Install the Next-Generation Google Drive Connector

Note: This article is about the new beta Admin App, which is still in development. Changes may occur. Please provide feedback directly in the beta app.

When your organization stores collateral in Google Drive, it must remain the single source of truth for your sales team. Syncing content directly from Google Drive ensures Showpad always displays the most up-to-date materials without manual updates. This saves time on administration, letting you focus on creating great content.

Updates to the content in your Google Drive will be reflected in the Files Library of the Admin App. However, if you delete a synced folder or asset in Google Drive, it will be archived in Showpad instead of permanently deleted. Use Showpad's monitoring tool to track asset activity and log changes.

Content synced from Google Drive will appear in Showpad with Google Drive extensions (.gslide, .gdoc, .gsheet). However, these files can be edited using Microsoft Office applications like MS Word (if installed) and will be downloaded in their corresponding Office formats, such as .doc.

Note: If you don't want the comments from your Google Drive document to appear in Showpad, mark all comments as resolved or remove them.

See how it looks

Key features

• Streamlines your asset management in Showpad
• Ensures there is a single source of truth for your collateral
• Change ownership of the synchronization
• Provides updates and insights into asset activity
• Support for adding shortcuts in Google Drive
• Link multiple Google Drive accounts across Divisions or to a single Division
• Content updates on Google Drive sync automatically with Showpad
• Deleted assets in Google Drive are archived in Showpad
• Native files (Gslides, Gsheets, and Gdocs) are converted to MS Office files upon synchronization to Showpad

Note: If you have the Google Slides integration, .gslide files in your Files Library are compatible with PowerPoint. That’s because Google Slides exports files in a PowerPoint format, enabling seamless editing. Check out this article for more information. 

You need this to succeed

• The beta Admin App enabled
• Feature availability depends on your subscription package
• Content in Google Drive
• As the Integration user, you need read-and-write access to all Google Drive folders that will be synced. We recommend using a dedicated integration account rather than an individual user’s account.
• Upload Supported file types

Note: You cannot rename a file, move it to the trash, or upload a new version in the Admin App if it was synced from Google Drive.

Note: You must create and manage tags related to synced assets in the Admin App. Neither tags nor asset descriptions are transferable from Google Drive.

The quick way

• Install the Google Drive app
• Connect to Google Drive
• Confirm Configuration
• Find details in the dashboard

Do this step by step

Install the Google Drive app

1. Click the gear icon to go to Settings.
2. In the Showpad Apps section, select Manage Apps.
3. Click the Install App button.
4. Select the Google Drive app to install it. Be sure to check the Automatically install the new version when available box (default).
5. Click Install.
6. Once the app is installed, you'll need to authorize the integration.

Connect to Google Drive

1. Click the gear icon to open Settings.
2. In the Showpad Apps section, click Google Drive.
3. The first time you open the Google Drive app, you'll be asked to authorize the integration. To do so, click the Authorize button.
4. Click the Add new connection button.
5. Select the Division to connect with and click the Connect to Google Drive button. This ensures that your connection knows which Library/Division to sync assets to. If you don't have multiple Divisions, the dropdown list will not be displayed.
6. This will open an external window, allowing you to select a Google account.
   Once you've selected an account, you can enable the Showpad app to be able to read assets. When ready, click the Allow button.
7. Click Next.
8. Select the folders to use by checking the relevant boxes.
   

   Note: Due to privacy reasons, other Showpad administrators can not view the selected folders. They are only visible to you, the owner of the integration.

9. Click Next.

Confirm Configuration

The last step lets you review your configuration and specify the sync frequency.

1. From the Sync frequency dropdown list, select the frequency that data is synced between Showpad and Google Drive. The default frequency is 15 minutes, meaning that the systems will sync every 15 minutes. The following frequencies are supported:

   	Frequency	Description
   	15 mins	(default) The data is synced every 15 minutes.
   	30 mins	The data is synced every 30 minutes.
   	1 hour	The data is synced every hour.
   	2 hours	The data is synced every 2 hours.
   	3 hours	The data is synced every 3 hours.
   	4 hours	The data is synced every 4 hours.
   	6 hours	The data is synced every 6 hours.
   	8 hours	The data is synced every 8 hours.
   	12 hours	The data is synced every 12 hours.
   	24 hours	The data is synced every 24 hours.

2. Ensure the Enabled option is selected to immediately enable the sync. If you leave this unselected, the sync will be saved in a disabled state, ready to be enabled at a later point in time.
3. Click the Save connection button.

Once saved, an overview of the configuration is displayed:

Icons are available for you to perform the following actions:

• Enabled: You can enable or disable the sync by toggling the switch.
• Re-connect: You can reconnect the synchronization and log in to the Google account again.
• Refresh: You can trigger an immediate resync of all assets. This action does not impact the configured frequency schedule.

The three dot menu has the following options:

• Edit: You can modify the configuration settings.
• Duplicate: You can create a new connection for a different Division or reuse the connection with different settings. 
• Transfer ownership: You can transfer the ownership of the connection to yourself. Note that this option is only visible for connections that you don't own.
• Delete: You can delete the connection.

You can access your configuration settings at any time via the dashboard. Please refer to the Dashboard for more information.

Dashboard

The Google Drive dashboard will give you an overview of actions happening with your assets.

At first glance, the Metrics tab shows stats about the total number of files currently synced to Google Drive, the last successful sync, the last failed sync and the connection status.

The chart below demonstrates how many assets were created, updated, and deleted by the sync in a given timeframe. Change the date ranges to compare data, and group by month, week, day, or hour.

In the Events tab, you’ll find an overview of assets synced to Google Drive with more granular details related to the sync.

You can search for a specific asset, filter by date range, or sort the results as needed. You can also search for failed events with a particular reason for failure. Check the dropdown menu to see all possible failure scenarios that could occur within your integration.

Learn how this feature works in the current Online Platform.