SMCP Integration With Google Drive

We're continuing integrating Google Drive into our day to day in an effort to streamline our data management.  We now have options to both upload files and create Google Drive folders directly through SMCP.  All the files will be stored using Google Drive however they will all remain easily accessible through SMCP.  Below is an in depth look into setting up SMCP for integration with Google Drive.  

1. Google Drive Folder Creation: Under Edit System Options (1005)  scroll to Google Drive Folder Creation. This is where we'll be filling in information regarding Parent Folder ID's and department specific prefix's and suffix's (more on this below).

A brief note on parent folders and 'ID's:  The parent folder in simplest terms is the main folder in which you plan to create each folder related to, say, an order.  If you think of the traditional folder (directory) structure on, for example, a Windows based system this might be something like C:\Libraries\Documents\Orders\405956, where '405956' would be the order number.  If you wanted to store documents for that order in Google Drive, you would create a new folder called '405956' under the 'Orders' folder, and upload your documents to that folder.  The 'Orders' folder, then, is what we would call the 'parent' folder - and each folder that gets created for an order gets created in that 'parent' folder.

Each document or folder in Google Drive has a name, which can be duplicated on other files and folders, but each also has an 'ID' which is always unique.  One place to read that ID is in any link to the file or folder - the ID is a long string of (apparently meaningless) characters embedded in the link URL.  See below:

2. Google Drive Parent Folder ID: For parent folders you'll be uploading the parent folder ID for that specific type of document folder (i.e., Orders, Sales Leads, PO's, etc).  So for instance with Google Drive ORDER parent folder ID, you'll go into Google Drive and select whatever folder houses all your order folders (typically this would be something like 'Order Docs').  Once you click into this folder the URL at the top of your screen should look something like this: drive.google.com/drive/folders/OBxyluPCydkjOWnNJY1pOQTlkTWm?usp=sharing (this may not always be exclusive to standard characters and can include symbols such as ! and &).  Copy the last part displayed in your address bar - up to but not including the '?' (0BxyluPCydkjOWnNJY1pOQTlkTWm) and place this into Google Drive parent folder.  This can be repeated where applicable so if you have a separate folder for sales leads use that as well.   

A side note is that all Google Drive folders currently begin with 0B (though this may change over time). Another identifier is that the Google Drive Folder ID usually starts after this symbol in the URL ?id= (the id= statement essentially says the Google Drive folder request is equal to the copied identifier mentioned before).

3.  Order folder prefix and suffix are entirely optional depending on how you choose to document folders.  They specifically add a beginning title to a folder or ending title.  So if you have an order called "405268" and you add the prefix "Bid" the file will then be stored as "Bid405268".

4.  This also works in the Accounts Receivable Menu (1024).  From here click AR Edit Accounts Receivable Options (1099) and follow steps 2 & 3.   

5.  This is applicable with purchasing as well.  Click the Inventory Control Menu (1066) followed by IC Edit Inventory Options (1080) and follow steps 2 & 3.

6.  Lastly you'll insert  links into Edit System Options (1005) so that the scripts provided will function.  SMCP uses 3 Google app scripts for our Google Drive functions: 1 to upload, 1 to rename, and lastly 1 to create folders.  For these to work the names of these scripts have to be identified within the system, so the program can call them to process the upload, rename, or create request.