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How to connect and use Google Drive in trumpet

A complete guide to connecting Google Drive to trumpet - including Seamless mode for automatic syncing and Managed mode for selective imports.

Written by Maddi Rose

How to connect and use Google Drive in trumpet

trumpet's Google Drive integration lets you bring your Drive content directly into your Pods and Content Library - keeping everything in one place without the manual busywork. There are two modes to choose from depending on how your team works.

Step 1: Connect Google Drive

  1. Go to your Settings and navigate to the Integrations page.

  2. Find Google Drive and click Connect.

  3. Authorise the required permissions when prompted by Google.

  4. Once connected, choose your mode: Seamless or Managed.
    You can manage your mode via CMS settings.

💡 Admins can restrict access to specific Drives, so you can limit your team to only the folders they need (e.g. a dedicated Sales or Marketing Drive).

Choosing your mode

trumpet offers two ways to work with Google Drive. You can set this in your CMS / Google Drive settings.

🔄 Seamless Mode - Your Drive, always in sync

Seamless mode turns your selected Google Drives into a living, searchable library inside trumpet. Once set up, it runs in the background - no manual importing needed.

How to set it up:

  1. In your Google Drive settings, select Seamless mode.

  2. Use the Drive picker to choose which shared Drives you want to sync.

  3. trumpet will begin the initial sync - files and folders will appear progressively in the background. A per-Drive status indicator shows Syncing → Synced.

  4. That's it! Your Drive content is now available in trumpet and will stay up to date automatically.

What happens after setup:

  • trumpet checks your Drive roughly every 15 minutes and applies any changes automatically:

    • New files → appear in trumpet

    • Edited files → updated in trumpet and re-indexed for search

    • Renamed or moved files → reflected in trumpet

    • Deleted files → removed from trumpet

    • Restored files → come back in trumpet

  • Synced content lives in its own Google Drive library in trumpet - separate from your own uploaded content so things stay tidy.

  • Files are fully searchable by content (not just filename) - so you can find a PDF or Google Doc by what's written inside it.

What you can do with synced files:

  • ✅ Search by filename and content

  • ✅ Preview, download, and share

  • ✅ Open the original directly in Google Drive

  • ✅ Tag files and folders to organise your library

  • ✅ Add files to Pods, or create Pods from synced files (individually or in bulk)

⚠️ Move and Delete are intentionally disabled for synced content in trumpet. Since Google Drive is the source of truth, make any changes there and they'll sync over automatically.

Good to know:

  • Sync runs every ~15 minutes - not instant, but close.

  • Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and PDFs are fully content-searchable. Office files (.docx, .pptx, .xlsx) are mirrored and downloadable but their contents aren't yet searchable by text - only by filename.

  • Tags you apply in trumpet stay in trumpet - they don't get written back to Google Drive.

  • If your Google authorisation expires, sync will pause and show a Needs reconnect status. Simply reconnect Google Drive and sync will resume automatically.

  • If you deselect a Drive, its mirrored content is removed from trumpet. Re-select it and everything comes back on the next sync.

📁 Managed Mode - Selective, controlled imports

Managed mode is designed for teams that want tighter control over what content gets shared. You browse your Drive and manually import individual files into your trumpet Content Library.

How it works:

  • Browse your live Google Drive from within trumpet and import individual files into your Content Library (External, Internal, or My Library).

  • Imported files are a point-in-time copy - they won't update automatically if the original changes in Drive. You can manually re-sync a file when needed.

  • A review and tagging flow ensures files are organised before they're shared.

  • Analytics are tracked per library copy.

💡 Managed mode is unchanged from how it's always worked - existing users on this mode keep working exactly as before.

Which mode is right for you?

Seamless Mode

Managed Mode

Best for

Teams who want Drive to be their content source of truth

Teams who need control over what gets shared

How files get in

Whole Drives mirrored automatically

Manual, file-by-file import

Stays up to date?

Yes - continuously (~15 min)

No - point-in-time copy (manual resync available)

Content search

Entire synced library, including file contents

Only imported files, by filename

Effort

One-time setup, then hands-off

Ongoing, manual

Troubleshooting

I selected a Drive but don't see any files yet
The initial sync is still running. Large Drives populate progressively in the background - check the Drive's status indicator and give it a little time.

A file I just added in Drive isn't showing up in trumpet
Sync runs approximately every 15 minutes. Wait a cycle and it should appear.

I can find a file by name but searching its text isn't working
This is likely an Office file (.docx, .pptx, .xlsx) - content search isn't yet supported for these. Google Docs, Slides, Sheets, and PDFs are fully searchable by content.

Sync has stopped / status says "Needs reconnect"
Your Google authorisation has expired. Head to your Google Drive settings and reconnect - sync will resume automatically from where it left off.

Why can't I move or delete a synced file in trumpet?
By design - synced content is managed from Google Drive. Make the change there and it will flow through to trumpet on the next sync.

Need help? Reach out to us via the chat bubble and we'll get you sorted. 🎺

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