Which Google Drive Files Can Be Migrated to OneDrive?
Question details
Learn about the supported file types for migrating from Google Drive to OneDrive and how proprietary Google Workspace formats are converted during the transfer process.
- Product
- Google Workspace and Microsoft OneDrive
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Migrating organizational or personal data from Google Workspace storage to Microsoft OneDrive.
- Observed behavior
- Users need to know the compatibility of various file formats and understand how files like .gdoc, .gsheet, and unsupported files are handled during the migration.
Before initiating the migration process, review your Google Drive contents to identify unsupported files like Google Forms or Google Sites, as these will require manual exporting or alternative backup solutions.
Review Supported Files and Google Format Conversions
Understand which files will transfer successfully and how Microsoft Migration Manager converts proprietary Google formats into standard Office formats.
In general, most standard file formats stored in Google Drive can be migrated without issues. However, specific proprietary Google formats have restricted export capabilities and require special handling or cannot be migrated at all.
Standard file formats such as PDFs, images (JPEG, PNG), plain text files, and standard videos stored in your Google Drive will migrate directly to OneDrive without any modification.
When using Microsoft's Migration Manager, proprietary Google formats are automatically converted to equivalent Microsoft Office formats. Specifically, Google Docs (.gdoc) convert to Word documents (.docx), Google Sheets (.gsheet) convert to Excel workbooks (.xlsx), and Google Slides (.gslide) convert to PowerPoint presentations (.pptx).
Google does not allow the direct export of certain proprietary file types from Google Drive. As a result, Google Drawings, Google Forms, Google Sites, and Google Maps cannot be migrated to OneDrive automatically and will be skipped.
Open Your Migrated Files Easily with WPS Office
After migrating your Google Workspace files to OneDrive, your documents will be converted into .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx formats. WPS Office provides a lightweight, free, and highly compatible productivity suite to open, edit, and manage all your newly migrated Microsoft Office files seamlessly.
- 1. Download and Install: Download WPS Office for free from the official website and complete the quick installation process.
- 2. Connect to Cloud Storage: Open WPS Office, navigate to the cloud storage section in the sidebar, and securely log into your OneDrive account.
- 3. Access Migrated Files: Directly open, edit, and save the .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx files that were successfully migrated from Google Drive.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens to Google Forms during migration?
Google Forms are not supported for export by Google, meaning they cannot be migrated to OneDrive automatically. You will need to recreate them using Microsoft Forms or export the form responses manually to a spreadsheet before migrating.
Can I manually export Google Drawings before migration?
Yes, while Google Drawings cannot be migrated automatically, you can manually open the drawing in Google Drive and download it as an image file (such as a PNG, JPEG, or SVG) or as a PDF, which can then be uploaded to OneDrive.
Are version histories preserved when converting Google Docs to Word files?
Typically, version history from Google Docs is not carried over during the migration. The Microsoft Migration Manager takes the latest, most current version of the .gdoc file and converts it into a fresh .docx file in your OneDrive.
Do my shared folder permissions transfer to OneDrive?
When using enterprise tools like Microsoft's Migration Manager, file permissions and shared folder structures are generally preserved and mapped to the corresponding user accounts in OneDrive, provided those exact users exist and are licensed in the destination Microsoft 365 environment.
