Streamline Collaboration: Automate Google Drive Folder Sharing with Zapier

Keeping a team in sync and working collaboratively can often involve a series of repetitive tasks. Fortunately, with automation tools like Zapier, you can remove the manual process of setting permissions for your Google Drive folders and notifying team members. Zapier can help you automate the task of sharing a newly created Google Drive folder and then emailing the folder link to required participants with ease.

Step 1: Setting Up Your Trigger
To start, you need to set up a trigger, the event that starts your Zap. In this case, the trigger would be the creation of a new folder in Google Drive. To do this:

• Sign in to your Zapier account and click the 'Make a Zap' button.


• Choose Google Drive as your trigger app.


• Select 'New Folder' from the list of trigger events.


• Next, connect your Google Drive account and set up the trigger by selecting the specific drive where new folders will be created.

Step 2: Create the Action to Change Folder Permissions
Once the trigger is set:

• Add an action by searching and selecting Google Drive from the action app list.


• Choose the 'Update Folder' action event.


• You'll then be prompted to select the folder you wish to share. Since the folder ID is dynamic, you'll extract this from the trigger step data.


• After selecting the folder, set the permission type to 'Anyone with the link' or specify the email addresses of the individuals with whom you want the folder to be shared.

Step 3: Send the Email Notification
The final step is automating the email that contains the shared folder link.

• Add another action step, this time selecting your email app of choice (e.g., Gmail).


• Set up the action to send an email.


• Fill in the 'To' field with the recipients' email addresses. You can enter specific email addresses or choose to use a dynamic field from previous steps.


• Customize your email subject and body to include a message alone with the shared folder link extracted from the previous action.

After setting up these steps, make sure to test your Zap to ensure it's working correctly. Once you're satisfied, turn the Zap on, and you're done! Now, every time a new folder is created in the specified Google Drive, it will automatically be set to shared, and an email notification with the link to the folder will be sent out to the desired recipients.

Zapier automates your workflow, streamlining team collaboration, and ensuring that your newly created folders are shared efficiently without you having to lift a finger after the initial setup.