Migrate UW Google Content

Last updated: October 3, 2024
Audience: All UW
While planning your Google data migration, please see the following guidance on records management from UW Records Management Services.

Important Information

Google content uses proprietary formats that are not readily accessible by other systems without conversion. The guides for the scenarios below have been verified to ensure that the process handles the migration of UW Google content including the necessary conversion process. If you choose to use another method, such as Google Takeout or a manual download of content, it is strongly recommended you verify whether the desired location supports the format selected before starting the process.  

Google Drive for Desktop Warning 

If you are using Google Drive for Desktop, or it’s earlier predecessors such as Backup & Sync, please be aware that copying/pasting or dragging/dropping content from one drive location to another using the desktop client does not always work as it seems it should. In some cases, copying from one drive location to another creates a shortcut back to the original content rather than moving it to the new drive location. In other cases, the files appear in the new location but are not in an accessible state.

Migrate content from a UW Google account to another destination

To ensure content is migrated from one UW Google account to another, please review the information provided in the relevant section(s) below.

To UW Office 365

Using Outlook

Supports the following content: 

  • Gmail (email) messages  
  • Google calendar events  
  • Google contacts  

Migrate from a UW Google account to a UW Office 365 account

Using ShareGate

Supports the following content: 

  • Google Drive files 

Migrate from UW Google Drive to UW Office 365 using ShareGate

Using Mover.io

Supports the following content: 

  • Google Drive files 

Migrate from UW Google Drive to UW Office 365 using Mover.io

To consumer Google account (aka Google Takeout Transfer)

Migrate from a UW Google account to a consumer @gmail.com account

Supports the following content: 

  • Gmail (email) messages  
  • Google calendar events  
  • Google contacts  
  • Google Drive files 

To a personal, non-Google account

Migrate from a UW Google account to a personal, non-Google account

Supports the following content: 

  • Gmail (email) messages

Download all UW Google content (aka Google Takeout)

Use Google Takeout

Supports the following content:

  • All available data in UW Google account

Migrate content from a UW Google Shared Drive to another destination

Click here to learn how to download files from a Shared Drive

Content types that will not migrate to another platform and must be recreated

The list below are content types in Google that will not migrate natively to other cloud platforms and must be recreated manually.  

  • Google Analytics 
  • Google Forms 
  • Google Sites 
  • Google Jamboard 

Transfer ownership instead of migrating content 

For content that cannot migrate natively, or there is a need to keep the UW Google content in the Google environment, transfer of ownership is a suitable option. Please refer to Google’s support pages for the particular product content you want to move. 

Additional Guides

UW-IT offers a curated list of resources found on the following Google products that may be helpful to your individual situation. Please treat this information as best effort and not end-all be-all as the vendor makes changes at a pace that UW-IT is unable to keep up with. 

Google Calendar

Google Photos 

Google Analytics (Universal Analytics) 

Google Analytics (both versions) 

Google Forms 

Support 

If you need further assistance, please contact UW-IT at help@uw.edu or 206-221-5000.