Sync Google Drive content with Showpad (legacy)

Note: As of November 6, 2024, new connections should not use the approach described in this article. Existing connections will continue to function normally until we update them to use our improved connector. To connect to Google Drive on or after November 6, 2024, you'll need to follow the instructions in this article.

When your organization stores its collateral in Google Drive, the material must remain the single source of truth when distributed to your sales team. By syncing content directly from Google Drive, you can rest assured that all content in Showpad is the most current and up-to-date without manually updating assets. This saves time on the administrative side, allowing more time to create the perfect content.

Updates to the content in your Google Drive will be reflected in the Content Library of the Online Platform. However, if you delete a synced folder or asset in Google Drive, it will be archived in Showpad's trash instead of permanently deleted.

Use the monitoring tool in Showpad to verify details about each asset, so you have better insight into the activity related to your collateral, including a log of any changes made to files.

If you import content from Google Drive to your library, the assets will appear in Showpad as Microsoft Office native files. When importing by syncing with Google Drive, the assets will remain .gslides, .gdocs, etc. 

You can opt to delete or keep files when you delete the connection, typically if you have moved to another storage system. This allows you to update connections over time without losing historical assets.

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

See how it works

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
• 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
• To edit synced assets, you can unlink them in Showpad's library. Read more here 

Note: If you have the Google Slide integration, you will see .gslide files in your My Files, which are powered by PowerPoint, as Google offers this as their export format. Check out this article for more information. 

You need this to succeed

• Ultimate subscription for Showpad
• Content in Google Drive
• Upload Supported file types

Note: You cannot rename a file, move it to the trash, or upload a new version in the Online Platform if it was synced from Google Drive. Creation and management of tags related to all assets must be done in the Online Platform. Neither tags nor asset descriptions are transferable from the cloud solution.

The quick way to awesomeness

• Set up a connection between Google Drive and Showpad
• Verify your Google credentials 
• Choose the folders and assets to sync to Showpad
• Check the monitoring tool to see asset activity
• Remove the sync when switching to another Google Drive
• Change the ownership of the synchronization
• Troubleshooting assets removed from Showpad

Do this step by step

Setting up the connection

1. Click the gear settings icon and select Integrations in the Online Platform.
2. If you have cloud storage enabled, you will see it on the left-hand side under Integrations.
   
3. If you are setting up a cloud storage sync for the first time, click Get Started. To add another connection, click New Connection.
   
4. Choose the division you want to sync content to.  You may configure an additional Google Drive account, such as a Shared Drive, to a different Division at any time. 
   
5. You will be asked which cloud storage platform you want to sync your content from. Select Google Drive.

   Note: You may add one connection per Division when you link with Google Drive.

6. Enter a description of your connection in the provided field and click Next.

Verify your credentials

You will be brought to a screen to authenticate your cloud storage credentials from there. Enter your password and click Next.

1. Allow the connection.
   

Choose the folders to sync

1. You are brought back to the Online Platform, and the folders from your Google Drive are now listed under the Syncing Folders tab of the configuration window. Select the folders you want to sync into Showpad. You cannot select subfolders individually. Once you select a parent folder, you cannot unselect any of its subfolders.
   
   

   Note: If you're restoring to a previous version of a Google document, make a small edit in the restored version to push the modification date and trigger the middleware to update.

2. You should now see the connection on the cloud storage page. To make edits to an existing connection, click Configure.
   

Use Monitor to see asset activity

1. By clicking Monitor, you can view an activity log of the assets. This includes when the asset was synced to Showpad and any modifications made to the asset in the cloud storage. If you see an Invalid Pattern error, the file does not have a supported extension or an invalid character in the title. If the file type is not supported, the error will display as Unsupported Extension.
   
   Currently, Showpad offers an hourly sync. If you need an expedited sync for urgent changes, you can click Force re-sync to manually trigger another sync of the content.
    
   The monitor shows events for two weeks. Older events are removed. You can also force a re-sync in case they need a faster sync that can't wait for the next auto-sync.
   
   If the syncing fails for a document, check the file size. You can export the document as a PDF and sync the PDF from the cloud storage as a workaround for larger files sizes.
   

   Note: The automatic check for content updates runs every 1 hour. When processing is finished, new and updated content becomes available for your users minutes later.

2. When you view the content library for that division, you will see the listed assets synced from your cloud repository. Assets synced from Google Drive will be indicated by a small arrow and box icon to the left of the filename. You will only be able to edit certain details of these files. You will not see the option Move to Trash as you would assets that were added directly to the Online Platform. They must be deleted in Google Drive or Box to maintain a single source of truth.
   
   

   Note: Imported files to your library are converted to MS Office files upon synchronization to Showpad. Gslides become PPTX files, Gsheets become XLSX files, Gdocs become DOCX.
   If imported Gslides are blurry, please check the page setup and change the aspect ratio.

Removing the Google Drive sync

In some cases, it's necessary to remove the Google Drive sync when, for example, switching to a different Google Drive. 

Breaking the synchronization will ask you how you would like to proceed. You can either:

• Remove the sync, and keep the files in Showpad without syncing. This ensures that all content used in Experiences, Collections, Shared Spaces,... keeps working.
• Remove the sync, and delete the files in Showpad. This also breaks the content that is used in Experiences, Collections, Shared Spaces,...

Changing the integration ownership

You can change the user that handles the integration with your cloud storage. If you are not the initial creator of the cloud storage synchronization, then you see the option to change ownership.

Note: If you are the owner of the Showpad organization, you can change and also delete the integration. If you are a Showpad administrator, you can only change the integration user.

1. Ensure the new user can access the same folders in your cloud storage as the previous user.
2. Click the Change Ownership button.
3. You will be asked to verify your Google account and see a list of folders that are not accessible when you decide to use this new integration user. This allows you to fix the permissions in your cloud storage. You will get confirmation if all the folders are accessible.

Troubleshooting removed assets

When there's a change in the cloud storage platform, it can lead to unexpected behavior in Showpad. For example, when a folder is deleted or moved in your cloud storage, and it was configured to sync with Showpad, assets seem unexpectedly removed from Showpad. 

If this occurs, you can check the trash for these assets. Showpad doesn't permanently delete these files but archives them so you can restore them if necessary. You can follow these steps to fix the issue:

1. Check the Monitor of the affected cloud storage configuration to determine what assets were archived and their original location.
2. Fix the state in your cloud storage system by ensuring access to the folders is restored.
3. Go back to the library in Showpad from which the files were removed and open the trash.
4. Restore all impacted files.

By restoring the files, the cloud storage will recognize the files during the first sync, after the access is restored, and they will keep synchronizing again.

Synchronization happens automatically every hour. If the syncing starts while you are fixing the state of your cloud storage, the following will happen:

• All files from the restored location in the cloud storage will be synced as new to Showpad while the previously removed assets are still in the trash.
• Both the new assets and the assets in the trash will have the same reference to the original asset in the cloud storage. You need to delete the new assets from Showpad's Content Library and restore the archived assets from the trash.