Rooms lets you share a Google Drive folder through FileDrop, decide who can access it, and review visitor activity. The original files stay in Google Drive.
Before you start
- Rooms requires an eligible plan and may be limited to beta-enabled accounts.
- Connect Google Drive with full access. You can use My Drive or a Shared Drive, as long as your Google account can access the folder.
- Keep the files you want to share inside the folder selected for the room. Changes made in Drive sync into the room in the background.
Create a room
- Open Rooms and choose New room.
- Optionally choose a template. Templates fill in suggested settings; you can change them before saving.
- Enter a room name and, if useful, a message for participants.
- Choose the Google Drive folder. Browse into subfolders as needed, then select the folder itself.
- Choose who can enter:
- Only people I add: each participant needs their personal link.
- People I add, plus access requests: visitors can verify their email and ask you for access. You approve or deny each request.
- Anyone who verifies their email: anyone with the room link can join after confirming their email, subject to the participant limit.
- Set any password or expiry, download, watermark, NDA, device, notification, index, or branding options you need.
- Save the room. The first folder sync runs, and the room opens in management.
The selected Drive folder is fixed after creation. To share a different folder, create another room. Deleting a room does not delete Drive files.
Add people and share the room
Open the Participants tab to add people by email or import a CSV, TXT, XLSX, or XLS file. You can send invitations from FileDrop or a connected Gmail account, or choose to distribute personal links yourself.
- In Only people I add mode, use each person’s personal link. The generic room link does not grant access.
- In Request access mode, share the room link. Review requests in Participants and approve or deny them.
- In Open mode, share the room link. Visitors confirm their email to join.
- Refreshing a personal link invalidates the old link. Disabling or removing a participant ends their access.
For security, participants may need an emailed verification code on a new device and again after seven days. They need access to the email address associated with their invitation.
Work with the room
The room page has six tabs:
- Files: review the synced listing, upload files into the selected Drive folder, or select Sync now to refresh the listing. Use Open Drive to open the source folder in Google Drive. Preview opens the visitor view without recording preview activity.
- Participants: invite people, handle access requests, copy or refresh links, change permissions, and review participant status.
- Message: email an announcement to active participants.
- Analytics: review visitor and file activity and export it as CSV or a Google Sheet.
- Activity: review recent room events.
- Settings: change room access and presentation settings.
Turning the room off prevents visitors from opening it; turn it back on to restore access. An expired room also blocks visitor access.
Files, previews, and downloads
Visitors can browse folders and search names in the current folder. Supported PDFs, images, Google files, and compatible video and audio can be previewed in FileDrop. Office documents can be previewed when Office previews are enabled for the service; otherwise, they need to be downloaded.
Downloads can be enabled or disabled for the whole room, with an individual override for a participant. When downloads are enabled, visitors may download individual files or ZIP packages. Watermarking stamps supported PDFs and PDF conversions with visitor details and optional custom text. It does not watermark images, audio, or video.
Download restrictions cannot prevent screenshots, screen recordings, or saving content through browser tools while a visitor can view it.
Branding and NDAs
In Settings, you can add a room logo, colors, and footer text. Empty color and text fields inherit your account branding. A selected logo replaces the current room logo when you save; remove the room logo or reset branding to use the account defaults. Logos are public images, so only upload an image intended to be publicly viewable.
To require an NDA, first create and prepare one in the Rooms NDA library, including a signature field. Then choose it in the room settings. Visitors must complete the NDA before they can access room files. If the NDA is edited, visitors may need to sign the updated version.
Understand activity
Rooms records visits, file views, downloads, device details, and supported document engagement. PDF engagement can include time per page; media activity is playback time. Tracked time is an estimate reported by the visitor’s browser, not proof that they read a document.
Use Analytics for summaries and exports, or Activity for recent events. Owner preview activity is not included as visitor activity.
Troubleshooting
The room is missing files or folders
Select Sync now. If the problem continues, check the room’s sync warning and reconnect Google Drive if requested. Sync also runs in the background, so recent Drive changes may take a short time to appear.
A visitor cannot open the room
Check that the room is turned on and has not expired. Confirm that the visitor is using their own personal link if the room is set to Only people I add. For a request-mode room, approve their pending request. Also check the password, NDA, participant status, and device verification email.
A visitor cannot download a file
Check the room’s download setting and the participant’s individual download permission. The file type may be preview-only or may require a supported browser or Office preview configuration.
A logo or preview is not visible
Save settings after selecting the logo. Confirm it is PNG, JPG, or WebP and no larger than 2 MB. If it still does not appear, contact support; room logos are stored using the app’s configured cloud storage.
Limits
Rooms availability and room, participant, and file limits depend on your plan and account access. The interface displays a limit when you reach it. A room can contain nested folders, but very deep folder trees and folders larger than the plan’s item limit may not be fully included.
For the complete implementation reference, see Rooms features.