Automatically Move Gmail Attachments to Google Drive and Update Labels

Other Questions Gmail
1

Hey everyone, I’m struggling with a task in Google Apps Script. I need to grab attachments from emails with specific labels, move them to Google Drive, and then change the email labels to mark them as done. This way, we avoid moving the same attachments again.

I’ve tried two different code snippets, but I can’t get them to work perfectly. The first one moves the attachments but doesn’t update the labels. The second one throws an error about attachments.copyBlob not being a function.

Here’s a simplified version of what I’m trying to do:

function handleAttachments() {
  var targetFolder = DriveApp.getFolderById('SOME_FOLDER_ID');
  var currentLabel = GmailApp.getUserLabelByName('Incoming');
  var processedLabel = GmailApp.getUserLabelByName('Processed');
  
  var threads = currentLabel.getThreads();
  
  threads.forEach(function(thread) {
    var messages = thread.getMessages();
    messages.forEach(function(message) {
      var attachments = message.getAttachments();
      attachments.forEach(function(attachment) {
        targetFolder.createFile(attachment);
      });
    });
    
    processedLabel.addToThread(thread);
    currentLabel.removeFromThread(thread);
  });
}

I’m not a coder by trade, so I’m having trouble figuring out what’s wrong. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

2

I’ve encountered similar challenges with Gmail automation. Your approach is sound, but there are a few tweaks that might help. First, ensure you’re using the correct method for file creation: targetFolder.createFile(attachment.copyBlob()). This should resolve the error you mentioned. Additionally, consider adding error handling with try-catch blocks to manage potential issues gracefully. Lastly, be mindful of Google’s quotas and limits, as exceeding these can cause unexpected behavior. If you’re processing a large volume of emails, you might need to implement pagination or time-based triggers to avoid timeouts.

3

I’ve been using Google Apps Script for email automation for a while now, and I think I can help you out. Your code is on the right track, but there are a few things you can improve.

First, make sure you’re using the correct method to create files in Drive. Instead of targetFolder.createFile(attachment), try targetFolder.createFile(attachment.copyBlob()). This should fix the error you’re seeing.

Another thing to consider is error handling. Wrap your code in try-catch blocks to gracefully handle any issues that might come up during execution. This will make your script more robust and easier to debug.

Lastly, be aware of Google’s quotas and execution time limits. If you’re processing a lot of emails, you might need to implement pagination or use time-based triggers to avoid timeouts. This will ensure your script runs smoothly even with large volumes of data.

Hope this helps! Let me know if you need any further clarification.

4

hey there surfingwave, i’ve dealt with similar issues before. your code looks mostly good, but you might wanna try using blob.setName() before creating the file in drive. also, make sure you’re not hitting any quota limits. sometimes that can cause weird errors. good luck with your script!