The 3 Ways to Migrate OneNote to Google Drive

If you are reading this, you have likely hit the "OneNote Wall." Microsoft OneNote is fantastic for taking notes, but when it comes time to leave—whether you are graduating, changing jobs, or just consolidating your digital life into Google Workspace—you discover the hard truth: OneNote does not want you to leave.

Unlike Word or Excel files, OneNote data is stored in a complex, proprietary format that doesn't play nicely with other tools. So, how do you get your data out? Here are the three most common methods, ranked from "painful" to "automated."

Method 1: The "Ctrl+C" Slog (Manual Copy & Paste)

The first instinct is always to just copy and paste. If you only have five pages of notes, this is fine. Go for it. But if you have entire notebooks with hundreds of sections, here is why this method breaks down.

The Problem: Formatting Explosions

Tables break: Columns often squash together or disappear entirely.
Images vanish: Often, images copied from the OneNote web app paste as broken links rather than actual pictures.
Zero Hierarchy: You have to manually create folders in Google Drive for every single section and notebook.

Verdict: Fine for a single grocery list. Impossible for a 500-page notebook.

Method 2: The PDF Export

Microsoft offers a built-in feature to export notebooks or sections as PDFs. This is the "scorched earth" approach.

The Problem: It’s a Dead End

While a PDF preserves how your notes look, it kills how they function.

Not Editable: You cannot edit the text in Google Drive without relying on messy OCR features that often introduce typos.
No Structure: You usually end up with one massive, 200-page PDF file instead of organized, individual documents.
No Search: Searching through a giant PDF is far slower and more cumbersome than searching through organized Google Drive folders.

Verdict: Good for a permanent archive you never plan to touch again. Bad if you actually want to use your notes.

Method 3: The Automated Bridge (NotePorter)

We built NotePorter because we were tired of the first two options. NotePorter is a dedicated cloud tool designed specifically to bridge the gap between the Microsoft Graph API and the Google Drive API.

How It Works

Instead of treating your notes like pictures (PDF) or raw text (Copy/Paste), NotePorter reads the actual structure of your OneNote account.

1 It Preserves Hierarchy: It looks at your Notebooks and Sections and creates matching Folders in Google Drive automatically.
2 It Converts, It Doesn’t Just Copy: It takes the proprietary HTML from OneNote and translates it into Google Docs-compatible format. This means bold, italics, lists, and tables arrive intact.
3 It Handles Images: NotePorter extracts embedded images and re-embeds them directly into the Google Doc, so you don't lose your visual data.

Verdict: The only scalable way to migrate.

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