The Google Drive Connector enables you to view, search, share and comment on your Google files without leaving Lark, bringing a smoother and more integrated experience to you and your team.
About Google Drive
Google Drive is a cloud storage platform where you store, share and collaborate on files. For more information, see Google Drive official documentation.
About Google Drive Connector
With the Google Drive Connector, you can get the following tasks done without leaving Lark chats:
- •View, search and manage your files on the Google Drive
- •Invite your colleagues to collaborate on your Google files
- •Share Google files with your colleagues
- •Get notified for comments posted in your documents and add your replies
Google Drive Connector runs on both Lark mobile and Lark desktop. All features are supported on both device types.
You can install the Google Drive Connector app from the Lark App Directory. In case you see an alert that Google Drive Connector hasn't been enabled or installed in your organization, contact your administrator to enable it for your tenant.
Note:
- •To use the Google Drive Connector, you must have a Google account to connect to.
- •To ensure a smoother experience, we recommend upgrading your Lark to version 3.3 or above.
Procedure
- •Connect to your Google account
To get started, authorize the Google Drive Connector to access your Google account.
Open the chat with Google Drive bot in Lark and send
login. Click Login to open the account authorization page in the sidebar.Note: If it's the first time you open the chat, you can also find the Login button in the app's greeting message.
Follow the prompts on screen to log in to your Google account and grant the associated access to Google Drive Connector. Once you're successfully connected, the Google Drive Connector will send a success message in the chat.
- •Enter Google Drive
You can directly access your Google Drive files from the chat sidebar. Type
googledrive in the chat and the bot will reply with a message card listing useful commands and links. To open Google Drive in the chat sidebar, click Enter Google Drive on the card.
- •View, search and manage files
In the Google Drive sidebar, the Home tab displays a list of files you recently opened, which can be owned by other users. You can check the files' title, last opened time and thumbnail. The Files tab displays your own files in full folder structure. Use the sort tool to sort your files as appropriate.
Click a file to open it in your browser.
To search for a file, enter the keywords in the search bar at the top of the Home tab or Files tab. Alternatively, type
search <keywords> in the chat to view a list of all the associated files. Click the title to open the file in your browser.In the Home tab or Files tab, to view a file's collaborators information, click the "..." icon next to the file title. The Collaborators section displays the file's current collaborators.
To add more collaborators, click the "+" icon, specify the collaborators' email address and permission type (Viewer, Commenter or Editor) as appropriate, then click Invite. An invitation email will be sent to the added collaborators.
Note: When entering the collaborators' email addresses, separate the addresses by pressing the Enter key. If you are adding just one collaborator, make sure to press the Enter key after entering the email address.
At the top right corner of the Collaborators section, a number is displayed to suggest the number of current collaborators. To manage the existing collaborators, click the number. In the opened Collaborator list, you can remove or adjust the permissions granted to each collaborator.
- •Share files
With the Google Drive Connector, you can share your file to Lark groups, including the file title, link and a thumbnail.
Enter the Google Drive sidebar, navigate to the file that you want to share, click the "..." icon and select Send to chats. Select the groups as appropriate and click Send.
By default, the group members with a Google account will automatically be given the commenter permission to the shared file. To change the default permission settings, open the Google Drive sidebar and go to Info - Settings - Permissions.
Note: The automatic permission settings only apply to group members who registered Google and Lark using the same email address. These members will be able to access the shared file in their associated Google account.
To share your Google file via link, enter the Google Drive sidebar, navigate to the file that you want to share, click the "..." icon and select Copy link. Anyone with the link will be able to open your file, unless your Google administrator restricts external sharing.
An alternative way to share your Google files to a group is to launch the Google Drive Connector directly from the group's message field "+" menu. Click the "+" icon, select Google Drive Connector. The Google Drive sidebar is opened in the group chat. Navigate to the file you want to share and click Send. By default, group members with a Google account will automatically be given the commenter permission to the file. You can change the default settings in Google Drive sidebar - Settings - Permissions.
The "+" menu can also be launched from private chats, so you can share your Google files with individual members.
- •View and reply to comments
By default, the Google Drive Connector will let you know when someone posted a comment in your Google files.
You can quickly reply to this comment by simply replying to the Lark message in the chat. Your reply will be posted automatically under the original comment in the associated file.
To turn off the new comment notifications in Lark, open the Google Drive sidebar, go to the Info tab Settings -Notifications section, disable Get notified from new comments and click Save.
- •Get support
To view this help article anytime from your chat with Google Drive, type
googledrive and click How does it work? on the message card. Click Get Help to call up your Lark Assistant for further help. Alternatively, click Enter Google Drive to open the Google Drive sidebar, navigate to the Info tab, and click help doc to view this article or Get Help to call up your Lark Assistant.
- •Log out
To disconnect your Google account with Lark, type
logout in the chat.Alternatively, open the Google Drive sidebar in the chat, navigate to the Info tab and click Disconnect.
FAQ
Do I need to add bot to a group chat to share Google files?
No need. Always use the private chat with Google Drive Connector bot for any interaction. Alternatively, you can also use the "+" menu in chats' message field to launch the Google Drive sidebar for file sharing.
To use this connector, which Lark version should I upgrade to?
We recommend to update your Lark to 3.3 or above so as to ensure all functions work properly.
Why some group members cannot read the Google files I shared to the chat?
Only members that registered Lark account with an email address - and the email address has to be associated with a Gsuite account - will be granted permissions. Permissions will be granted to that particular Gsuite account only.
Can I share files to an individual member instead of a group chat?
Yes, you can do it by using the '+' menu in a chat's message field. For details, see the Share files section above.
Will I get notified for replies to my comments in other people's files?
No. You can only get notified for comments posted in files owned by you.
Can I share a file appearing on 'Home' tab that's not owned by me?
Yes, you can still share it to Lark chats but the permissions will not be granted successfully because you are not the file owner.
Why can't I see the files that are shared with me in the Google Drive Connector?
The Google Drive Connector does not show files that are listed on the Shared with me tab in Google Drive app. To see the files Shared with me in Google Drive Connector, create a copy of the file so you can see it in the Files tab.