Google Drive

  • 4 minute(s) read
Prev Next

Google Drive is a cloud-based file storage and synchronization service developed by Google that allows users to save files on their servers, making them accessible from any device. It facilitates real-time collaboration and sharing, and integrates with the Google Docs Editors suite (Docs, Sheets, Slides) for creating and editing documents online.

Authorize Connection to Google Drive

To authorize this service, use OAuth 2.0 to share specific data with Dataddo while keeping usernames, passwords, and other information private.

  1. On the Authorizers page, click on Authorize New Service and select your service.
  2. Follow the on-screen prompts to grant Dataddo the necessary permissions to access and retrieve your data.
  3. [Optional] Once your authorizer is created, click on it to change the label for easier identification.

Ensure that the account you're granting access to holds at least admin-level permissions. If necessary, assign a team member with the required permissions with the authorizer role to authenticate the service for you.

For more information, see our article on authorizers.

Connect a New Google Drive Destination

  1. On the Destinations page, click on the Create Destination button and select the destination from the list.
  2. Select your authorizer from the drop-down menu.
  3. For non-business accounts, provide your Google Drive ID. For guide on how to retriveve your Drive ID, see Non-Business Account: Drive ID.
  4. [Optional] Path: Select your directory, folder on input the name manually, e.g. /Documents/.
  5. Name your destination and click on Save.
Need to authorize another connection?

Click on Add new Account in drop-down menu during authorizer selection and follow the on-screen prompts. You can also go to the Authorizers tab and click on Add New Service.

Non-Business Account: Drive ID

Unless you have a Business account, you will need to provide your Drive ID when creating your destination.

Use Google API Explorer

One of the methods to retrieve the Drive ID without writing code is by using the Google API Explorer. To obtain your Google Drive ID:

  1. Navigate to the files.get page of the Drive API section{target=_blank} available on Google Workspace.
  2. On the right, you will find the Page info section. Here, click Try it!
  3. The link will have prefilled necessary fields but make sure:
    1. fileId has root filled in.
    2. Google OAuth 2.0 permission scopes have at least the .../auth/drive scope selected.
  4. Click Execute and select your Google account to authorize the request.
  5. From the response, copy the id value. The response will look something like:
{
  "kind": "drive#file",
  "id": "a1b2c3d4f5g6h7",
  "name": "My Drive",
  //etc.
}

If the link above doesn't work:

  1. Navigate to Google Workspace.
  2. In the Google Workspace apps list in the left menu, click Google Drive.
  3. Scroll down to the Connect your service to Google Drive, find the Drive API card and click Try it out.
  4. In the left menu, click on get.
  5. On the right, you will find the Page info section. Here, click Try it!
  6. Fill in the following fields:
    1. fileId: root
    2. Google OAuth 2.0 permission scopes: At least the .../auth/drive scope is selected.
  7. Click Execute and select your Google account.
  8. From the response, copy the id value. Example response will be the same as above.

Use the Drive API

Alternatively, you can send a GET request to the Google Drive API's files.get endpoint, setting the file identifier to the root alias:

GET [https://www.googleapis.com/drive/v3/files/root](https://www.googleapis.com/drive/v3/files/root)
DATADDO TIP

Ensure the request is authorized with a valid access token and the necessary Drive scope (e.g., https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive).

Similarly to the example response above, the id will be in the JSON response body.

Create a Flow to Google Drive

  1. Navigate to Flows and click on Create Flow.
  2. Click on Connect Your Data to add your source(s).
  3. Click on Connect Your Data Destination to add the destination.
  4. Choose the write mode and fill in the other required information.
  5. Check the Data Preview to see if your configuration is correct.
  6. Name your flow and click on Create Flow to finish the setup.

File Partitioning

File partitioning splits large datasets into smaller, manageable partitions, based on criteria like date. This technique enhances data organization, query performance, and management by grouping subsets of data with shared attributes.

During flow creation, you can:

  • Select one of the predefined file name patterns.
  • Define your own custom name to suit your partitioning needs.

Example of a custom file name
When creating a custom file name, use variations of the offered file names.

For example, use a base file name and add a different date range pattern:

xyz_{{1d1|Ymd}}

Using this file name, Dataddo will create a new file named xyz every day, e.g. xyz_20xx0101, xyz_20xx0102 etc.

For more information, see Dynamic File Naming Patterns.