Share Files with Google Drive

Keep large files in your own Google Drive and share them with clients from your workspace. Link a Drive folder to an order and your client opens it from their portal, so you never send the link again. Connect a Google account as well, and only links from your shared folder are accepted.

Overview

This guide shows how to switch Google Drive on, link a folder to an order, what your client sees, and what changes when you connect a Google account through your own Google app.

Who Can Access

Only people who can manage integrations can set up Google Drive. Your team can then add Drive links on orders, messages, files and work.

Step-by-Step Guide

1. Share a folder in Google Drive

   In Google Drive, open the folder you keep client files in. Click Share, set General access to Anyone with the link (Viewer) and copy the link.

2. Add the folder to your workspace

   Go to Integrations and click Connect on the Google Drive card. Paste the link in Shared folder link or ID and click Save. The dialog then shows Configured.

   

   The card is switched on.

   

3. Link a folder to an order

   Open the order and click Drive folder next to its tabs.

   

   Paste the folder’s Drive link, give it a name if you like, and click Add link. For your client to open it, the folder must be shared with Anyone with the link; a private one sends them to Google’s sign-in page.

   

4. Open the folder

   The folder now shows by its name next to the order’s tabs. Use the ⋮ menu beside it to Change folder or Unlink folder. Unlinking only stops showing it here; nothing is deleted in Drive.

   

   Click the name to see what is inside without leaving the page. Click a folder to open it, a file to open it in Drive, or Open in Drive for the whole folder. Refresh reads it again after you add files.

   

5. Your client sees the same folder

   In their portal, the client finds the folder next to the order’s tabs and opens the same view. When you add a new version to the folder, they see it the next time they open the order.

   

   Clicking it opens the same list your team sees. The client can open a sub-folder, open any file, or click Open in Drive to see the whole folder in Google Drive. A ticket they open about this order shows the folder too.

   

6. Add Drive links in other places

   Where a file is too big to upload, paste a Drive link instead. On the Files page, click Add Drive Link. In an order message, use Drive link next to the attachments. A remote member’s work item has a Drive link button too. A ticket about an order shows that order’s folder, for you and your client.

   

Connect a Google Account (Optional)

Everything above works without this. Without a connection, any Drive link is accepted, including one from someone’s personal account, and shows Not connected — links are taken on trust.

1. Create a Google app

   In the Google Cloud Console, create an OAuth client of the type Web application and turn on the Google Drive API for its project. Add the redirect URI shown in the Google Drive dialog as an authorised redirect URI. Google then gives you a Client ID and a Client Secret.

2. Add the Client ID and Secret

   Open the Google Drive card again, paste the Google Client ID and Google Client Secret, and click Save.

3. Connect your account

   Click Connect Google Drive, sign in to the Google account that owns the shared folder, and allow access. The dialog then shows Connected — links are checked.

What Connecting Adds

• Links are checked. Every Drive link your team pastes is checked with Google to confirm it sits inside your shared folder.
• Outside links are refused. A link from outside that folder, such as a folder in a team member’s personal Drive, can’t be added. This keeps every client file in your agency’s Drive.
• A slow Google never blocks you. If Google can’t be reached at that moment, the link is still accepted.
• Disconnect any time. Click Disconnect in the Google Drive dialog to stop the checks.

Tips & Best Practices

Frequently Asked Questions