This document outlines the functionality and characteristics of the Google Drive Folder Reader node, which enables automated content extraction from multiple files in a Google Drive folder.
Google Drive Folder Reader with subfolder option

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Node Inputs

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Folder Selection (Choose one method)

  • Select Folder: Choose a folder directly from Google Drive
  • Use Link: Option to use a direct Google Drive folder URL

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Configuration Options

  • Read All Subfolders: When enabled, the node will read files from all subfolders within the selected folder
    • Reads through all nested levels (subfolders of subfolders)
    • Great for processing entire folder hierarchies in one operation
    • Toggle this option under “More options”
    • Default: No (only reads files from the selected folder)
    Note: The subfolder reading option is not available when using this node as a trigger (as of now)

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Show More Options

  • Return Drive links only: When enabled, only drive.google.com links are returned
    • Returns Google Drive links instead of file objects
    • Useful when you need links rather than file content
    • Node runs faster with this option enabled
  • Return Doc links only: When enabled, returns appropriate links based on file type
    • For G Suite files (Docs, Sheets, Slides): Returns docs.google.com links
    • For other files: Returns drive.google.com links
    • Provides direct access links for different file types
    • Node runs faster with this option enabled
Link-returning features explained:
  • These options help if you need links (instead of file objects) from a folder
  • These options can be paired with the Drive File Reader node to fetch and process files further (e.g., with PDF/File Reader nodes)
  • Node runs faster with link-only options since it doesn’t download file content
  • The default output remains the file object if neither option is selected

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Node Output

  • Files: List of file objects from the folder. Each file object can be:
    • Passed directly to file operation nodes (PDF Reader, File Reader, etc.)
    • Sent to communication nodes as attachments (Slack, Gmail, etc.)
    • Used with the AI Analyze Image and Analyze Video nodes
Important Note: For Google Docs and Google Sheets files, the output is not the file object itself but rather the file link. This link can be connected directly to nodes like Google Docs Reader or Google Sheets Reader for content extraction.
Note: While the output shows file names for easy reference, for non-Google files each item is actually a complete file object that can be processed by other nodes.

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Working with File Outputs

The node’s output can be connected directly to various other nodes:

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File Operations

  • PDF Reader: Process PDF files directly
  • File Reader: Extract content from text files
  • Google Docs Reader: Process Google Docs file links
  • Google Sheets Reader: Process Google Sheets file links

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Communication

  • Slack Message Sender: Share files in Slack channels
  • Gmail Sender: Send files as email attachments
  • Discord Message Sender: Share files in Discord

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AI Processing

Note: For text-based AI processing, files must first be processed by appropriate reader nodes: Only Analyze Image and Analyze Video nodes can process the relevant media file objects directly.

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Node Functionality

The Google Drive Folder Reader node provides automated batch access to contents of all files within a specified folder. Key features include:
  • Support for multiple file formats
  • Recursive subfolder reading capability
  • Loop mode to process multiple folders
  • Secure authentication with Gumloop

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Trigger Functionality

This node can also function as a trigger to start your flow when your drive folder receives a new file upload. Learn more about triggers here: https://docs.gumloop.com/core-concepts/triggers
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Important: When used as a trigger, the subfolder reading option is not available. The trigger only monitors the top-level folder for new files.

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Example Workflows

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1. Document Analysis Pipeline

Google Drive Folder Reader 
→ File Reader/PDF Reader/Google Docs Reader 
→ Ask AI 
→ Notion Page Writer

Purpose: Analyze and summarize document contents

Note: File content must be extracted before AI processing

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2. File Distribution

Google Drive Folder Reader 
→ Slack Message Sender

Purpose: Share new documents with team members

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3. Data Analysis

Google Drive Folder Reader 
→ File Reader/Google Sheets Reader 
→ Extract Data 
→ Airtable Writer

Purpose: Process and store data from multiple CSV/XLSX/Google Sheets files

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4. Recursive Document Processing

Google Drive Folder Reader (with Read All Subfolders enabled) 
→ PDF Reader 
→ Extract Data 
→ Google Sheets Writer

Purpose: Process all PDFs across multiple project folders and subfolders

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5. Processing a Large Folder with Mixture of Types

When working with folders containing mixed file types (Google Docs, Google Slides, PDFs, images, etc.), you can use the “Return Docs Links Only” option combined with a Router node to automatically route different file types to their appropriate readers. 
[Drive Folder Reader] ("Return Docs Links Only")
                      |
                   [Router]
        ┌────────────┼────────────┐
        |            |            |
[if link contains   [if link     [if link
 'document']         contains     contains
                   'presentation'] 'file/d/']
        |            |            |
[GDocs Reader]  [GSlides Reader] [GDrive File Reader]
                                        |
                                 [File Reader]

Purpose: Automatically process mixed file types with appropriate readers
How it works:
  1. Google Drive Folder Reader with “Return Docs Links Only” enabled generates different link formats:
    • Google Docs: https://docs.google.com/document/d/{file_id}
    • Google Slides: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/{file_id}
    • Other files: https://drive.google.com/file/d/{file_id}/view
  2. Router node uses text conditions to detect link patterns:
    • Route 1: Links containing document → Google Docs Reader
    • Route 2: Links containing presentation → Google Slides Reader
    • Route 3: Links containing file/d/ → Google Drive File Reader
  3. Specialized readers process each file type appropriately:
    • Google Docs Reader: Extracts text content from Google Docs
    • Google Slides Reader: Extracts content from presentation slides
    • Google Drive File Reader: Downloads PDFs, images, and other file formats
    • File Reader: Extracts text content from downloaded files (PDFs, text files, etc.)
Benefits:
  • Automatic routing: No manual sorting of file types required
  • Optimized processing: Each file type uses its most appropriate reader
  • Scalable: Handles folders with hundreds of mixed files efficiently
  • Flexible: Easy to add new routes for additional file types or processing logic
Example Implementation:

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When to Use

The Google Drive Folder Reader node is particularly valuable in scenarios requiring processing of multiple files. Common use cases include:
  • Document Analysis: Extract and analyze text from multiple student essays or research papers
  • Invoice Processing: Batch process invoices stored as PDFs to extract payment information
  • Report Compilation: Combine daily sales reports from multiple store locations into a single dataset
  • Dataset Processing: Extract and combine data from multiple CSV files containing customer feedback
  • Project Archives: Process entire project folder structures with the subfolder option enabled
Some specific examples:
  • Reading monthly financial statements to aggregate spending patterns
  • Processing student assignments to check for plagiarism
  • Extracting product information from multiple specification sheets
  • Combining daily log files for system performance analysis
  • Processing an entire document library with nested folder organization

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Important Considerations

  1. Requires Authentication with Google - Set up in the Credentials page
  2. You must have access to the folder
  3. Large folders or files may take longer to process
  4. Reading all subfolders can significantly increase processing time for deeply nested structures
  5. For Google Docs and Google Sheets, you’ll receive file links that must be passed to appropriate reader nodes
  6. For other file formats, file objects can be passed directly to file operation nodes and communication nodes, but text-based AI nodes require content extraction first
In summary, the Google Drive Folder Reader node simplifies batch processing of files in Google Drive folders, automatically handling multiple file formats and providing organized access to file content. Its output can be seamlessly integrated with other nodes for comprehensive file processing workflows.