Download or Transfer Your Google Drive Files

How can students take their Google Drive files with them after graduating or switching school districts? How can teachers back up their Google files when retiring or switching jobs? The answer to both questions is Google Takeout. Google Takeout is a great product that allows you to either transfer Google files from one Google account to another Google account, or, create an archive of your Google files and save them on your computer.

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TRANSFER YOUR CONTENT

Step 1: First, let’s take a look at how to transfer your emails and Google Drive files to another Google Account. Go to Takeout.Google.com and then click Control your content. Then choose the START TRANSFER option

Step 2: Enter a destination account (the Google account that you would like your emails or Google Drive files transferred to). Then, click Send Code

Step 3: Look in the gmail inbox of the account you would like to transfer to find a Verify your account email that contains the confirmation code. Click Get confirmation code in that email

Step 4: Return to the Transfer your content page and enter the confirmation code. Then click Verify

Step 5: Select which Google products you would like to transfer (Google Drive and/or Gmail). Then, click Start Transfer

Step 6: Be patient, your transfer could take up to one week depending on the amount of data stored in your Google Drive and Gmail

Step 7: When complete, you will notice a new folder in your Google Drive that is named with the Google Account that you transferred from. This folder contains copies of all Google Drive files that were transferred over

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CREATE ARCHIVE

Step 1: Now let’s take a look at Create Archive. Go to Takeout.Google.com. Then, click Control your content. On the next screen select the Create Archive option

Step 1: First thing you need to do is to select the data that you would like to include in your archive. Toggle products you would like to archive on and off with the green check boxes. I clicked the dropdown arrow in Google Drive to select specific files and folders that I would like to archive

Step 2: Scroll down and click Next

Step 3: Select your Delivery method from the dropdown arrow (I chose “Send download link via email) and then click Create archive. Be patient, it could take a few days before this process is done depending on how much data you selected to archive

Step 4: Open the “Your Google data archive is ready” email. Click the Download archive button

Step 5: Download your archive when prompted

Step 6: On the bottom of your browser, click the dropdown arrow by your download. Select Show in folder. From here you an extract or unzip your files. All Google files were downloaded in Microsoft Office format