How to Automatically Link Google Drive Files to the Right Records in Airtable

You have an Airtable table that lists drawing numbers, but the corresponding files such as PDFs, CAD drawings, or images are stored separately in a Google Drive folder.

Each file name in that folder includes the drawing number, which makes it possible to identify which record in Airtable it belongs to.

What you want is to automatically store the links to these files in the correct Airtable records, matching them based on the drawing number in the file name so that all data and files can be viewed together in one place.

Since there are many records, doing this manually would take far too long.

The goal is to automate the process so that every file from Google Drive is instantly linked to the right record in Airtable.

So how can you achieve this?

Automating using Make

You can easily automate this using Make.

Make can go through all the files in your Google Drive folder, extract the drawing number from each file name, generate a public URL, and then upload that file to the correct record in Airtable.

Here’s how to set it up.

Step 1: Search for files in your Google Drive folder

Begin your Make scenario with the Google Drive > Search files/folders module.

This module scans a specific folder in your Google Drive and retrieves all the files it contains. It is not a trigger but a search action, which means you can control when it runs and how many files it processes.

To make sure Make goes through every file in that folder, open the module settings and specify the folder ID or select the folder directly. You can also choose filters like file type or name pattern if you only want to process certain kinds of files, such as PDFs or images.

This setup ensures that Make will find all the files that need to be matched with your Airtable records.

Step 2: Use an Iterator to process each file individually

Once the Search files/folders module retrieves all the files from your Google Drive folder, add an Iterator module next.

The Iterator breaks the bundle of files from the previous step into individual items so that each file can be processed one by one in the next steps.

Step 3: Extract the drawing number from each file name

Filenames already contain the drawing number (for example, DRG-001.pdf).

Use the Set Variable module to extract the drawing number from the file name.

You can split the filename by “.” to separate the name (DRG-001) from the extension (pdf) and store that name as the drawing number variable.

This variable will help Make identify the corresponding record in Airtable.

Step 4: Find the matching record in Airtable

Next, use the Airtable > Search Records module.
Search for the record where the Drawing Number field matches the variable extracted from the filename.

If no matching record is found, you can handle that automatically by adding the Airtable > Upsert Record module later.

“Upsert” means that Make will update an existing record if found or create a new one if it does not exist.

Step 5: Generate a public file URL

Airtable only accepts file attachments through public URLs.

Before sending the file to Airtable, use the Google Drive > Get a Share Link module.
This generates a web content link that Airtable can access.

Make sure your Google Drive sharing settings allow “Anyone with the link” to view or download the file.

Step 6: Upload the file to Airtable

Finally, use the Airtable > Update Record (or Upsert Record) module to attach the file.
In the attachment field, map the “web content link” from Google Drive.

That’s it. This Make scenario will automatically map all your Google Drive files to the correct records in Airtable based on their drawing numbers.