Get File
Description
Retrieves a file from Google Drive and returns a File Reference.
This activity is commonly used when subsequent activities require a File Reference instead of manually selecting a file.
Common settings
Use Process Data to bind supported inputs to workflow values or upstream outputs. See Common Activity Features for shared execution, error-handling, and output-persistence settings. Availability depends on the activity.
Design-Time Configuration
Display Text
A user-defined name for the activity, displayed on the workflow canvas to help identify its purpose.
Connection Name
The configured Google Drive connection used to access Google Drive resources.
File
The file to retrieve.
You can:
- Select a file using the Custom Picker Dialog.
- Provide a file identifier dynamically through Process Data.
Execution settings
Configure Wait All Incoming when execution paths converge, and On Error for failure handling. Select Inherit where available to use the workflow-level error policy.
Output
File
A File Reference representing the selected file. File References are a platform-wide IB-X file abstraction that can be passed to other activities that accept file inputs.
| Property | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Name of the file. |
| Size | File size in bytes. May be empty when not available. |
| File ID | Unique identifier of the file in Google Drive. |
| MIME Type | MIME type of the file. |
| Parent Folder | Parent folder containing the file. |
| Created Time | When the file was created. |
| Modified Time | When the file was last modified. |
| Web View Link | Link to view the file in Google Drive. |
| Is Native | Indicates whether the file is a native Google Workspace file. This activity retrieves non-native files, so the returned value is False. |
Remarks
- The authenticated Google account must have access to the file.
- This activity does not download the file contents.
- Use this activity to retrieve references to non-native files stored in Google Drive.
- Pass File directly to a file-consuming activity to read the contents; a separate local download is not required. Use Export File for native Workspace documents.
- The returned File Reference can be passed directly to any IB-X activity that accepts file inputs.