Matt Silverman

Google recently changed the layout of the Google Docs interface, and made it a little difficult to figure out how to export and backup your documents.  It is always recommended to have a backup of anything you store in the cloud, so here is a quick tutorial on how to download and backup your Google docs.

Step 1 - Right click on any file in your Google Docs list, and select "Download"

Step 2 - Click on the "All Items" tab, and press the "Download" button

Step 3 - Select "Email when ready"

Step 4 - Wait until you receive the e-mail, then click download link.

After the file is downloaded, you are still not done.  It is necessary to extract the zip file, and open a few of the documents to make sure they are readable.  In my experience, the export has always worked very well, but it is imperative to check for yourself each time you save the backup.