Download File from Google Drive¶
Type: Action, listed under the Google Client category in Flow Builder.
Brings a Google Client file back into Salesforce as an ordinary Salesforce file, which is what an email alert, a Send Email action or a record attachment needs.
Give it a Google File to download the latest version, or a specific Google File Version to download exactly that one.
When To Use It¶
- Attach a document to an email the flow sends, since Salesforce can only send files it holds.
- Hand a file to another system or process that reads Salesforce files.
- Produce a PDF of a Google document and save it on the record.
How To Add It To A Flow¶
- Open Flow Builder in Salesforce Setup.
- Create a flow, or open an existing one.
- Add an Action element.
- Choose the Google Client category and select Download File from Google Drive.
- Set either Google File ID or Google File Version ID.
- Set Attach To Record ID if the downloaded file should show up on a record.
- Set Convert To if you want a different format than the original.
- Save and activate the flow.
Inputs¶
| Input | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Google File Version ID | One of the two | The exact version to download. |
| Google File ID | One of the two | The file whose latest version is downloaded when no version is given. |
| Attach To Record ID | No | The Salesforce record the downloaded file is attached to. Leave blank to keep it unattached. |
| File Name | No | A different name for the Salesforce file. The extension is kept when the new name has none. |
| Convert To | No | The format to download in, as a file extension. Leave blank for the original file. |
Outputs¶
| Output | Description |
|---|---|
| Content Version ID | The new Salesforce file version |
| Content Document ID | The new Salesforce file |
| File Name, File Size (bytes) | What was saved |
Converting While Downloading¶
Convert To works for documents and spreadsheets that have a preview copy. Use the file extension of the format you want:
| Original | Formats you can ask for |
|---|---|
| Documents | docx, pdf, odt, txt, rtf, epub, md, zip |
| Spreadsheets | xlsx, ods, pdf, csv, tsv, zip |
Asking for a format the file cannot produce faults with a message saying the format is unavailable, so a flow never saves something unexpected.
A downloaded file passes through Salesforce, so download a few at a time rather than a large batch in one element.
Note
Needs Google Drive configured. In a record triggered flow, place the action on an asynchronous path, and connect a Fault path to catch {!$Flow.FaultMessage}.
📘 See Extract File Content as Text from Google Drive to read a file without saving a copy.