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ClickRuntime

Connect Google Docs to Google Drive

Docs are where writing happens and Drive is how it's organised. Create reports, letters and lesson plans as Docs in the right folder, fill templates with your details, and get summaries of new documents as they arrive.
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Ideas

What you can do with Google Docs and Google Drive

Document drafting, templates and summaries for Docs stored in your Drive. These are ready-made starting points. Anything else you can describe works too.
The moment it happensAI

Research a company and save a report as a Google Doc

Submit a company name and a structured research report is saved as a Google Doc in your Reports folder.

See how it works
WeeklyAI

Create next week's lesson plans in Drive every Sunday

Every Sunday you get a lesson plan Google Doc for each lesson next week, filed in your Lessons folder, with the links emailed to you.

See how it works
Every 30 minutesAI

Score CVs in a Drive folder and keep a ranked report Doc

Every CV you drop into your Applicants folder is scored against the job description and added to a ranked summary in a Google Doc.

See how it works
Every 15 minutesAI

Create document drafts from new contract PDFs in Drive

Each contract PDF added to your Drive folder produces a draft from your Doc template with the parties, dates and amounts filled in.

See how it works
The moment it happens

Create PDF quotes from a Google Doc template when a form is submitted

Each quote request fills your Google Doc template, saves a PDF in Drive and emails it to you, ready to send.

See how it works
The moment it happensAI

Tailor your CV to each job posting from one master Doc

Send a job posting and a copy of your master CV, tailored to that role, is saved in your Applications folder in Drive.

See how it works
Every 30 minutesAI

Turn PDFs in Drive into two versions of a multiple-choice test

Drop a PDF into your Drive folder and get two different multiple-choice tests on it as Google Docs.

See how it works
Every 15 minutesAI

Get a Slack summary of each new doc in a Drive folder

Every document that lands in your Drive Inbox folder is summarised and the summary is sent to you in Slack.

See how it works Your own logic

Any other automation you can describe in words

Your own rules, schedule and AI steps with Google Docs and Google Drive, plus any other app. Describe it and your assistant builds it.

See how to build your own

Build your own

Build any Google Docs and Google Drive automation you can describe

The ideas above are ready-made starting points, not a fixed list. Describe what should happen between Google Docs and Google Drive in your own words, with your conditions, other apps or an AI step, and your assistant writes it, tests it and runs it on ClickRuntime.

  • Your own rules

    Conditions, thresholds, filters and exceptions, written the way you'd explain them to a colleague.

  • Any number of apps

    One automation can read from one app and update several others. Over 248 apps are ready, and anything with an API works too.

  • AI where it helps

    Summaries, classification, extraction and drafts use ClickRuntime's built-in AI, with no extra key.

  • On a schedule or on each event

    Runs as often as every 5 minutes, or the moment an app sends an event, and keeps track of what it already handled.

For example, ask your assistant

Every night, find Docs in my Drive Meeting Notes folder that were edited today and append a short AI list of action items at the end of each.

Each month, move Docs in my Drive Drafts folder that haven't been edited in 90 days into an Archive folder and send me the list.

Use cases

Why people connect Google Docs and Google Drive

How the two apps work together

  • ClickRuntime checks Drive folders on a schedule for new or changed Docs.
  • It reads or writes Google Docs content, such as filling a template or adding a summary.
  • New Docs are saved into Drive folders you choose, and links can be recorded elsewhere.

  • Agency builds proposals from a template

    A Google Docs proposal template can be copied into each client's Drive folder with names and prices filled in.

  • HR prepares offer letters

    Offer letters are generated from a template and saved into the candidate's folder for review before sending.

  • Team summarizes long documents

    New documents in a Drive folder can get an AI summary added to the top or saved as a separate Doc.

  • Ops keeps docs tidy

    Docs in a shared folder can be renamed, moved into dated folders, or archived after a set age.

More apps

Google Docs, Google Drive and other apps in one automation

An automation isn't limited to two apps. Add the next step in another app and it runs as part of the same automation.

Docs from sheet rows

For each new row in my Proposals sheet, create a Google Doc from my template in the client's Drive folder and write the link into the row.

Generated Docs emailed as PDF

When a new contract Doc is created in Drive, export it as a PDF and email it from Gmail to the address in the doc.

New Docs announced in Slack

When a new Doc is added to our Drive Specs folder, post its title and an AI summary to #product in Slack.

Setup

Connect Google Docs and Google Drive once

Every idea on this page uses the same two connections, so you set them up once. If one is missing, your assistant tells you and links to the right place.

Google Docs

Documents

  1. At console.cloud.google.com, enable the Google Docs API in your project. Enable the Google Drive API too if you want to copy templates, export PDFs or list folders.
  2. Under IAM & Admin → Service Accounts, create a service account and add a JSON key.
  3. Share the doc, or the folder it lives in, with the service account's email as Editor.
  4. In the ClickRuntime dashboard, save the JSON key as a secret on Connections & secrets.

Google Drive

File storage

  1. At console.cloud.google.com, create a project and enable the Google Drive API.
  2. Set up the OAuth consent screen and add the scope https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.
  3. Create an OAuth client of type Web application with the redirect URI https://clickruntime.com/oauth/callback.
  4. In the ClickRuntime dashboard, open Connections, choose Google Drive and enter the client ID and secret, then connect.
  5. Prefer a service account? Under IAM & Admin → Service Accounts, create one and add a JSON key, share your folders or a Shared Drive with its email, and save the key as a secret on Connections & secrets.

FAQ

Questions about connecting Google Docs and Google Drive

Can it use my own template?
Yes. Put placeholders like {{client_name}} in a Google Doc, and it copies the template and fills them in for each new document.
Where are new Docs saved?
In the Drive folder you name. Sharing follows that folder's settings.
Can it read PDFs as well as Docs?
Yes. It reads the text from PDFs in Drive, which works best for documents that are not scanned images.
Will it overwrite my existing documents?
No. It creates new Docs and leaves your originals unchanged.
Does it keep the formatting of my template?
Yes. It copies your template and replaces placeholders, so fonts and layout stay the same.
Can it export Docs as PDF?
Yes. A Doc can be exported as a PDF and saved to Drive or sent elsewhere.
Can it work in shared drives?
Yes, as long as your Google account has access to the shared drive.

Related pages

Keep exploring

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