I need help creating an automated system that shows my PDF files from Google Drive on my Google Sites page. I want to create a table that displays each PDF with its thumbnail image, filename, and a direct link back to the original file in Drive. The main thing I’m looking for is automation - whenever I add new PDF files to my Drive folder, they should automatically show up on my Sites page without me having to manually update anything. Is there a way to set this up using Google Apps Script or some other method? I’ve tried a few approaches but can’t get the automatic syncing to work properly.
i tried using google sheets too! it’s way simpler to manage than the sites api. just create a script that collects your pdfs and fills a new sheet, then directly embed that sheet in your sites. it auto-updates & saves time!
To address your concern with automatic syncing of PDF files, I’ve found that implementing a time-driven trigger in Google Apps Script is effective. It can be set to check for new files every hour. You can structure your script to build an HTML table that includes the PDF thumbnails using the Drive API, which you can then push to your Google Sites page via the Sites API. It’s essential to create a specific Drive folder for your PDFs, then use the script to generate thumbnail URLs with the format https://drive.google.com/thumbnail?id=FILE_ID. Keep in mind that updating content on Sites can be tricky as it restricts certain embedded elements, so consider utilizing an iframe or an external HTML host for better results. Additionally, be aware that thumbnail generation may fail for complex PDFs, so incorporating fallback options is advisable.
I’ve dealt with this exact setup before. The biggest pain point is getting Drive and Sites permissions to play nice together. Here’s what actually worked for me: Ditch the time triggers and use Google Apps Script with webhooks instead. Set up a publicly viewable Drive folder, then the webhook fires whenever someone drops files in there. You get near-instant updates instead of waiting around for hourly checks. For thumbnails, skip the direct URL method - Drive API’s thumbnail service handles different PDF formats way better. Just heads up though: fresh PDFs need a few minutes before thumbnails show up. I learned this the hard way when my site kept showing broken images. Build in a short delay or retry loop and you’ll be good to go.