Before changing a note-taking app, keep enough evidence to prove what existed, how it was organized, who could access it, and whether the destination reproduced it. An export archive is necessary but not sufficient. You also need counts, representative samples, format notes, attachment checks, sharing evidence, and a record of features that do not transfer.
Capture scope and ownership
List workspaces, accounts, teamspaces, notebooks, folders, pages, databases, tags, templates, comments, attachments, embedded files, backlinks, favorites, archived items, deleted-item retention, offline pages, integrations, automations, public links, guests, and owners. Separate personal, household, business, and confidential material before combining or transferring anything.
Record the plan, account owner, export permission, recovery email, storage region if relevant, and the date and time of the snapshot. Do not put passwords, secret links, tokens, or recovery codes in the migration ledger.
Google's data portability guidance describes Takeout as a way to create a copy of account data for personal use or manual transfer and warns users to trust the receiving service. A copy is not proof that every relationship, permission, or app-specific behavior will survive.
Preserve multiple useful formats
Export through the documented interface without modifying the original archive. Notion's export documentation describes PDF, HTML, and Markdown plus CSV options. It also identifies limitations involving plan or permission, database views, forms, subpages, and long Windows file paths. Choose formats based on recovery needs: PDF for visual reference, HTML for linked browsing, and Markdown or CSV for reuse.
Keep the export settings and generated filenames. Hash the archive if the content is important, and retain a read-only copy. Open it on a separate device to catch corrupt ZIP files, missing assets, broken relative links, or path-length problems before the source account is closed.
Record structure and behavior that exports may lose
Capture page and database counts, root hierarchy, tag vocabulary, property definitions, filtered views, sort rules, formulas, relations, rollups, templates, reminders, comments, version history, public links, permissions, and automation triggers. Take screenshots or short recordings of complex working views, but do not rely on screenshots as the only copy of text.
Notion's import documentation lists supported files such as text, Markdown, Word, CSV, HTML, PDF, and ZIP plus selected application importers. It tells users to review what imports, what does not, and limitations. Treat each data type as a separate acceptance item instead of assuming one successful page proves the entire workspace.
Build a representative acceptance sample
Select an ordinary note, a deeply nested note, a database with relations, a large attachment, an image with alt text, a comment thread, a shared page, a template, a reminder, and an archived item. Record source URL or identifier, title, created and modified times, owner, parent, tags, attachments, links, and expected access.
Import into a clean test destination. Compare text, headings, checklists, tables, code blocks, internal links, files, filenames, dates, metadata, and hierarchy. Search for distinctive phrases. Verify that private notes remain private and public links are not recreated unintentionally.
Keep cutover and rollback evidence
Record the last source edit, final export, import log, errors, manual corrections, unresolved gaps, destination owner, and approval. Freeze avoidable changes during cutover or reconcile a documented delta. Keep the source read-only until the destination passes and any retention requirement is satisfied.
The evidence set is complete when another authorized person can reconstruct what moved, verify representative content, identify omissions, recover both accounts, and find the original archive. Do not delete the old workspace simply because the destination looks familiar. Deletion, account transfer, billing changes, and public-link changes require their own authorization and verification.
Sources
- Share a copy of your data with a third party — Google Account Help
- Export your Notion content — Notion Help
- Import data into Notion — Notion Help