Google docs integration

Google docs integration

Agilebase users often attach documents to their data – quotes, invoices, process maps, certificates etc. The built in version control keeps a history of any previous versions when a new file is uploaded to the cloud, allowing rollbacks if necessary. Great for documents of any type regardless of their origin.

However when drafting your own documents, Agilebase (until now) required the user to descend from cloudy heights to the swampy lowlands of local storage. In practice this often meant that two people could be simultaneously drafting a document but having to work on different copies of the file on their respective computers, each having no knowledge of the other until an upload was done. Cue loads of uploading and downloading of files!

Google docs offers a much better way to work collaboratively for those who want to take the 100% cloud route.  A central copy of the file is updated in real time, and all users can see changes immediately, even if a few people are working on a document at once.

Agilebase now comes with Google docs integration! This means you can get the advantages of both ‘cloud’ systems without the need to go offline to make changes. Link directly to a Google document, drawing, spreadsheet or presentation from within Agilebase and the system will

a) show you a preview of the doc, which expands as you hover over it to let you read the contents

b) show information such as who last made an edit and whether there have been any edits since you last opened it

The easiest way to do this is to simply copy and paste the URL of a Google Doc from your browser’s address bar into any text field in agileBase.

If more than a couple of people need access, linking docs from the Agilebase account offers a much easier way of sharing than just using docs.google.com itself. As well as attaching meta-data to the document, which of course you can do easily with Agilebase, you can skip the laborious process of sharing and inviting everyone through Google (the only real crinkle in Google’s otherwise smooth processes). People can just click the link and if they don’t yet have access, an access request will be sent.

So in summary, take the cloud route and get the benefits not just of your core databases in the cloud, not just your documents, but the two together, linked and referenced for easy collaboration and management.