Generating shareable image links in Google Drive

It is common to share images or files through Google Drive, but if not formatted correctly, the links will not work.

Use the following guide to help generate properly formatted image links from a Google Drive

• When in the Google Drive, use the main menu available to help navigate to the folder that image files are located

• Once the images have been located, right click on the image for which a link or URL is needed. Then select the 'Share' option.

• Selection the 'Share' option will generate an additional dialog box where a link can be copied. Before copying the link be sure the 'General Access' is updated to 'Anyone with the link' and the sharing format is set to 'Editor'.

• At this point the link from the 'Copy Link' can be obtained and pasted into a clean Excel workbook for the remaining edits
  • This will ensure the template/document being filled out or being used to create process new products will not be altered

Tip: The remaining steps can be completed in bulk. It is recommended that all links are obtained first and then adjusted using the following steps.

• Once the link(s) have been added to a clean Excel workbook, use the 'Text to Columns' function to break apart the URL.
  • In Text to Columns use the ‘Delimited’ function and separate the URL by using the back slash ( / ). Doing this will isolate the view ID or the primary code the image was saved under.

• Now that the view ID has been separated, combine the following URL and the view ID together in a new column on the excel doc.

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=

• You will concatenate the URL above and the view ID into a new image link. This will create the ‘Direct’ link and allow image links to process correctly

• Once these links have been adjusted, they can then be copy and pasted as values into the doc or template being used to set up products.