Export Google Workspace Contacts and Get G Suite Directory List

Summary: To address these requirements this tutorial contains a list of different ways to download G Suite contact directory or contact list. From the default options on the app, to takeout and data export mechanism. To top it all we also include the instructions for a professional utility that can get the job done in no time.

Are you someone in dire need to export Google Workspace contacts details but still can’t find a suitable method? Then use our carefully crafted guide to satisfy your request.

Having a secure backup of contacts is quite useful and often mandatory in professional environments. Moreover, when an employee leaves an admin may want to preserve their contact list or the person may also want the contact details themselves.

Use Default Export in Google Workspace Contacts App

The steps for the browser version of the app are as follows:

• Step 1. Either log on to the https://contacts.google.com/ page directly or access it from your Gmail account.

• Step 2. Then, click on the export icon at the top right side.

(This will export all the contacts. For a specific set of contacts then select > Click on 3 Vertical dots, and Export).

• Step 3. A new Export contacts box appears. Choose any format out of:
  • Google CSV file.
  • Microsoft Outlook CSV only.
  • vCard for Android devices or iOS devices (This covers 99% of all mobile devices).
• Click on the Export button.
  
• When the export is ready a Save as window opens select rename and choose a location then press Save.

Steps for the Mobile version of the app you can use to export Google Workspace account contacts:

• Step 1. Open Google contacts app on mobile (it is only available on Android).
• Step 2. Then, tap on Organize.
• Step 3. Tap on Export to a file.
• Step 4. Choose Account(s).
• Step 5. Then, tap Export.
• Step 6. Pick a location > Tap SAVE.

This is how to export contacts from Google contacts mobile app.

Copy Paste & Export Google Directory Contact Information in a Text File

Note: you won’t be able to select the contact details directly from the list format. If you try to select any one the cursor will instead grab it.

• Step 1. So, scroll to the top and start the selection from “Contacts”.
• Step 2. Hold your cursor at top of the list of contacts and drag it all the way to the bottom of the list.
• Step 3. Then, press the Ctrl + C keys simultaneously.
• Step 4. Open a text editor like Notepad and press Ctrl + V to deposit the contact list.

This option to export Google Workspace contacts would only contain the following:

• Name
• Email
• Phone number
• Job title and company
• Labels

To include all the details, open a particular contact file and select all details from there. Then repeat the copy-paste as usual. However, the second method is slower. If your main goal is to simply send the contact to a colleague, friend, or family member use the share contact feature it is faster (for single contacts) and less complex.

Screenshot Contact Details Present in Google Workspace

A faster method to preserve only surface-level details of Google Contacts is to take a screenshot.

• Step 1. Open Google Contacts on a browser or mobile and use the device-specific screenshot method.
• Step 2. Then, rename and save the screenshot in the appropriate location.

Thanks to advancements in OCR (like Google Lens) you can use these screenshots later to extract the text-based details making contact management very easy. However, keep in mind that images take up lot more storage than plain old contact files.

Export Google Workspace Contacts List in Hardcopy or Store in PDF Format

• Step 1. When you open the Google Contacts app on the browser you can see a small printer icon at the top right corner click on it.
• Step 2. A new tab opens with the page preview select the printer from the dropdown menu.
  Note: Choose Save as PDF or Microsoft Print to PDF for downloading the contacts in Portable Document format.
• Step 3. Adjust all the remaining details like page layout color and hit Print.
• Step 4. In the Save print output as box rename, select a location and hit Save.

Export Google Contact Directory List as an HTML Page

• Step 1. Log in to the Google Contacts.
• Step 2. Right-click and select Save as this will generate an equivalent HTML page of the Contacts screen.
• Step 3. Rename and fix a location for the file and hit Save.

This is similar to taking a screenshot perfect for keeping a secondary copy of some Google Workspace contacts. Moreover, you can open this html page even when you are offline/lack an internet connection but at the same time this is not a widely shareable format.

Use Google Takeout to Export Google Contact List

STEP 1:

• Go to https://takeout.google.com/ and log in.
• Deselect all.
• Scroll till you see Contacts.
• Click the Checkbox next to it.
• By default the file format for contacts is vCard, You can change it by
  • Click vCard format.
  • Under format selection dropdown pick CSV.
  • Tap OK.
• Scroll down and click on Next Step.

STEP 2:

You will be prompted to export Google Workspace contacts data in a particular location, change it if need be.

You can continue with the default “Send download link via email” or select any other option from the following:

• Add to Drive.
• Add to Dropbox.
• Add to OneDrive.
• Add to Box.

Choose the Frequency from either Export once or Export every 2 months for 1 year.

Select the File type.

As the export volume is quite large you won’t receive a vCard or CSV file instead it will be compressed in either .zip or .tgz extension.

Pick a File Size. 

Options include 1GB, 2GB, 4 GB, 10 GB, and 50 GB.

The zip will automatically cut off at that threshold and start with a new one to cover the remaining data. Repeat till export completes.

At last click on Create Export.

If you are in a business environment it is highly likely that the admin has shut off the user-level Takeout operation. So if this is the case then ask your admin unlock by:

• Step 1. Sign in to Google Admin Console.
• Step 2. Menu > Data > Data import & export > Google Takeout.
• Step 3. Then, click on “User Access to Takeout for Google services”.
• Step 4. Edit “Services without an individual admin control”.
• Step 5. Set “Allow for everyone under Gmail service” and Save.

Optional: You can set up Takeout at OU or Group level.

Using Google’s Data Export Solution to Get Organization Wide Contact Data

• Step 1. Sign in to the Google Admin console.
• Step 2. Navigate to: Menu > Data > Data import & export > Data Export.
• Step 3. Click “Set up new export.”
• Step 4. Give the export a name. (e.g. “Contacts Data Export”)
• Step 5. Then, select the Export all user data scope.
• Step 6. Leave Continuous export unchecked.
• Step 7. Then, choose a Destination (Google-provided Cloud bucket).
• Step 8. Choose your location preference
• Step 9. Then, click “Start export.”
• Step 10. Super Admins will receive an email indicating the start of export operation. You have to wait for a while as the export process can take anywhere from 48 hours to 14 days.
• Step 11. Once the export is complete, Super Admins will receive another email.
• Step 12. Click “View archive” in the email or navigate to the Data Export tool in the Admin console.
• Step 13. Check the export status (Failed, Complete with errors, or Complete).
• Step 14. Then, you can access the archive in Google Cloud Storage. You must have Google Cloud turned on for your account.
• Step 15. After downloading the data you will need to look for the folders that have the contacts data.
• Step 16. See the user’s folder, under Google service.
• Step 17. Locate the Contacts data files. These are often in vCard (.vcf) format, or possibly in JSON or CSV format.
• Step 18. Extract only the relevant contact data from the archive, discarding all other data. This step will involve scripting or manual processing.

However, this method has many drawbacks, such as cutting off data 24 hours before the export. No direct pre-export filtering etc. So use the alternative solution instead.

Conclusion

So now readers can export Google Workspace contacts with ease. Here we described a wide variety of methods that are all applicable in different scenarios. Users and admins can select the ones that they deem fit.

From the list, one method that outshines the others is the professional tool. It is both simple to use and powerful enough to get the contact data of all employees simultaneously.