What doesn't move from OneDrive, and what to do about it

Whether you're moving to Google Drive or to Dropbox, your files move. A few things in OneDrive aren't plain files, or only mean something inside OneDrive, and no tool carries them across as they are. Knowing the list before you start turns "where did that go?" into a short to-do list.

Files, folders and Office documents

These are what a move is for, and they arrive as they are: a PDF stays a PDF, a .docx stays a .docx. this2that also keeps each file's modified date, so sorting by date still makes sense afterwards. Google's admin import keeps files in their existing format too. Google Docs, Sheets and Slides open Office files directly, and Dropbox previews them in the browser.

OneNote notebooks

A OneNote notebook in OneDrive looks like a file but is a package: a set of sections OneNote stitches together. Apps can't download it as a single file, and if you sync OneDrive to your computer, a notebook shows up as a shortcut that opens it on the web. So no tool moves notebooks as notebooks. Google's admin import turns them into folders; this2that shows them greyed out in the picker, and lists any inside a folder you move in its report, so you know which ones you have. Your options:

• Keep using OneNote, which is free with a Microsoft account, and move everything else.
• On a personal account, OneNote for the web can download a copy of a notebook to your computer, which you can then keep in Google Drive or Dropbox as a backup. Microsoft notes this doesn't work for notebooks in a work or school OneDrive.
• For pages you want to read anywhere, the OneNote desktop app can export notes as a PDF.

The Personal Vault

The Personal Vault is a folder in personal OneDrive accounts that needs a second step to open and locks itself again after a short time. Google's admin import skips it, and you shouldn't count on any other tool getting into it either. Unlock it, move the files you want to keep into a normal folder, and move them from there. Once they've arrived, put anything sensitive somewhere private in the new service.

Files other people shared with you

Files in your Shared list, and shortcuts to them in your own folders, live in someone else's OneDrive. A move copies your files, not theirs: this2that shows those shortcuts as unmovable in the picker, and lists any inside a folder you move in its report. If you need a copy, download it or ask the owner to share it with your new account.

Sharing and links

Who a folder is shared with, and every sharing link, belong to OneDrive. A OneDrive link keeps working only while the file is still in OneDrive. Plan to share folders again from Google Drive or Dropbox and update links in documents and bookmarks. Google's admin import is the exception for companies: it maps sharing permissions across.

Version history

Every method moves the current version of each file; Google's import says outright that only the latest version is imported. If you need an older version of something, restore it in OneDrive before you move. History starts again in the new service.

Deleted files

Files in OneDrive's recycle bin aren't part of any move. Microsoft lets you restore them for 30 days on personal accounts and 93 days on work or school accounts, unless an admin changed that. Restore what you still need first, then move.

How this2that tells you

Before anything is copied, the move is counted, and anything that can't come across, such as a OneNote notebook or a shortcut to someone else's file, is listed with the reason. The report (CSV) of each move has a row for every file: moved, skipped or failed. Failed files can be retried, and for 30 days a catch-up pass copies files that are new or changed in OneDrive since. The step-by-step versions are in our guides to Google Drive and Dropbox, and the switch-over checklist puts each of these steps in order.