Google Drive

Files.com connects to Google Drive as a Remote Server. Once configured, you can use a Remote Server Mount to expose a Google Drive folder as a folder on Files.com in real time, or use Sync to push or pull files between Google Drive and Files.com on a schedule.

Support for Shared Drives

Files.com's integration with Google Drive supports both your personal drive as well as Shared Drives.

Support for Shared Folders

Files.com's integration with Google Drive supports folders that have been shared with you by other Google Drive users.

Add Google Drive as a Remote Server

Create a new Remote Server with Google Drive as the server type. Provide an Internal name for this connection; when you manage multiple remote servers, the name needs to be clear enough to identify this particular connection at a glance.

Google Drive uses OAuth to authenticate your Files.com site to its service, so you select which Google account to use for the connection. Logging in connects your Files.com site to your Google account.

Once the Remote Server is added, you can use it with either a Remote Server Mount or a Sync.

Add Remote Server Mount

A Remote Server Mount is created by mounting the Google Drive Remote Server onto an empty folder in Files.com. The mount folder is typically not the Root of your site, although mounting at the Root is supported.

Add Sync

After creating the Google Drive Remote Server, you can use it to perform Syncs between Google Drive and Files.com.

Google Workspace Files with Sync

When syncing between two Google Drives, Files.com automatically converts native Google Workspace files to standard document formats.

When both the source and destination are Google Drive type Remote Servers, Syncs automatically handle native Google Workspace files (Sheets, Docs, Slides). Files.com names these files as .google-apps.xlsx, .google-apps.docx, and .google-apps.pptx for use as standard work documents.

When the destination is another Google account or workspace, Sync strips the .google-apps part of the file name. Google Drive treats .google-apps.* as a reserved name and rejects uploads containing it with a Reserved path for google apps error, so without this step those files would not sync.

A source Google Sheets file named myfile becomes myfile.google-apps.xlsx on Files.com and then arrives as myfile.xlsx at the destination. The source file is unchanged, and the Sync does not convert the destination file back into a native Google Workspace file.

Automations

A folder mounted to Google Drive via a Remote Server Mount can be used as a source or destination in Automations.

Google Workspace Files

Google Workspace files (Docs, Sheets, and Slides) are not stored as traditional files in Google Drive. They are references to content within Google's proprietary system and cannot be downloaded in their native format.

When you access these file types through Files.com, they are automatically converted to the closest Microsoft Office equivalent:

• Google Docs → Word (.docx)
• Google Sheets → Excel (.xlsx)
• Google Slides → PowerPoint (.pptx)

Files.com adds a .google-apps suffix to the filename of each converted file. Converted files are read-only and intended for viewing. Conversion takes a small amount of time, so there is a brief processing delay before the converted file is available.

Duplicate Filenames on Google Drive

Google Drive does not require filenames to be unique within a folder. Multiple files in the same folder can share an identical name, with each file distinguished only by its internal Google ID.

When Files.com looks up a file by name and finds multiple matches, it returns the file with the most recent modification date. This selection happens automatically and without warning, because no error has occurred.

Because filenames are not unique identifiers in Google Drive, every file lookup requires a full directory listing rather than a direct query by name. Operations against a Google Drive Remote Server are slower than against other remote server types as a result.

File Names Containing Slashes

Google Drive allows file names to contain forward slashes (/) and backslashes (\). Files.com treats both characters as path separators, which makes any file with those characters in its name inaccessible when connecting to Google Drive through Files.com.

Files with / or \ in their names do not appear in folder listings for Remote Server Mounts and are not included in Syncs.

To make these files accessible, rename them in Google Drive to remove the / or \ characters before using them with Files.com.

What To Do When Your Remote Server Connection Is Disabled

Because Google Drive uses the OAuth authorization protocol, authentication errors can occur after your remote server has been configured and running for some time. When one of these errors happens, Files.com disables your Google Drive Remote Server connection and records the error in your External Events log.

After you resolve the cause of the authentication error, re-enable the remote server by saving its configuration. Saving the record re-enables the connection even when you make no changes to it, and any associated mounts and syncs resume.