Document Library Pro can build a document category automatically from a Google Drive or Dropbox folder. You paste the folder’s shared link into a category, the documents create themselves, and your library stays in sync with the folder. Folder sync is available on the Advanced plan.
How it works
When you connect a folder, Document Library Pro creates one document for every file in it, using the file name as the document title. Subfolders become subcategories, so your folder structure and your library structure always match. File types and sizes are detected automatically, and synced documents get the usual search, filter, preview, and download features. Native Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides open on Google in a new tab, while other file types download directly from your library.
The folder is the source of truth. Your library re-syncs with it automatically every day, or you can sync on demand with the Sync Now button. There are no API keys or account connections to configure: All Document Library Pro needs is the folder’s public share link, and it only ever reads from your folder, never changes it.
Setup instructions
1. Get a shared folder link
- Google Drive: Open Google Drive and right-click the folder you want to sync. Choose Share, then Share again. Under General access, select Anyone with the link with the Viewer role, then click Copy link. Folders inside a Google Workspace shared drive work the same way, as long as General access is set to Anyone with the link. If that option is missing or grayed out, your Workspace administrator has turned off link sharing for that shared drive and needs to allow it.
- Dropbox: Open Dropbox and hover over the folder you want to sync. Click Share, create a link that Anyone with this link can view, then click Copy link.
Remember that anyone who has the link can open the folder directly, so only sync folders whose contents are suitable for the people who will use your library. You can still protect the library itself with a password.
2. Connect the folder to a category
- Go to the Categories screen in your library admin.
- Create a new category, or open an existing one with Edit.
- Paste your link into the Google Drive or Dropbox folder field.
- Click Add Category or Update.
The first sync starts straight away, and you can watch its progress in the Cloud Sync column of the Categories screen.
Managing a synced category
Updating documents
To change a synced document, change the file in Google Drive or Dropbox:
- When you add a file to the folder, a new document appears in your library.
- When you delete a file, its document is removed.
- When you replace or update a file, the document updates to match.
Changes come across at the next daily sync, or straight away when you click Sync Now.
Adding tags and other details
The synced folder controls the file, title (from the file name), and category (matching its folder). In the library admin, open the document from the Documents screen with Edit to add other details.
- You can edit the description, tags, authors, and featured image. Tags and authors let visitors filter a synced library the same way as any other.
- Locked fields are grayed out with a lock icon. Hover over or click one to see why it is locked and where to change it.
- Every sync keeps tags, authors, description, and image, including when the file is renamed, replaced with a new version, or moved into a different subfolder of the synced folder.
- If you delete a file from the folder and upload it again, it counts as a new file, so it starts without the tags you added before.
- Document expiry is not available for synced documents. To remove a document, delete or move the file in Google Drive or Dropbox. A library password still works as normal.
Disconnecting a folder
To stop syncing, edit the category and disconnect the folder. Your documents are kept, so nothing disappears from your library. If you want to delete the documents as well, go to the main Documents screen in your Document Library Pro admin, select the relevant documents, and delete them.
If you reconnect the same folder later, Document Library Pro recognizes the existing documents and carries on syncing them rather than creating duplicates.
Troubleshooting
- “This folder can’t be accessed”: The link is not publicly shared. Set the folder’s sharing to “Anyone with the link” and paste the link again.
- You pasted a link to a single file: Folder sync needs a folder link, not a file link. Open the folder that contains the file and copy the link to the whole folder.
- The folder is empty: That’s fine. The category simply stays empty until you add files to the folder.
- “This folder is in the Google Drive trash”: Someone moved the synced folder to the trash in Google Drive. Restore it in Google Drive, then syncing carries on at the next sync or when you click Sync Now. Your documents are untouched meanwhile.
- “N files could not be synced”: The sync finished, but those files could not be added or updated in your library. They are tried again at the next daily sync, or straight away when you click Sync Now. If the same files keep failing, contact support with the file names.
- “Sync will retry automatically”: Google Drive, Dropbox, or the sync service was temporarily unreachable. You do not need to do anything. It retries after about 15 minutes, up to three times, and the next daily sync tries again anyway.
Whatever goes wrong, sync errors never delete your documents. If a folder becomes unreachable, your library keeps its existing documents and shows an error in the Cloud Sync column until it can sync again.