Best Solutions to Backup Gmail Emails with Attachments

Why is it Important to Backup Your Gmail Account

To keep your data safe and secure, all you need is a Google email backup. However, backing up your Gmail account is crucial for several reasons. Here are the key reasons why it’s essential to backup your Gmail account:

• Gmail mail backup assures that your emails and important data are safe from accidental deletion.
• In case of Gmail service outages, a backup allows you to access your emails and continue working without interruption.
• Backup of your Gmail data makes it easier to transfer your emails and data to another email service if needed.
• Google email backups provide a safety net against accidental deletion of important emails and attachments.

The above-mentioned points describe the general benefits of backing up your important data. After backing up your Gmail data, you can access and manage it in various scenarios. Now, we will learn how to do this.

How to Backup Gmail Emails Manually & Professionally

Now, you know that backing up your Gmail account is an important way to protect against data loss. When it comes to solutions, it can be done through manual methods or automated solutions. You can use Google Takeout and MS Outlook to backup emails from Gmail. If you find it challenging to accomplish, proceed with the direct solution for ease. Let’s initiate both procedures one by one separately.

Method 01: Using Google Takeout For Gmail Mail Backup

Google Takeout is a service provided by Google that allows you to export data from various Google services, including Gmail. It’s a comprehensive solution to back up your Gmail emails and attachments. Below, we mention the steps as well:

1. First of all, you should Sign in to your Gmail Account.
2. Thereafter, tap on the option Manage your Google Account.
3. In the upcoming window, pick the option of Data & Privacy.
4. Now, move to the bottom and click Download your data.
5. It directly navigates to the page for Google Takeout.
6. Here, mark Deselect All to deselect the already marked data.
7. Next, scroll lower and mark the given option of Gmail >> All Mail data included.
8. In Mail content options, check Include all messages in Mail.
9. At the end of the page, click on the Next Step button.
10. Later, set the file type, frequency & destination of the selected file >> Create Export.
11. Choose your delivery method (Send download link via email, add to Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or Box).
12. Select the frequency (export once or every two months for one year).
13. Choose the file type and size (e.g., .zip, .tgz, and size limit).
14. Lastly, click Create Export. This process might take a while, depending on the size of your Gmail data.

By following these steps, you can effectively back up your Gmail emails using Google Takeout. Once the export is complete, you’ll receive an email with a link to download your data. You click on the download link in the email to save the archive to your computer.

Method 02: Store Gmail Messages on a Hard Drive as PDF Documents

The second option is to save Individual Emails as PDFs. However, Gmail itself provides an option. With this approach, you can save the emails in a PDF format on your local hard drive to keep your data safe from accidental deletions. Later, we mention the steps to save Gmail email as a pdf.

1. First, go to Gmail and login with your credentials.
2. Now, open the Email and click on the email you want to save as a PDF.
3. Next, click on the three dots (More options) in the upper-right corner of the email.
4. After that, select “Print” from the dropdown menu. It will open the print dialog box.
5. In the print dialog box, choose “Save as PDF” as the destination printer.
6. Finally, click “Save” and choose the location on your hard drive where you want to save the PDF file.

After executing these steps, you can save your individual Gmail emails as PDF files on your hard drive. Next, we will define another method to back up Gmail emails.

Method 03: Using MS Outlook for Google Email Backup

Another practical method to back up Gmail emails is by using desktop email clients like Microsoft Outlook. It can download your emails and attachments directly to your local storage. However, this method involves several stages to perform the backup process of Gmail. Further, we will accomplish different stages one by one separately.

Stage 01: Enable IMAP in Your Gmail Account

1. First of all, sign in to your Gmail account.
2. Then, click on the gear icon in the upper right corner and select See all settings.
3. Go to the Forwarding and POP/IMAP tab.
4. In the IMAP Access section, select Enable IMAP.
5. After that, click Save Changes.

Stage 02: Configure the Gmail Account in MS Outlook

1. Subsequently, open Outlook on your screen.
2. Next, click on File in the top left corner >> Add Account.
3. Now, enter the appropriate email address to backup.
4. If needed, you can do it manually to configure the server settings.
5. To configure it manually, mark the Advance option >> Let me set up my account manually >> Connect.
6. After that, enter the appropriate credentials in the upcoming window.
7. Once all the setup is complete, click the Finish button.

Stage 03: Backup Gmail emails using Import/Export In Outlook

After the configuration of your Gmail account in Outlook, now import all necessary emails in Outlook as a backup of your Gmail emails.

1. Again, open Outlook and pick the added Gmail account.
2. After that, navigate to the File menu >> Open &Export >> Import/ Export.
3. Next, pick the option of Export to a file >> Outlook Data File (.pst)>> Next.
4. Here, select the folder that you want to backup >> Next.
5. Now, provide a location and tap on the Browse button to save the resultant file.
6. In the last step, click on the Finish button to backup emails from Gmail.

After following these stages, you can successfully back up your emails from Gmail. The above-mentioned methods are free, but they also have some demerits, which we will discuss further.

Demerit of the Manual Method to Backup Emails from Gmail

Here, we mention some of the primary demerits of using the manual method:

• It is time-consuming for large mailboxes.
• Requires manual intervention for regular backups.
• Initial setup can be complex for some users.
• Moreover, it requires disk space on your local machine.
• There is a risk of missing attachments or important metadata.
• You should have a great understanding of technical approaches.

For these reasons, an automated solution is often recommended for a reliable and secure email backup process.

Method 04: Best Solution to Backup Gmail Emails

The Gmail Backup Tool is the simple and best solution to backup emails from Gmail. With the help of this utility, you can back up your entire mailbox with just a few clicks. You can transfer and save Google Contacts, Calendar, Drive, and Photos to a local drive or an external hard drive. Also, you have the option of freeing up server space. Moreover, it can divide the resulting Outlook PST file when the file size becomes too large. The Date Filter feature allows you to selectively back up or migrate Gmail emails within a specified date range. Additionally, you can migrate emails from one Gmail account to another, Office 365, IMAP, Hotmail, iCloud, Zoho Mail, and other email services. Along with that, you get a simple and smooth user interface to efficiently simplify the backup. Now, we will navigate to the steps of this utility:

Simple Steps to Backup Emails from Gmail Directly

1. Primarily, download, install, and run the Gmail backup tool on your PC.
2. In the next panel, enter the user ID and password to log in to Gmail.
3. Now, choose the mailbox that you want to keep as a backup.
4. Then, choose PST as the saving format of the resulting file.
5. Also, provide the specified location of the file in your system.
6. Next, you can frequently go for the advanced features of this software.
7. In the last step, click on the Download button to start the process of backup.

Conclusion

In the complete blog, we discussed the different approaches to backup Gmail emails. Because when you back up your Gmail data, it is an essential step to keep your data safe from potential losses. We provided all the solutions for all types of users. Whether you prefer using Google’s built-in tools, desktop clients, or third-party services to accomplish the task. If it comes to the evaluation of each method’s pros and cons then you get the manual methods align on your technical skills. Apart from that, there is a high chance of data loss. Therefore, users generally navigate to the recommended solution. This software is easily applicable for tech and nontech users. Moreover, you don’t need to perform several stages, just a few clicks are enough to backup your email’s data. Additionally, the Free Demo version enables users to back up a maximum of 50 Gmail emails at no cost.