Google Drive is a great tool to compliment teamwork in Flow. Attach and share files from Drive by clicking the icon below the comment form.
Flow’s Google Drive integration allows you to attach and share important Google Documents, Spreadsheets, Presentations, and other files stored in Drive with your co-workers in any Flow task. Like regular uploads, you can preview the files directly in Flow or jump into Drive to view and edit.
To add a file from Google Drive to a task, just click the Drive symbol at the bottom of the expanded comment or note form.
If it’s the first time you’ve attached a Drive file, you’ll be asked to connect your Google account to Flow. Just click “Connect my Google account” to continue.
If you’re currently logged into a Google account, you’ll be asked to choose it (or from multiple accounts) to move onto the next step. If you’re not logged into a Google account, you’ll be asked to log in first.
Finally, you’ll be asked to allow Flow to access your email address and basic Google profile information. Accepting this simply allows the two apps to effectively communicate so that uploaded files can be linked back to the creator’s account without any complication. Just click “Accept” to move on.
Once you’ve done so, you can start adding files right away. Just click the Drive symbol below the comment form to view your Google Drive folders. To add files to the task, just click to highlight and then click Select to finalize.
The file will appear below the comment form when the upload is complete. Click “Save and post” to add it as a task comment or click outside the note field to add it to a note. Once it saves you can click to preview in a popover window, where there you will also see the option to “Open in Google Drive.”
If you ever need to disconnect your Google account from Flow, you can do so in Account Preferences, under “External Services.” Just click “Disconnect Google.”
There are a few details below regarding permissions that are worth reviewing to ensure that the integration goes off without a hitch.
- As in Google Drive, your teammates need to have permission to view the document in Flow. Permissions are set and can be managed within your Google account.
- For organizations who are using Google Apps for email, the Google Drive integration works best when you share files with everyone on your organization by default. Your admin can set those permissions using these instructions. This setting grants read-only access so if you want to let teammates edit a Google Doc, or you’re working with clients or other individuals outside of the Google Apps account, you’ll need to set up those permissions specifically.
- If you’re using Google Drive with your individual ‘gmail.com’ address, as opposed to a Google Apps account, you’ll have to administer permissions for each individual document in Google Drive.
- If a teammate finds they don’t have access to a file, they can request access while in Flow. The request will be sent directly to the Doc’s owner for approval.
- Please note that removing someone from your Flow account doesn’t automatically revoke their Google Drive permissions, so be sure to take care of that action separately.