6 Time-Saving Google Drive Automation Scenarios You Need to Try

April 17, 20230 CommentHow-To

Google Drive is a powerful cloud-based storage solution that allows you to store, access, and collaborate on files from anywhere in the world. But did you know that you can automate your Google Drive workflows with zenphi?

Zenphi is a no-code automation platform built specifically for Google Workspace that allows you to create and deploy automated workflows in minutes. In this article, we’ll explore six Google Drive automation scenarios you can implement today to boost your organization’s productivity and security.

google drive automations

How Google Drive Automation Works

At zenphi, you build automated workflows with Flows. Flows consist of the Trigger – an event that initiates the process, and the Actions – the following automated steps of the Flow.

 

Triggers list in zenphi
The list of Triggers available at zenphi.

 

To put together the workflow, you just need to find the Action on a left-side panel of your Flow Designer and drag & drop it into the Flow. Then, at each step of your Flow that integrates with another system like Google Drive, you need to establish a Connection with zenphi.

To dynamically move the data within the steps of the Flow, we use Token Picker. For example if the Trigger is a Google Form submission, we can take the email of the submitter and put it as an email receiver in the next step.

Once your Flow is ready, you can Test and Publish it. Now that we know the basics let’s dive deep into what Google Drive automation scenarios are achievable.

Google Drive Automation For File Organization

One of the most tedious tasks associated with Google Drive is organizing files. With zenphi, you can automate this task by creating a workflow that automatically sorts your files based on specific criteria. For example, you could create a workflow that moves all files with the “Invoices” label to a specific folder. For that, you’ll need to use the “Search Items” and “Move Item” actions.

Google Drive automation example for File organizations

Moreover, you can automate your file organization for new projects. For example, for each new project, you can use “Create Folder“, auto-assign the required permission, and more. Check out our “Project Builder” template to find inspiration.

The list of zenphi templates

Google Drive Automation For File Sharing

Sharing files with your team can be time-consuming and error-prone. Moreover, it drastically affect your organization’s security. With zenphi’s powerful “Share Item” and “Delete Sharing” actions, you can automate the whole permission management.

For instance, you can create a workflow that automatically shares files with specific people or groups based on certain criteria. You could create a workflow that shares a specific file with all members of a particular team, or that shares a file with specific users based on their job titles once the document is moved to a certain folder, or once it’s created.

Another use case you can consider is automated file sharing based on the request. For example, you can create a Google Form for the ones who need access to the file, set up the criteria, and share the file automatically if the criteria are met. No more delays in the sharing and loss of requests!

Google Drive automation example for file sharing

The same works for File unsharing. You can easily delete sharing permissions from the files in bulk or at any step of your workflow inside the bigger process. Moreover, you can easily create temporary sharing permissions. For example, once the request for file opening is submitted, you can share the file for 7 days and then automatically delete the sharing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Approve Documents Smarter With This Google Drive Automation

If you need to get approval for documents before sharing them with your team or external stakeholders, zenphi can help. With zenphi, you can create a workflow that automatically sends documents for approval to specific people or groups, once the file is uploaded to a specified Google Drive Folder.

Google Drive automation example for saving Gmail attachments

There are various ways how you can assign approval tasks in zenphi, it could be via a task management platform you already use, like Jira, Asana, Trello, and others, or directly from zenphi with the powerful “Assign task” action. In this case, the assignee can give feedback right from their inbox, and the document status will be automatically stored in Google Sheets or any other database of your choice.

Automated Backup

Data loss is a common problem for businesses, and it’s essential to have a backup plan in place. With zenphi, you can create a workflow that automatically backs up specific files to another location, such as another Google Drive account or a different cloud storage provider. You can do that with the “Copy Item” action. This ensures that you always have a copy of your important files in case of data loss.

Copy Item action set up

File Deletion Automation

Keeping your Google Drive organized and clutter-free is crucial, but it’s easy to forget to delete old or unnecessary files. With zenphi, you can create a workflow that automatically deletes files based on specific criteria, such as file type, age, or owner. This helps to keep your Google Drive clean and organized without the need for manual intervention.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Automatically Save Email Attachments to Google Drive

If you find yourself downloading email attachments manually and then saving them to Google Drive, you can automate this process with zenphi. With the help of zenphi’s “Email arrival in Gmail” trigger and “Save File” action, you can create a workflow that automatically saves email attachments to a specific folder in Google Drive. This saves you time and effort and ensures that all your important attachments are stored in one central location.

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, zenphi is an excellent tool for automating your Google Drive workflows. By implementing these six automation scenarios, you can save time, increase productivity, reduce errors, and enhance your organization’s security in your file management processes. So why not give zenphi a try today and see how it can benefit your organization?


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