# Google Drive

> Translate your Google Drive files by simply sharing a folder with Crowdin

URL: https://store.crowdin.com/google-drive
Category: File Management & Storage
Type: App
Author: Crowdin

This integration syncs files from Google Drive to Crowdin for translation, then syncs translations back to Google Drive.

**How it works:**
1. You share a folder from a Shared Drive with the integration's service account
2. You add the folder URL to the app
3. You select files and request translations
4. Translated files appear in the same folder in Google Drive

:::tip[Important]
This integration only works with Google Workspace Shared Drives. Personal Google Drive folders ("My Drive") are not supported.
:::


## Quick Start Guide

1. **Create a Shared Drive** in Google Workspace (or use an existing one)
2. **Create a directory** inside the Shared Drive for files you want to translate
3. **Add your source files** to the directory
4. **Share the folder** with the integration's service account:
   - Click **Share** on the folder
   - Enter the service account email (displayed on the login screen and in Settings)
   - Select role: **Contributor**
5. **Copy the folder URL** (click "Copy link" after sharing)
6. **Paste the URL** in the app — either on the login screen or in Settings (when adding more folders)

![Google Drive Crowdin connector for translation](https://developers.app.crowdin.net/api/media/file/0025a924-0ea3-4b53-b8f7-920ec5fbff12.png "Google Drive login screen")

## Supported Content

**Supported file types and export formats:**

- **Google Docs** → DOCX
- **Google Sheets** → XLSX
- **Google Slides** → PPTX
- **PDF files** → DOCX (or OCR app output format)
- **Plain files** (JSON, TXT, SRT, etc.) → As-is, no conversion

**Not supported:**
- Google Forms, Apps Script, Drawings, Sites
- Image, video, and audio files
- ZIP/archive files

:::note
This integration does not use Google's native file formats. Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides are converted to Office formats for translation.
:::


## Auto-Sync

- Enable automatic synchronization for connected folders
- New files added to connected folders are automatically sent for translation
- **Tip:** Set up an automatic workflow in Crowdin to assign linguists automatically

![Translate Google Drive files inside Crowdin](https://developers.app.crowdin.net/api/media/file/4c60ffe2-42fd-4955-b9df-1228929010d2.png "Google Drive synchronization screen")

## Spreadsheet Configuration

When translating spreadsheets (XLSX/Google Sheets), additional configuration is required:

1. Go to **Project → Sources → Files** in Crowdin
2. Configure which columns are translatable, or indicate that the entire spreadsheet should be translated
3. Without this configuration, Crowdin won't know which content to extract for translation

## How Others in Your Organization Can Request Translations

Team members who aren't localization managers can request translations:

1. Create a directory in the Shared Drive with the files to translate
2. Share the folder with the service account email (the localization manager can find it on the login screen or in Settings)
3. Send the folder URL to the localization manager

The localization manager then adds the folder via Settings in the app.

## Translation Output

Choose how translated files are organized in Google Drive:

### Option 1: Naming Pattern (default)

Translated files are saved alongside source files with a modified name:

- **Prefix with locale** — `[fr] Report.docx`
- **Suffix with locale** — `Report [fr].docx`
- **Underscore separator** — `Report_fr.docx`
- **Folder per language** — `fr/Report.docx`

You can also enable **"Group translations by source file"** to create a folder for each source file containing all its translations.

### Option 2: Language Folders with Original Structure

Preserves your exact folder structure and original file names under language-specific directories:

```
Source files:                    Translations:
/Marketing/                      /Marketing/
  /docs/report.docx               /docs/report.docx
  /presentations/slides.pptx      /presentations/slides.pptx
                                  /fr/
                                    /docs/report.docx
                                    /presentations/slides.pptx
                                  /de/
                                    /docs/report.docx
                                    /presentations/slides.pptx
```

This option is ideal when you need:
- Original file names preserved exactly
- Clean separation of languages
- A mirror of your source structure for each language

Translated files are updated in place when syncing multiple times (no duplicates created).

## Folder Management

- Connect multiple Shared Drive folders from a single integration
- Add or remove folders anytime from the Settings page

![Google Drive Crowdin sync settings for document translation.](https://developers.app.crowdin.net/api/media/file/c4452d42-bd06-42c0-b7e1-177528784e9c.png "Google Drive settings")

## File Display Settings

- **Show non-translatable files**: Displays all files including images, videos, and archives (shown as disabled with tooltips)
- **Show translated files**: Displays files that appear to be translations based on your naming pattern

Files that appear to be translations (e.g., `[fr] Report.docx`) are hidden by default to prevent circular syncing.

## Known Limitations

- If Google Drive auto-converts uploaded files to Google Docs format, they will be exported as DOCX — the original format (e.g., .md) cannot be recovered
- Google Apps Script, Drawings, Forms, and Sites cannot be translated
- Image, video, and audio files are not supported by this integration
- ZIP/archive files are skipped during sync

## Limits

- Maximum 5,000 files displayed in the file browser
- Maximum folder depth: 10 nested folders
- Maximum file size: 100 MB per file