File every invoice in the client's own folder, without anyone dragging it there

Teams whose records carry files, such as invoices, signed contracts, site photos or reports, and whose colleagues and clients look for those files in Google Drive or OneDrive rather than in RowFold.

  • Save the newest file from a record's Attachment field, or a file at a web address
  • OneDrive: up to 25 MB, into a folder path that can use the record's values
  • Google Drive: up to 5 MB, into My Drive or a folder RowFold created
  • Create a Google Drive folder per client or job and keep its id on the record
  • The saved file's link comes back, ready to store on the record
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THE OPTIONS

Cloud storage, side by side

Google Drive

Save a record's files to Google Drive from an automation, into folders RowFold creates for them.

Actions
  • Save a file to Google DriveSaves a file from the record, or one at a web address, to Google Drive. Up to 5 MB. Returns the saved file's link.
  • Create a Google Drive folderMakes a folder that later steps can save files into. Drive only lets RowFold save into folders RowFold made, so this is how a client or a job gets one. Returns the new folder's id.

OneDrive

Save a record's files to OneDrive from an automation, into the folder you name.

Actions
  • Save a file to OneDriveSaves a file from the record, or one at a web address, to your OneDrive, in the folder you name (made if it isn't there). A file already saved under the same name in that folder is replaced, so include something unique in the name to keep every copy. Returns the saved file's link.
HOW TO DO IT

How to set it up

I want each invoice PDF filed in the client's own OneDrive folder

OneDrive makes folders as it goes, so the folder path can come from the record. Each client gets a folder the first time one of their invoices is saved, with no setup per client.

  1. Connect OneDrive under Manage workspace, then Integrations Sign in with the Microsoft account whose OneDrive should hold the files. Use a shared account if the files belong to the team rather than to one person.
  2. Create an automation that runs when A record matches conditions, with Status is Sent Each invoice is then filed once, when it is sent, and not again on every later edit.
  3. Add Generate a PDF with Save onto the record set to Invoice PDF The next step sends the newest file in that field, which is the PDF this step has just made.
  4. Add Do something in another app with OneDrive and Save a file to OneDrive Set File to The newest file in Invoice PDF, Folder to Invoices/{{record.client}} and Save as to {{record.name}}.pdf, so a resent invoice replaces only its own earlier copy.
  5. Set Save the result to a Url field called OneDrive link The link to the saved file lands on the invoice. One click on it opens the filed copy.

You'll know it worked: Send a test invoice for a client with no folder yet. A folder with the client's name should appear under Invoices in OneDrive, holding the PDF. The invoice's OneDrive link should open it.

I want a Google Drive folder for every new client, with their files saved into it

Google Drive lets RowFold save only into folders RowFold made. So the folder comes first: one automation makes it when the client is added, and another saves each file into it later.

  1. Add a Text field called Drive folder to the clients table It holds the folder's id, which is how later steps find the folder. Nobody needs to read it, so it can sit at the end of the table.
  2. Create an automation on the clients table that runs when A record is created Add Do something in another app with Google Drive and Create a Google Drive folder, and set Folder name to {{record.name}}. To keep every client under one parent, put that parent's id, also made by RowFold, in Inside folder ID.
  3. Set Save the result to Drive folder The new folder's id is written onto the client, so every automation after this can file into that client's folder.
  4. In the automation that saves files, fill Destination folder ID from the client On a table linked to clients, open the token menu, choose On a linked record and pick the client's Drive folder field.

You'll know it worked: Add a test client and check that a folder with their name appears in Google Drive and that their Drive folder field now holds an id. Then save a file for them and look for it inside that folder.

WHAT IT FIXES

The four things that actually go wrong

The same file ends up in two places by hand. Somebody downloads the invoice PDF from one system and drags it into the client's Drive folder, and in a busy week it doesn't happen.

A Save a file step copies the newest file from one of the record's Attachment fields into Google Drive or OneDrive when the record changes. The saved file's link comes back to the record.

A shared drive is useful only if things are in the right folder. One folder holding every invoice PDF soon becomes a folder nobody opens.

OneDrive takes a folder path that can include tokens, such as Clients/{{record.client}}, and creates any folder that isn't there yet. On Google Drive, RowFold creates a folder per client or job and saves its id on the record, so later files know where to go.

Google Drive permissions catch people out. Letting an app see every file in your Drive is a lot to grant. RowFold asks for less, and that has a consequence.

RowFold connects to Drive with access only to the files and folders it creates, so it can't save into a folder you made yourself. That is what the Create a Google Drive folder action is for. OneDrive is different: its connection reaches your whole OneDrive, and any folder path works.

Saving a file twice either leaves a duplicate or replaces the old copy, and which of those happens decides whether the folder can be trusted.

OneDrive replaces a file already saved under the same name in that folder. To keep every version, put something unique in Save as, such as the invoice number. Google Drive keeps both copies, since two files there can share a name.

One automation worth building

When a job is marked complete…

  1. Generate a PDF of the job sheet into the job's Documents field
  2. Save the newest file in Documents to OneDrive under Jobs/{{record.name}}
  3. Save the file's link to the job's Report link field
QUESTIONS

Before you start

Why can't RowFold save into my existing Google Drive folder?

RowFold asks Google for access only to the files and folders it creates, not to your whole Drive. That keeps the rest of your Drive out of its reach, and it also puts a folder you made yourself out of bounds. Create the folders from RowFold instead, with one Create a Google Drive folder step per client or job and the new folder's id saved on the record.

How big a file can I save?

Up to 5 MB to Google Drive and 25 MB to OneDrive. A larger file fails the step with a message naming the limit, and nothing is uploaded. Most PDFs and phone photos fit. Long videos and large drawings are better kept in the drive directly, with a link to them stored on the record, where the grid can open them.

Which file does it send when a record has several?

The newest one. That means the file added last to the Attachment field you chose, which is usually the file a step earlier in the same run has just made, such as the PDF from Generate a PDF. If the field is empty, the step fails and says which record had no file, so a missing document never goes unnoticed.

Can the folder depend on the record?

Yes. On OneDrive, the Folder box takes a path with tokens, such as Clients/{{record.client}}/Invoices, up to six folders deep, and RowFold creates whatever is missing. On Google Drive, keep each client's folder id in a field and use that field's token in Destination folder ID, reaching through a link to the client if the file is on another table.

Can it save to a shared drive or a SharePoint site?

Not directly. The OneDrive step saves into the connected account's own OneDrive, and the Google Drive step into My Drive or a folder RowFold made. To share the files, share the parent folder once from the drive. Every file RowFold saves into it afterwards is shared the same way, with no step needed per file.

Where to go next

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