Use advanced file import from a OneDrive account

Supported editions for this feature: Business Starter, Business Standard, and Business Plus; Enterprise Standard and Enterprise Plus; Education Fundamentals, Education Standard, and Education Plus; Essentials Starter, Essentials, Enterprise Essentials, and Enterprise Essentials Plus; Nonprofits; G Suite Basic and G Suite Business. Compare your edition

You can use the advanced data import method to streamline large-scale data imports from Microsoft OneDrive to Google Workspace.

About the advanced data import method

  • This method uses your own dedicated API quota.
  • You set up a Microsoft Azure application through the Azure portal and import your data to Workspace in batches.
  • The import doesn't delete or modify data in OneDrive but copies it to the user's account in Workspace.
  • Except where indicated, you complete these steps in the Google Admin console for the Workspace account you're importing to.
  • Not all OneDrive features are supported. For details, go to What's imported from OneDrive?

If you want to instead import data with Google's shared API quota, go to Use the default data import method for OneDrive.

Workspace requirements

  • Make sure a super administrator sets up and runs the data import. Resellers can't import data for their customer accounts.
  • Turn on Google Drive for all the users that you're importing to Workspace. For details, go to Turn Google Drive and Docs on or off for users.
  • You need a Workspace user account and license for each user that you're importing. For details, go to Options for adding users.
  • You can import up to 4 concurrent batches at a time, with each batch supporting a maximum of 5,000 users.

OneDrive requirements

Before you begin

  • Create an Azure application—To ensure a secure data import from OneDrive to your Workspace account, you must first create an Azure application in the Azure portal. For details, go to Set up an Azure application for OneDrive & SharePoint Online.
  • Avoid duplicate files—If you exit a data import for a batch of OneDrive data and start a new import for the same batch of data, the second import might create duplicate files in Workspace. To prevent duplicate files, don't create 2 imports for the same batch of data.

  • Avoid missing data—You can encounter issues if you complete and exit a data import from OneDrive to a Workspace location and then complete the following 3 actions:

    • Create a new data import for the same data set within 14 days of the first data import.
    • Import the data set to a second Workspace location.
    • Stop the data import before any data can be copied to Workspace.

    When you restart the data import, it runs as a delta import and moves the OneDrive data from the first Workspace location to the second Workspace location. The imported data is no longer available in the first Workspace location.

Step 1: Connect to Microsoft OneDrive

  1. In the Google Admin console, go to Menu and then Data and then Data import & export and then Data import.

    You must be signed in as a super administrator for this task.

  2. On the Advanced page, for Data import batches, click New batch.
  3. For Data type, select OneDrive and then click Continue.
  4. For Step 1: Connect your OneDrive account, enter the following information from your Azure app:
    • Client ID
    • Client Secret
    • Tenant ID
    • Sharepoint host name
  5. Click Connect.

  6. To complete the security setup and verify the connection:

    1. Click Download certificate.

      This downloads a certificate file for Azure.

    2. Go to your registered application in the Azure portal.

    3. In Azure, cilck Certificates & secrets and then Certificates and then Upload certificate.

    4. Upload the certificate that you downloaded and, optionally, enter a description.

  7. Click Verify connection.

    Workspace validates the Azure credentials and certificate and updates the connection status to show a successful connection.

Step 2: Select users to import

Upload a CSV file containing each user's OneDrive URL and the Google Workspace email address they'll be moving to. You can create a new CSV file or download a sample file and add the information to ensure your CSV has the correct format. The completed CSV file must be smaller than 10 MB.

Note: You can import up to 4 concurrent batches at a time, with each batch including a recommended 1,000 personal sites (this number is recommended as best practice, however up to 5,000 personal sites are allowed).

To create the CSV file:

  1. Using your Workspace administrator account, open a spreadsheet program. Or, in the Admin console, click Download a sample CSV file.

  2. In the first column, add the header Source OneDrive URL and enter the URL for each OneDrive site or site collection. Use a separate row for each URL.

    The user addresses added to this column need to be in this format:

    • "-my.sharepoint.com" needs to be added to the URL.

    • Ampersands (@) and periods (.) need to be replaced with an underscore (_).

      For example, kim@your.company.com, is converted to https://company-my.sharepoint.com/personal/kim_your_company_com Note: If your users are receiving a File not found error message, you will need to verify that the provided site addresses or file URLs are correct.

  3. In the second column, add the header Target GUser and enter each user's Workspace email address. In a OneDrive migration the source files will be migrated into the Target GUser's MyDrive.

    Example:

    Source OneDrive URL Target GUser
    https://company-my.sharepoint.com/personal/kim_your_company_com kim@solarmora.com
    https://company-my.sharepoint.com/personal/alex_your_company_com alex@solarmora.com

  4. Save the spreadsheet as a CSV file.

  5. Upload the file to the Google Admin console:

    1. In your Admin console, click Upload CSV.
    2. Select your CSV mapping file and then click Open.
    3. Click Tasks to confirm that the mapping file is successfully uploaded.

  6. If the CSV file doesn't successfully upload:

    1. Select the file and click Delete and then Yes to confirm.
    2. Create a new file and try to upload it again.

    If you encounter this issue more than once, contact Google Workspace support.

Step 3: Create & upload an identity map

If necessary, create a second CSV file (separate from the file of OneDrive users) to map each OneDrive user or group to Workspace users and groups. You can create a new CSV file or download a sample file and add rows. Their permissions are imported by default. The completed CSV file must be smaller than 10 MB.

You don't need an identity map if:

  • The user's email address in OneDrive, for example raha@example.com, is the same in Workspace.
  • All users have the same username in OneDrive and Workspace but are mapped to another domain name. The domain name, such as @example.com to @altostrat.com, is the only change.

To create the identity map:

  1. Using your Workspace administrator account, open a spreadsheet program. Or, in the Admin console, click Download a sample CSV file.

  2. In the first column, add the header Source Entity and enter an email address for each OneDrive user or group whose permission needs to be imported. Use a separate row for each entity (user or group).

    Users can also map group names to target Google Groups or individual emails.

  3. In the second column, add the header Destination Email and enter a Workspace email address for each user or group. Use a separate row for each user or group.

    Example:

    Source Entity Destination Email
    emma@example.com emma@solarmora.com
    Group Team A group-team-a@solarmora.com

Step 4: Select data import settings

  1. Click Edit settings and use any of the following settings to choose which data to copy from OneDrive.

  2. (Optional) To import all OneDrive users and 365 groups, including those not found in the identity map, check the Map any additional accounts discovered during data import box and choose an option:

    • If the email address for the Microsoft account is the same as the address in Google Workspace, select Keep their original email address.
    • If the domain name for all imported users and 365 groups is changing, select Use a different email address domain for these accounts and then select a domain.

    Note: If the Map any additional accounts discovered during data import box isn't checked, make sure the identity map includes any deleted users or users who are blocked from mailbox access.

  3. (Optional) To copy files by date, check the Only include files created or modified after the following date box and choose an option:

    • To copy files created after a certain date, select Created by and then select a date.
    • To copy files modified after a certain date, select Modified by and then enter a date.

    Note: Date settings are based on your local time zone and apply only to individual files, not folders. All folders import, regardless of the date that you select.

  4. If you don't want to import all file types, check the Exclude specific file formats box and enter the file extensions to exclude. Separate different file extensions with a comma (for example, tmp, log, bak, and so on).

  5. If you don't want to import larger files, check the Exclude files larger than the following size box, enter a maximum size, and then select MB or GB.

  6. If the original creator or last modifier of any file isn't found, check the Use target user if original creator or modifier isn't found box to use the Target GUser instead. This setting is turned on by default.

  7. If you want to import files and folders with restrictive permissions, such as when a user has permission for a parent file or folder but not the child file or folder, check the Import restricted files and folders box, to allow the items to be imported with limited access.

    All files with restrictive permissions are imported to the Restrictive Permissions Files folder in the Target GUser's drive and shortcuts to these files are created in their actual locations. This is done to ensure that the files have the correct permissions.

  8. Click Save changes.

Step 5: Start a data import

Before you begin:

  • The initial import can take up to 15 minutes, but it might take longer. During this phase, the progress summary doesn't show any changes. You don't have to stop or exit the import.
  • Starting a data import grants domain-wide delegation and creates a client ID for Data import in Workspace. For details, go to Control API access with domain-wide delegation.

To import the current batch of data:

  1. Click Run full import.
  2. Review updates for the following information in real time while the data import is in process:
    • Discovered items—Total number of tasks that were imported, skipped, or failed
    • Warning—Number of tasks that were completed but failed to complete as expected
    • Failed—Number of tasks that failed to import due to an error
    • Skipped—Number of tasks that were skipped because of certain data import settings, or because they were completed in a previous import
    • Successful—Number of tasks that were successfully completed
    • Users processed—Number of users that were completely imported
    • Time elapsed—Time elapsed since the data import started
    • Sites processed—Number of sites that were successfully imported
    • Files discovered—Number of files detected during the data import
    • Files imported—Number of files that were successfully imported
    • Files skipped—Number of previously imported files that were skipped
    • Files failed—Number of files that failed to import to Drive
    • Discovery issues—Number of folders from the source account that couldn't be crawled
  3. (Optional) To export a report for a data import in progress:
    1. Click View data import logs or Export site report.
    2. If the Tasks list doesn't automatically open with the exported report, click Tasks and then the report link.
    3. To open the report in Google Sheets, click Open in Google Sheets.
  4. (Optional) To stop an import in progress, click Stop import. This action might take a few minutes, and the import process doesn't roll back. If you're running other batches at the same time, those batches continue to import. Any OneDrive data that was imported before you stop the import isn't deleted from Workspace.

When the import is complete, you get an email with import statistics, and any reports are attached. For details, go to Understand a OneDrive data import report.

Step 6: Exit a completed data import

  • If you exit an import for one batch of data and start a new import for the same batch, the second import might create duplicates in Workspace. To prevent duplicates, don't create 2 imports for the same batch of data.
  • Once you exit the data import for a batch, you can't access its configuration data or reports. Don't exit an import until it's fully complete and no delta imports are needed.
  • You can run delta imports and review information for a completed import in the Admin console until you exit the import.

To exit a completed data import:

  1. If you want to import any new or updated files before you exit, follow the steps in Run a delta import for OneDrive.
  2. (Optional) To save reports from a data import, click View data import logs and then Export site report.
  3. Click Exit import and then Exit and delete import.

Data import is intended as a productivity feature and is not designed to assist with legal compliance matters. You and your organization are responsible for assessing and meeting your organization's legal compliance needs. If you require files and folders for legal compliance purposes, consider backing up the files in OneDrive prior to importing data to Google Workspace.

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