once your data is exported and stored elsewhere, you may permanently remove the data from your Google environment by deleting it in Google (takeout makes a copy, deletion is not automatic.)

As most data used on Google is on Drive, this article's focus is on exporting from Google Drive using Takeout. The process is similar when exporting data from other Google services.

Instructions

Before you Begin:

  • Ensure your data is organized, especially on Google Drive. Although you can specify which folder(s) you want to export, the only ones you can select are the ones that are visible on your main Google Drive page (though if you select one of these folders, all items within these folders will be exported as well). Pictured below, the Documents, Folder 1, Folder 2, and Folder 3 can be selected for archive.

  • It is important that you review our Data Security policy prior to choosing which data to export. If you have highly sensitive data (Confidential/Restricted) that is used for University business, then the data stored should not be transferred to non-University issued storage (external drive, personal cloud storage, etc).
  • Make sure that your destination has enough space to store contents you wish to archive. If your destination (either your computer or cloud storage location) does not have enough space, you may need to consider choosing to save your data to an external drive or another cloud storage location.

 

1) In a Web Browser, go to the following link: https://takeout.google.com/

2) Enter your Wesleyan email address when prompted:

Google Sign In using Wesleyan Email address

3) You will be directed to Wesleyan’s SSO page. Enter your Wesleyan credentials and authenticate with Duo when prompted.

 

4) A list will appear, which will allow you to select which service(s) you want to export your data from. By default, all of the services are selected. However, to simplify the export process, it is best to only select the service(s) you need. Click on the Deselect All button towards the top right.

Graphical user interface, applicationDescription automatically generated

Select the service(s) you want to archive data from by clicking on the check mark to the right of each item. In each service, you can also specify which data is to be exported. For example, you can specify which folders in Google Drive you want included in the export.

Click on Next Step when your desired service(s) are selected.

5) You will receive a prompt to choose how you want your data to be delivered. The following settings are set by default.  If you have a large amount of data to transfer, you may choose to configure larger capacity .ZIP files (maximum ZIP file size is 50GB.) This will  reduce the number of ZIP files created and received during the export.

  • Transfer To: Receive download link via email or directly transfer to an external personal cloud source (Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Box)
  • Frequency: Export Once
  • File Type: .zip
  • File Size: 2gb (if your data requires a ZIP file larger than 2gb, your files will be split over multiple .ZIP files).

 

*NOTE: Although there is an option to export to OneDrive, this will not work with Wesleyan accounts as it's intended for personal OneDrive accounts. If you are intending to upload data used for University business to your University OneDrive, you will need to save the data on your computer first, and then upload to OneDrive manually.

6) Once you verify your export options are correct, click on the Create Export Button to initiate the export process.

7) Google will then process your selected data to prepare for export. The amount of time this takes depends on the amount of data (documents, photos, emails, etc.) from each of the services you have selected to export. For those with larger and/or more files, this process could take several days. *Once the export process begins, you can sign-out of Google and your computer if you wish. The export process occurs on Google's servers and does not affect the performance of your computer.

 

8) An email will be sent to your Wesleyan email address when your data is ready to download. Click on the Download button to access the exports page. The download link is only available for one week.

 

If your export is split into multiple .zip files, you will be presented with a link to download each .ZIP file.

 

9) Once you access the webpage, you can download your .ZIP file. It is important to note that the .ZIP file will automatically start to download as soon as you enter the page.

  • If your browser is set up to download files automatically (default on Google Chrome, Safari, or Edge), then your .ZIP file will automatically download to your device's configured default download location.
  • If your browser is set up where it asks you where you want to save your download (by default on Firefox), then you can specify where you want to save your download.

If the download doesn't automatically start, you can click on the download button to start the download.

Graphical user interfaceDescription automatically generated with medium confidence

*If you have multiple .ZIP files generated, one will start downloading as soon as you open the page. However, you may need to trigger the 2nd download.

10) Your ZIP file(s) will download. The speed of the download depends on the size of the file(s), and your connection speed. The ZIP file will be located wherever you specified where your downloads are saved (typically the Downloads folder on your computer)

11) Once you open the .ZIP file, you will find all the data for all of your Google applications. Each application's data is stored in a separate folder. For example, to access your Google Drive contents, the path within the ZIP file is Takeout > Drive. You will find that your Google Drive's File structure will have been maintained (in the below example, there were folders titled Documents, Folder 1, Folder 2, and Folder 3).

12) You can then save your data elsewhere, either on your computer or on a different storage source (External Drive, other cloud storage service, etc). Wesleyan offers a variety of Data Storage options, including Microsoft OneDrive (has a default 1TB limit, and functions similarly to Google Drive).

13) Once you ensure your data has properly been saved elsewhere, you may remove/delete your data from Google to free up space. The process for every Google service is different, but should be similar.

On Google Drive, you will want to highlight the folders you want to delete, and click remove.

Your data will then be moved to your Trash Can. Although data is automatically deleted after 30 days, you will then need to empty your trash if you want to immediately free up space.

 

 

More information about Google Takeout can be found from these knowledge articles from Google:

How to download your Google data - Google Account Help

Copy content from your school account to another account - Google Account Help

 

We hope you have found this information helpful!

Please visit the Wesleyan ITS Knowledgebase to locate additional self-help instruction.

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