How to Back Up Google Docs and Keep Every File Safe

How to back up Google Docs safely is something many people only think about when they lose an important file. I do not want that to happen to you.

If you write reports, blogs, or client contracts in Google Docs, everything gets stored in the cloud. Which feels and looks very safe, one wrong click or an accidental deletion makes those documents vanish within seconds.

If you also manage calendars along with documents, you may sometimes need to move data across platforms. Many users often transfer their schedules from Google Calendar to Outlook.

In this guide, I will walk you through the process on how to backup Google Docs to your computer or hard drive.

I will keep each step very simple, clear, and effective so that even a non-technical user can follow this guide with confidence.

Why Secure Google Docs Even When They Are In The Cloud

People or Businesses ask how to back up Google Docs only after their documents get deleted or lost in the Cloud. Let us first see why offline copies of your Google Docs matter and why you should never ignore it.

Common ways Google Docs becomes hard to reach.

• You delete a document, thinking it will be of no use, and suddenly find out it was important.
• The organization closes an old Google account when someone leaves a job or university.
• Your storage reaches the limit, so you start deleting files blindly.

In all the above cases, having an offline copy of your documents is beneficial so you can keep working on other areas with peace of mind.

How Offline Copies Of Google Docs Help in Real Life.

Keeping Offline Copies of Google Docs helps you in certain areas, which are as follows.

• Access to your important and confidential files anytime.
• Proof for audit and compliance needs.
• Google Docs backup helps you keep Cloud space clean, so you can delete cloud files once backed up.
• Freedom to store copies on an external hard drive or another cloud provider.

Now we understand why it is important. The next question is how to back up Google Docs in a simple and effective way.

Google Docs Backup to Hard Drive or Computer – Best Methods Discussed

In this section, I will guide you on different methods to back up Google Docs. Manually and automatically. In another section, all your queries on Google Docs backup will be cleared.

Backup Google Docs Manually Using Google Options

Manual ways work extremely well when you have a small set of data or very few Google Docs.

Download Individual Google Docs From The Browser

• For a small set of data, one can download every single file directly from Google Docs.
• Open the document in Google Docs on your PC.
• Click the file on the menu bar on the top right.
• Click Download.
• Select your preferred format, such as Microsoft Word (.docx), PDF or others
• The file is then downloaded to your PC in the selected format. This works if you only need one or two important documents.

 

Save Google Docs Using Google Takeout
Google Takeout is a free export service from Google that allows you to download a copy of data from different Google products.

Steps to download Google Docs to a computer using Google Takeout are as follows.

• Sign in to Google Takeout with an account that contains your document.
• Click Deselect all, and select the drive.
• In Drive, click on the All Drive data Included button on the right.
• A pop-up will appear. On the pop-up, select the documents to be downloaded.
• Scroll down and click Next step.
• Select the destination where you want the file to be downloaded, and select the frequency.
• Click Create export and wait for Google to prepare your archive.
• When the export is ready, Google will send you a link or the data to your selected destination.

This is a good route to take once in a while.

Why the Manual Route of Securing Your Google Docs Is Not Enough for Most Users

Manual Google Docs backup to the hard drive or computer often becomes difficult when you have bulk data. For instance, thousands of Google Docs are saved across hundreds of folders. In this case, Google Takeout takes hours and even fails with bulk data.
If you have multiple Gmail accounts, this becomes chaotic feel like a car breakdown on a journey.
The breakdown should not happen when the data is important. This is the reason why many users switch to a professional Gmail backup tool, which can carry out many operations in a highly effective way.

Managing emails also becomes challenging when you do not want to download everything together, and many users prefer to export selected emails from their Gmail account instead of taking a full backup.

The Smart Way to Back Up Google Docs – Using a Professional Tool

Google Docs backup process becomes simple when you have an effective backup machine. Instead of downloading files one by one, the tool performs, Google Docs backup in one go and keeps your folder structure intact.

An automated solution carries several other add-on benefits which are a follows.

• Download Google Docs to a Computer, but also backs up emails, contacts, calendars, and every document stored in Google Drive.
• It allows you to download data directly to your computer or external hard drive in multiple formats according to your needs.
• Through a tool, directly download data to your PC or external hard drive in multiple formats according to your needs.
  Once the backup is completed, delete the cloud data with peace. For effective Google Drive storage management.

How to Safeguard Your Google Docs with a Professional Tool – Steps

1.  Download the tool and select Gmail as the source of transfer.
2. Select the destination, which is a File system.
3. Select the document as the required backup and select the date range, and do any filtration if you require any specific data from your Gmail.
4.  Sign in with your Gmail account, and authenticate yourself.
5. The tool’s Ui will guide you, while the tool will do its work automatically.

Conclusion

Keeping your Google Docs safe is not complicated. With a professional backup tool, you can save every file without stress. Pick the approach that keeps your data organized, safe, and properly backed up through a good automated backup tool.

FAQ

Q.1 – How do I download Google Docs to a computer for offline use?
Ans – You can download Google Docs to your computer manually or use a tool to save everything at once.

Q.2 – Is there any simple way to create a Google Docs backup to a hard drive?
Ans – Yes, a professional backup tool can create a Google Docs backup to the hard drive in one click.

Q.3 – Can I save all Google Docs from multiple Gmail accounts together?
Ans – Yes, a professional tool lets you download Google Docs from several accounts in one process.