Placeholders you can type directly into action fields — email subject/body, Slack/Chat messages, webhook URLs, file and folder names, spreadsheet cell values, and more. FileDrop fills them in with real data when the automation runs. If a placeholder has nothing to fill it with (e.g. {old_value} on a “new row” trigger), it’s simply left blank — you won’t see an error.
Which of these are actually filled in depends on your source; each source’s guide lists the ones relevant to it. This page is the full list.
Column references
| Variable |
Resolves to |
{column:A} |
Value in column A of the current row |
{column:Status} |
Value of the column whose header is “Status” (matches by name first, then falls back to treating it as a column letter) |
This works for spreadsheet columns, form field labels, and — for the Incoming Webhook source — keys from the posted JSON.
Sheet row details (Google Sheet source)
| Variable |
Resolves to |
{row_number} |
The row’s number |
{column_letter} |
Which column changed (cell-change trigger only) |
{old_value} |
The value before the change (cell-change trigger only) |
{new_value} |
The value after the change (cell-change trigger only) |
Drive file details (Drive Folder / Drive File / Shared Drive sources)
| Variable |
Resolves to |
{file_name} |
The file’s name |
{file_url} |
Link to open the file |
{file_id} |
The file’s Drive ID |
{mime_type} |
The file’s type |
{owner} |
Owner name(s)/email(s) |
{writers} |
Editor name(s)/email(s) |
{readers} |
Viewer/commenter name(s)/email(s) |
{modified_by} |
Who last edited the file |
{file_content} / {content} |
The file’s extracted text (only fetched when a condition needs it) |
| Variable |
Resolves to |
{form_name} |
The form’s name |
{submitter_email} |
The person who submitted |
{submission_url} |
Link to the responses dashboard |
{submitted_at} |
When it was submitted |
Every field on the form is also available as {column:Field Label} — use the exact label you gave the field when building the form.
Incoming webhook details (Incoming Webhook source)
| Variable |
Resolves to |
{payload.<key>} |
Any value from the JSON that was posted, e.g. {payload.transcript}, {payload.file_name}. For nested JSON, join the path with dots: {payload.user.email}. |
{payload_json} |
The entire posted JSON, formatted |
{metadata_json} |
Request details FileDrop captured (content type, sender, event ID) |
{content} |
Auto-detected main content — the first field found among content, transcript, text, result, summary |
{file_name} |
Auto-detected from file_name, filename, or name |
{file_id} |
Auto-detected from file_id, drive_file_id, or id |
{file_url} |
Auto-detected from file_url, webViewLink, or url |
{mime_type} |
The file’s type, if present in the payload |
Every field in the posted JSON is also available as {column:<key>} — same data, same key names as {payload.<key>}, and also what conditions use to reference a field.
Automation and source info (all sources)
| Variable |
Resolves to |
{automation_name} |
This automation’s name |
{sheet_name} |
The spreadsheet’s name (Google Sheet source) |
{sheet_tab} |
The sheet tab’s name (Google Sheet source) |
{sheet_url} |
Link to open the spreadsheet (Google Sheet source) |
{folder_name} |
The watched folder’s name (Drive Folder source) |
{drive_file_name} |
The watched file’s name (Drive File source) |
{shared_drive_name} |
The Shared Drive’s name (Shared Drive source) |
Date and time
| Variable |
Resolves to |
{triggered_at} |
Full date and time the automation ran |
{date} |
Today’s date |
{time} |
Current time |
{datetime} |
Date and time together |
{year} |
Current year |
{month} |
Current month (numeric) |
{month_name} |
Current month (spelled out) |
From a previous action in the same automation
These only fill in on actions that run after the action that produced them:
| Variable |
Filled in by |
{doc_id} |
Find/create Doc, Convert to Doc |
{doc_url} |
Find/create Doc, Convert to Doc |
{doc_name} |
Find/create Doc, Convert to Doc |
