Feature Summary
Google Drive Import lets you add content to Aligned by picking it directly from Google Drive, instead of downloading it and uploading it again. You can import into your Library, where the content is available to reuse anywhere, or straight into a Room when the content is only needed for that deal. Google Workspace content - Docs, Sheets and Slides - is added as an embedded document that continues to reflect changes made in Google, while other file types are added as a one-time copy that does not change afterwards. Google Drive Import is a one-way import: nothing you do in Aligned is written back to Google Drive.
Prerequisites
Plan: availability depends on your plan - see the Aligned pricing page.
Role: Anyone who can upload to the Library. If your account does not allow your role to upload to the Company Library, you can still import into your My Library - unless an Admin has turned My Library off for the account. See CMS: How to Turn My Library On or Off for My Account.
Technical: A Google account with access to the content you want to import
How to import content from Google Drive into the Library
Open the Library and go to the folder where you want the content, in your Company Library or your My Library.
Click New.
Select Add file or link.
Choose Google Drive as the source.
Sign in to Google if Google asks you to. Google decides when to show its sign-in screen, and Aligned does not store your Google credentials.
Browse your Google Drive and select the content you want. You can select more than one item, and you can open a folder to pick content from inside it.
Click Select.
Click Upload.
The content lands in the folder you were in. Every item you import receives the Recently uploaded label, inside the Google Drive label category.
How to import content from Google Drive into a Room section
Open the Room. Either go to an existing section, or click the + to add a new one.
In the section, open the content picker.
Select Google Drive.
In Select a file, browse your Google Drive and select the content you want. Use the search field to find it faster, or sort by name or last modified. You can select one piece of content at a time.
Click Select.
In Upload from Google Drive, rename the content if you want to - the name you set here is the name it has in Aligned.
Leave Add to Library unchecked to keep the content in this Room only, or check it to also add it to your Library. If you check it, choose where it goes - your Company Library or your My Library, and which folder inside it.
Click Save.
Content added to a Room section stays in that section and does not appear in your Library unless you check Add to Library. Content you do add to the Library receives the Recently uploaded label, the same as content imported directly.
What clients see
Clients see content imported from Google Drive exactly as they see any other content in a Room. There is no indication that it came from Google Drive.
For Google Workspace content - Docs, Sheets and Slides - clients view the embedded document. A client can only view an embedded Google Workspace document if the sharing settings in Google Drive allow it. If the document is restricted in Google Drive, the client sees Google's own request-access screen instead of the content. This is the same behaviour as adding a Google Workspace link to a Room today, and Google Drive Import does not change it.
For all other file types, clients view a copy stored by Aligned, and Google Drive sharing settings do not affect what they see.
What updates and what does not
Google Drive Import behaves differently depending on the type of content you import.
Google Workspace content - Docs, Sheets and Slides:
Added to Aligned as an embedded document
Changes made in Google appear in Aligned, in the Library and in every Room using the content
Viewing depends on the sharing settings of the document in Google Drive
This is the same behaviour as adding a Google Workspace link to Aligned manually
All other content - PDFs, images, videos, PowerPoint files and other file types:
Added to Aligned as a one-time copy
Changes made in Google Drive after the import do not appear in Aligned
Renaming the file in Google Drive does not rename it in Aligned
Deleting the file in Google Drive does not remove it from Aligned
Import or sync?
Aligned offers two ways to bring Google Drive content in, and they solve different problems.
| Import from Google Drive | Google Drive Folder Sync |
What it does | Brings content in once | Keeps a Drive folder mirrored in Aligned |
Stays up to date | No, apart from Google Workspace content | Yes - added, updated and removed content all follow |
What you pick | Individual content | A whole folder, including everything inside it |
Who can use it | Anyone who can upload to the Library | Admins only |
Where content is managed | In Aligned, like any other upload | In Google Drive - the folder is read-only in Aligned |
Use import when you need a few pieces of content and you do not expect them to change.
Use sync when a Google Drive folder is already where your team manages content, and you want Aligned to follow it without anyone maintaining two libraries.
Availability of each depends on your plan - see the Aligned pricing page.
Limitations
Google Drive Import supports the same file formats as any other upload to the Library, and the maximum file size is 1GB. See Content library overview for the full list of formats.
The picker shows your own Google Drive. It does not include shared drives.
Folders appear in the picker, but you cannot select one. Open the folder and select the content inside it.
In the Library you can select several items at once. In a Room section you select one at a time.
An Office file stored in Google Drive is added as a one-time copy, exactly as if you had uploaded it from your computer. Only Google Workspace content is embedded.
Google Drive Import brings content in once. It does not keep a folder in Aligned matching a folder in Google Drive.
Importing the same item twice creates a second copy in your Library.
Nothing is written back to Google Drive. Renaming, moving, archiving or deleting content in Aligned has no effect in Google Drive.
There is nothing to switch on or off. Google Drive Import is available to everyone who can upload to the Library, and there is no account-level setting for it.
Troubleshooting & FAQ
Expected errors and blocks
The Google Drive option does not appear in the Company Library
What this means: Your account does not allow your role to upload content to the Company Library, so no upload source appears there - including from your computer.
How to fix it: Import into your My Library instead, or ask an Aligned Admin to allow uploads for your role. If My Library is greyed out too, an Admin has turned it off for the whole account, and only an Admin can turn it back on.
How to avoid it: Check whether the New button offers an upload option in the Company Library before planning an import.
The Google sign-in screen closes and nothing is imported
What this means: The Google sign-in was cancelled or did not complete, so Aligned never received the content you selected. If you use Aligned on a custom domain, the Google sign-in may fail to complete even if you do not close it.
How to fix it: Start the import again and complete the Google sign-in when it appears. If you use Aligned on a custom domain and the sign-in fails again, contact Aligned support.
How to avoid it: Complete the Google sign-in in full rather than closing the window.
Some content was skipped during import
What this means: One or more items were an unsupported file type or larger than the maximum file size. Everything else in the same import was added normally.
How to fix it: Convert the content to a supported format or reduce its size in Google Drive, then import it again.
How to avoid it: Check the file type and size in Google Drive before importing. See Content library overview for what the Library accepts.
Unexpected errors
Q: Why did my import fail partway through?
Q: Why did my import fail partway through?
An import that stops before finishing is usually caused by a connection problem or a Google Drive timeout. Check which content did arrive in your Library, then import the remaining content again. If the import fails a second time, contact Aligned support and include the number of items you selected, the file types, and the approximate time the import failed.
Q: Why does my imported Google Doc show a request-access screen?
Q: Why does my imported Google Doc show a request-access screen?
A Google Workspace document shows a request-access screen when the sharing settings in Google Drive do not permit the person viewing it to open it. Open the document in Google Drive, adjust its sharing settings, and the document becomes viewable in Aligned. If the sharing settings look correct and the screen still appears, contact Aligned support with a link to the document and the sharing setting you applied.
FAQ
Q: Does Google Drive Import sync my content?
Q: Does Google Drive Import sync my content?
Google Drive Import is not a sync feature. It brings content into Aligned once, at the moment you import it. The one exception is Google Workspace content - Docs, Sheets and Slides - which is added as an embedded document and continues to reflect changes made in Google.
Q: Can I import an entire Google Drive folder?
Q: Can I import an entire Google Drive folder?
Folders appear in the picker so you can browse into them, but you cannot select a folder itself - only the content inside it. If you want a whole folder in Aligned and you want it to stay matched to Google Drive, that is Google Drive Folder Sync - see the comparison above.
Q: If I delete a file in Google Drive, is it removed from Aligned?
Q: If I delete a file in Google Drive, is it removed from Aligned?
It depends on the type of content. Google Workspace content - Docs, Sheets and Slides - stops displaying in Aligned, in the Library and in every Room using it, if the original is deleted in Google Drive. All other content is a copy with no ongoing connection to the original, so deleting the file in Google Drive does not remove it from Aligned.
Q: Can I import links from Google Drive?
Q: Can I import links from Google Drive?
You can. Pick a Google Workspace document in the Google Drive picker, and Aligned adds it as an embedded document - there is no need to copy and paste its link.
Q: Where does imported content go?
Q: Where does imported content go?
Importing from the Library puts the content in whichever folder you were in when you started, in your Company Library or your My Library. Importing into a Room section keeps the content in that section, unless you check Add to Library and choose a destination. Every item that reaches the Library receives the Recently uploaded label inside the Google Drive label category.
Q: Can an admin turn Google Drive Import off for the account?
Q: Can an admin turn Google Drive Import off for the account?
There is no setting to turn Google Drive Import on or off. It follows the Library upload permission your account already uses, so anyone who can upload to the Library can import from Google Drive.
Q: Can I import from a shared drive?
Q: Can I import from a shared drive?
The picker shows your own Google Drive and does not include shared drives. Content in a shared drive needs to be in your own Drive before you can import it.
Q: Can I remove the Recently uploaded label?
Q: Can I remove the Recently uploaded label?
You can remove the Recently uploaded label from any item. You cannot apply it manually to other content - Aligned adds it automatically to everything imported from Google Drive, and new labels cannot be created inside the Google Drive category.
Q: Does content imported from Google Drive behave differently in Rooms?
Q: Does content imported from Google Drive behave differently in Rooms?
Content imported from Google Drive behaves exactly like any other Library content in Rooms. You can add it to sections, it appears in analytics, and you can replace it through the standard flow.
Q: Do I need to connect Google Drive before I can import?
Q: Do I need to connect Google Drive before I can import?
You do not need to connect or set up anything before importing. The Google sign-in happens inside the import itself, and there is no Google Drive integration to enable or disconnect.
Pro Tips
Import in batches by topic. Everything you import in one go receives the Recently uploaded label together, so importing one topic at a time makes it quicker to label and file the content afterwards.
Check sharing settings before importing Google Workspace content. Docs, Sheets and Slides are viewed through Google, so a restricted document stays restricted in Aligned. Set sharing in Google Drive first and clients will never see a request-access screen.