Preserve Attachments While Switching from Outlook to Gmail

Preserving attachments cannot be an afterthought when planning to migrate emails from Outlook to Gmail, as they tend to hold important information.

When planning to perform an Outlook to Google Workspace migration, your IT team must assess and plan the scope of moving attachments from Outlook to Gmail. Additionally, adhering to Outlook to Gmail email migration best practices helps you ensure a successful transition.

We have shared insights on preserving email attachments during migration while switching from Outlook to Gmail.

Why do Email Attachments Matter During Outlook to Gmail Migration?

Email attachments are as critical as the emails themselves. Email attachments contain confidential enterprise context, client communications, legal documentation, etc.

Losing email attachments during Outlook to Gmail migration can make your business face:

  • Compliance risks
  • Project delays
  • Lost customer records
  • Broken workflows and file references

That’s why IT admins and users must follow a complete attachment backup during any Outlook to Gmail transition.

Why Attachments Get Lost or Damaged During Outlook to Gmail Migration?

Attachments can be missed or damaged for several reasons:

  • Email Formatting Errors: Outlook uses PST/OST file formats, whereas Gmail storage is done in the cloud.
  • Manual Transfer Errors: During manual exports or drag-and-drop methods, there is a high chance of missing email attachments during transfer.
  • Attachment Size Restrictions: Gmail has a 25 MB attachment limit per message—larger files must be managed separately.
  • Folder Structure Conflicts: Attachments can become disorganized or detached if the source cloud file structure isn’t preserved.
  • Unsupported File Types: Gmail blocks certain file types for security reasons, such as .exe or script files (.js). If your Outlook emails contain attachments in these formats, you will likely face email loss when transferred to Gmail.
  • Encoding Issues: Improper encoding settings in headers can make attachments inaccessible after the Outlook to Gmail migration. If the message encoding is set to multipart/alternative instead of multipart/mixed, attachments may not appear in Gmail.

Ways to Preserve Attachments While Migrating from Outlook to Gmail

Enterprises can face challenges when transferring emails from Outlook to Gmail but with the right approach you can experience smooth migration. Listed below are ways to migrate Outlook emails with attachments.

1. Google Workspace Migration for Microsoft Outlook (GWMMO)

For users migrating to Google Workspace, GWMMO is one of the reliable approaches for email attachment migration. Benefits of GWMMO include:

  • Automatically includes attachments during migration
  • Supports both PST and OST files
  • Allows selective migration
  • Maintains folder hierarchy, metadata, and read/unread status.

Assure that the PST file is backed up and error-free prior to migration. Businesses can use Microsoft’s Inbox Repair Tool (ScanPST) if needed.
However, the GWMMO approach is time-consuming, and if not properly done, there are chances of facing data loss.

2. Manual Migration

If you’re migrating a single-user mailbox with a small volume of data:

  • Export the mailbox as a PST file from Outlook.
  • Import the file using GWMMO or set up an IMAP connection between Outlook and Gmail to manually copy emails.
  • Verify attachments after the migration.

However, this method is time-consuming and not scalable for multiple users.

3. Use a Third-Party Email Migration Tool

For bulk migrations, an enterprise-grade third-party tool delivers cutting-edge capabilities when you import Outlook to Gmail.

CloudFuze specializes in secure Outlook to Gmail migrations, along with preserving attachments. With our best Gmail migration tool, you can transfer emails from Outlook to Gmail along with preserved attachments.

Why Choose CloudFuze for Preserving Attachments During Outlook to Gmail Migration?

  • Security: Enterprises can move attachments from Outlook to Gmail using our enterprise-grade migration tool that ensures security and efficiency. We adhere to security standards and meet SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001 compliance.
  • Automation: Our team ensures that Outlook to Gmail migrations are error-free and efficient. As a Google Cloud partner, we lead the industry in streamlining the migration of emails, email attachments, contacts, and calendars while ensuring encryption through our Outlook to Gmail transfer tool.
  • Bulk Transfer: With our solution, you can migrate TBs of email data to PBs at once, reducing downtime. You can preserve attachments, email structure (starred, read/unread status) & metadata like folder hierarchy, timestamps, attachments, and email properties (like labels) so your email data stays intact. Also, we migrate draft email, junk email, deleted email, sent items and mail attachments.

Attachments in Outlook:

Attachments in Outlook

Attachments migrated to Gmail:

Attachments migrated to Gmail

Ensure a Secure Outlook to Gmail Migration with CloudFuze

Using CloudFuze, you can preserve email attachments during migration when switching from Outlook to Gmail with no downtime and assured success. Book a free and no-obligation demo of our tool today !

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