Google Workspace: Restore Shared Drive Data
Who can use this feature
Anyone with these permissions: Restore shared drives
When someone deletes a file, saves over a good version, or loses a whole folder or shared drive, restoring from Eon brings the data back as it was when Eon backed it up. You can recover a single file, a folder, or everything a shared drive held, from any snapshot of it.
This article explains how to restore files, folders, and a whole shared drive from an Eon snapshot, using the Eon console. To restore a user’s My Drive, see Google Workspace: Restore My Drive Data.
Shared drive data always restores to the same shared drive.
A Google Form is never overwritten, even with Overwrite original file: Eon restores it as a new form in a new folder, with its responses in a separate Google Sheet. For the format Eon restores each type as, see Restore formats.
Restore files or folders
You can restore a file or folder from the SaaS inventory page in the Eon console. Eon restores it into a new folder in the root of the shared drive, or, for a file, over the original.
Before you start
Before you restore files or folders, make sure:
-
A restore workspace is connected for the source workspace the shared drive was backed up from. For instructions, see Google Workspace: Connect Restore Workspaces.
-
The account Eon restores through, the delegated admin or an active member who isn’t suspended, has the Contributor role or higher in the shared drive, either directly or through a group. Without it, the restore job fails.
Select the snapshot and the items to restore
-
In your SaaS inventory, open the source workspace the shared drive was backed up from.
-
Navigate to Shared Drives in the side menu, and then open the shared drive.
-
Eon preselects the newest snapshot that captured the shared drive. To restore from a different one, click the snapshot date. In the popover, select Specific snapshot, choose the day on the calendar, select a snapshot from that day’s list, and then click Select.
-
Browse or search for the file or folder you want to restore. To restore an item that was in the shared drive’s Trash when the snapshot was taken, switch from Files to Trash first.
-
Hover over the item’s row, and then click (Restore).
The Restore to Google Workspace panel opens on Restore Account.
Choose the restore workspace
Choose the restore workspace you want to restore to.
Restore Account lists the connected restore workspaces as cards.
Choose the restore mode
In Restore Configuration, set Restore Mode:
-
Restore to a new folder: Eon creates a folder in the root of the shared drive and restores into it. Folder name is prefilled with
Eon Restoreand the current UTC date and time, such asEon Restore 2026-11-08T16:43:13Z. Keep it, or enter a name of 1 to 255 characters that doesn’t contain/or\. -
Overwrite original file: Eon replaces the content and permissions of the original file. This is available for files only. For a folder, the option is turned off and shows Not available for folders.
Overwrite original file replaces the file’s current content and permissions with the ones in the snapshot. If the original file no longer exists, the job fails, so restore into a new folder instead.
A single file lands directly in the new folder.
A folder keeps its subfolders and goes under its own name, so restoring Plans/Q3 into a new folder named Recovery puts it at Recovery/Q3.
Start the job and monitor it
Click Restore, then track the job from View job, or from the Restore jobs tab on the Jobs page.
When the job completes, the restored data is in the new folder in the root of the shared drive, or the original file holds the content from the snapshot. When you restore into a new folder, Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides are recreated as native Google files.
When the snapshot captured sharing set directly on an item, such as who can edit it, Eon applies the same sharing to the restored item. Sharing inherited from a folder isn’t captured, and neither is sharing with a user or group that was deleted. Eon doesn’t transfer ownership. When you overwrite a file and the snapshot didn’t capture sharing, Eon restores the content only and leaves the file’s current sharing unchanged.
Restore a drive
Restoring a whole shared drive puts everything it held into a new folder in the root of the shared drive. You can’t restore it over the original files.
You can start this restore from the SaaS inventory page in the Eon console.
Before you start
Before you restore a drive, make sure:
-
A restore workspace is connected for the source workspace the shared drive was backed up from. For instructions, see Google Workspace: Connect Restore Workspaces.
-
The shared drive has an active member who isn’t suspended and has the Contributor role or higher, either directly or through a group. Eon restores through that member, and the job fails when the shared drive has none.
Choose the snapshot
In Choose Snapshot, choose the month, select the tab of the vault that holds the snapshot, and then select the snapshot in the Snapshot time (UTC) table. Eon preselects the newest snapshot, so you can click Next to keep it.
Choose the restore workspace
Choose the restore workspace you want to restore to.
Restore Account lists the connected restore workspaces as cards.
Name the destination folder
Eon always restores a whole shared drive into a new folder.
In Restore Configuration, keep or change the Folder name.
It’s prefilled with Eon Restore and the current UTC date and time, such as Eon Restore 2026-11-08T16:43:13Z.
A name has 1 to 255 characters and can’t contain / or \.
Eon creates the folder in the root of the shared drive, and restores everything the shared drive held into it with the same structure.
Start the job and monitor it
Click Restore, then track the job from View job, or from the Restore jobs tab on the Jobs page.
When the job completes, the shared drive’s files and folders are in the new folder in the root of the shared drive. Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides are recreated as native Google files. Sharing follows the same rules as when you restore files or folders.