When creating Applets that use Google Drive, Google Sheets, or Google Docs services, you will see a field labeled "Drive Folder Path."
This field is ensures your Applet to functions correctly as it specifies the exact location within your Google Drive where the file is stored. The Applet uses this information to either monitor the file for changes when using triggers or to update the file when performing actions. Formatting this field correctly will ensure that your Applet interacts with the intended file in your Google Drive.
How to format your response
Use the following guidelines to specify the path and avoid common formatting issues.
- Folders should be separated by a /
- Spaces in Folder names are allowed (Eg. IFTTT/My Tweets)
- The "My Drive" landing page in Google Drive is not considered a folder. Leaving this field blank will direct the Applet to your "My Drive".
Example 1: A folder on your homepage
If your folder is a top level folder within your drive, you can enter the name of the folder in the Drive folder path field without any additional text. In this example we have a top level folder titled IFTTT:
To have your Applet monitor or update files in this folder, that field would be configured as:
This will direct the Applet to the folder called 'IFTTT'. This folder would have to be on your Drive homepage (My Drive).
Example 2: No folder path
If your file is located on your Google Drive home page, ie visible on My Drive but not within a folder, such as the "example spreadsheet" file seen here:
Then the Folder Path field can be left blank:
This configuration will direct the Applet to your Drive homepage. If your Applet is using a trigger, it will monitor for any new files added to that location or look for a specific file name, if provided. On the other hand, if your Applet is set to perform an action, it will either create a new file in the specified location or update the file you’ve designated.
Example 3: Folder names with spaces and subfolders
In this example, the folder we'd like monitor includes a space and is also a sub-folder of the the "Work Places" folder, which is a sub-folder of the "IFTTT" folder:
Special characters are not required for spaces so the folder name be entered as it appears in Google Drive. Additionally, folders can be separated by / to denote folder:
This format will direct the Applet to the 'IFTTT' folder, then the 'Work Places' folder, then finally the folder titled "January 23"
Using ingredients within the Drive Folder Path field
When using an action from the Google Drive, Google Sheets, or Google Docs services you can input an ingredient into the Drive Folder path field. Ingredients are data passed from your Applet's trigger or query. This can be useful if you'd like specify that the Applet updates a specific folder based on the information from the trigger.
For example, if you want to track tweets with a specific hashtag and log them to a Google Sheet, you can use the New Tweet from Search Twitter trigger and pair that with a Google Sheets Add Row to Spreadsheet action.
When configuring the the Drive Folder path, the UserName ingredient can be used at the end of the path:
This will create a new folder for each username that posts a tweet matching your search. If the folder already exists, it will update the file within that folder.
Alternatively, the ingredient could also be used in the spreadsheet name field:
With this setup, a new sheet will be created for each username that posts a tweet matching your search, stored within the "Twitter" folder. If a sheet with that username already exists, it will be updated instead of creating a new one.
Finding the folder path within Google Drive
If you are inside the Google Drive folder you're trying to specify, look no further than the folder path at the top of your screen:
Example 1:
To specify this folder, you would enter "IFTTT/Work Places"
Example 2:
If you are multiple folders deep, they will be displayed differently.
The folder "IFTTTrocks" would be specified the following way:
Finding the folder path within a Spreadsheet
If you're within your Sheet, you can find the document's location.
Click File > Move > Open in new tab
You will be taken to the folder in Google Drive, where you can see the entire folder path.
So, the SpreadSheet "If This, Thus, That" would be specified the following way:
Troubleshooting
- Check if you are using the correct Google Drive account. You can check which Google account you're using with Google Drive at ifttt.com/google_drive/settings.
- If you have multiple accounts connected to the Google Drive service, check in the settings for your the trigger or action - the first field will allow you to choose the specific account you want the Applet to use.