Why Make an Inventory First
In Google you seldom see your data as separate things. Mail, contacts, calendars and files sit behind one account. Microsoft 365 holds them in separate places: Outlook for mail, contacts and calendar, and OneDrive, Teams and SharePoint for files. A move goes more smoothly when you list each type of data and choose how it will travel before you move anything.
In this lesson you will:
- List your Google data by type.
- Give each item one of four routes.
- Run a small test export and compare its formats with Microsoft's import routes.
If your company is moving the whole tenant, IT runs that move (see Level 1). This inventory covers only your own data, or a small team's, that you are responsible for.
The Four Routes
Every item in your inventory gets exactly one of these:
- Takeout: export it with Google Takeout, then open or upload the files in Microsoft 365.
- Microsoft import route or connected account: use a route Microsoft documents. Examples are Outlook's Import/Export wizard for a contacts CSV or a calendar .ics file, or adding your Gmail account to Outlook.
- Manual rebuild: recreate it by hand in the Microsoft app.
- Leave in Google: keep it where it is, either as an archive or because people still on Google need it.
Task 1: List Your Google Data by Type
DO: Open a new spreadsheet or table and make one row per data type. Use these columns: Item, Size or count, Route, Gap?, Date checked.
Check each of these:
- Mail: Gmail messages and labels
- Contacts: personal contacts and contact groups
- Calendars: your own calendars and any shared calendars you manage
- Files: My Drive, plus any shared drives you own
- Comments: open and resolved comments in Docs, Sheets and Slides
- Version history: named versions you rely on
- Links: Drive links you have pasted into documents, emails, bookmarks or websites
- Forms: each form, and its responses
- Sites: each Google Site you own
Example: a freelance designer might record "Mail: 12 GB", "Contacts: 640", "Calendars: 2", "Forms: 1 client brief form, 85 responses" and "Sites: 1 portfolio".
Task 2: Assign a Route and Mark the Gaps
DO: Fill in the Route column using the starter map below. Then write down every gap, meaning any place where the match breaks.
| Google item | Likely route | Format or method | Where the match breaks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gmail | Takeout, or connected account | Takeout gives MBOX. Microsoft's route is to add Gmail to Outlook, or import a copy of your mail. | Labels do not map one-to-one (covered in Level 3) |
| Contacts | Microsoft import route | Gmail Contacts > Export > "CSV for Outlook", then Outlook's Import/Export wizard | Google does not export contact photos. Microsoft notes a limit of 2,000 contacts per import. |
| Calendar | Microsoft import route | Export .ics from Google Calendar, unzip it, then import it in Outlook | An imported calendar is a static snapshot. It does not update itself. |
| Docs, Sheets, Slides | Takeout | Converted to .docx, .xlsx and .pptx by default | Some features and functions do not convert cleanly |
| Comments | Takeout | Google says open and resolved comments are included | Check how they appear in Word, Excel and PowerPoint |
| Version history | Leave in Google, partly | Google lists named and published revisions as exportable | An uploaded file starts a new version history in OneDrive |
| Sharing and links | Manual rebuild | Share again from OneDrive or SharePoint | Old Drive links do not point to the new files |
| Forms | Manual rebuild in Microsoft Forms. Keep the responses as a file. | Google's export includes questions and responses | No Microsoft route turns an exported Google Form into a working form |
| Sites | Manual rebuild in SharePoint, or leave in Google | Google's export includes site content | No direct import into SharePoint |
Gap note: the links row is the one people most often miss. Every Drive link you have shared with clients or pasted into a document will stop pointing to the right file once you work in OneDrive. Search your own documents and emails for drive.google.com and docs.google.com, and list the places you find them.
Task 3: Run a Test Google Takeout Export
Do not export everything at once. Start with a small test.
DO:
- Go to Google Takeout (takeout.google.com) and select Deselect all.
- Tick only a few products, for example Contacts, Calendar and one Drive folder.
- Choose the delivery method: an emailed download link, or Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive or Box.
- Choose the file type (.zip is simplest on Windows) and the archive size (for example 2 GB or 50 GB). Archives bigger than the size you choose are split into several files.
- Create the export. Google emails you when it is ready.
- Download it promptly. Google says archives expire after about seven days, and each one can be downloaded only 5 times.
- Open the archive and note the formats you received: .vcf for contacts, .ics for calendars, and .docx, .xlsx or .pptx for Drive files.
Takeout copies your data as it was when the archive was built. Changes you make after you request it, such as new sharing settings, may not be included.
Task 4: Check Formats Against Current Help Pages and Date Them
Both vendors change their tools and limits. Treat the table above as a starting point, not the final word.
DO:
- For each row, open the current Google help page (Takeout, or "Export your data from Google Docs, Sheets, Slides...") and the matching Microsoft Support page (for example "Import Gmail contacts to Outlook" or "Import Google Calendar to Outlook").
- Check that the format you received is one the Microsoft route accepts. For example, Microsoft's contacts guide asks for "CSV for Outlook", not the .vcf file Takeout gives you.
- Write today's date in the Date checked column.
- Turn any mismatch into a note in the Gap? column.
Key Takeaways
- List every data type: mail, contacts, calendars, files, comments, version history, links, Forms and Sites.
- Give each item one route: Takeout, a Microsoft import route or connected account, manual rebuild, or leave in Google.
- Watch the common gaps: shared links, sharing settings, version history, live Forms and Sites.
- Run a small Takeout test first. Archives expire after about seven days, and each can be downloaded 5 times.
- Check formats against both vendors' current help pages and record the date you checked.