Find Files Without Leaving Slack
Someone asks in Slack: 'Where's the brand guidelines?' Notis searches Drive, finds matching files, and posts a results doc with links. No context-switching to Drive, no 'I'll find it and send you a link later.' Results appear instantly.
Trigger
Channel Message Received
Triggered when a message is posted in a Slack channel (public, private, or multi-party IM). Does NOT match direct messages.
Action
Find file
Tool to list or search for files and folders in google drive. use when you need to find specific files based on query criteria or list contents of a drive/folder.
Why this helps
File searches break the flow of conversations and divert focus. Neurodivergent employees struggle with search cognitive load. A Slack-native file search reduces context-switching and keeps work moving.
- Find files without leaving Slack; stay in the conversation
- Reduces context-switching and focus loss
- Faster response times to file requests
- Team stays in sync without manual file-sharing handoffs
Setup
Build it in a few focused steps.
- 1Connect Slack and Google Drive.
- 2Create an automation: 'When a message contains a file request (e.g., 'where is' or 'do we have' or 'send me the'), search Google Drive for matching files and create a results doc in Drive with links.'
- 3Select 'Channel Message Received' as your trigger.
- 4Specify keywords that trigger a search (e.g., 'where is', 'do we have', 'send me the', 'find the').
- 5Test by asking a file request in Slack and checking Drive for the results doc.
Questions about this workflow
How specific does the request need to be for Notis to find files?
Notis extracts keywords from the request (e.g., 'brand guidelines' from 'Where is the brand guidelines?') and searches Drive. More specific requests yield better results.
Can I limit searches to specific folders or projects?
Yes. You can scope searches to certain Drive folders or use keyword filters (e.g., only search 'Brand' folder when someone asks about brand files).
What if the search returns no results?
Notis creates a results doc saying 'No files found' and suggests related files or folders. You can manually check Drive or ask for clarification.
When this happens · Trigger
Do this · Action
Supported Triggers and Actions
Notis builds workflows that link Slack to Google Drive. A trigger fires from one place; an action lands in another.
Slack triggers
Google Drive actions
New Channel Created Trigger
Triggered when a new channel is created in Slack.
Add file sharing preference
Modifies sharing permissions for an existing google drive file, granting a specified role to a user, group, domain, or 'anyone'.
Channel Message Received
Triggered when a message is posted in a Slack channel (public, private, or multi-party IM). Does NOT match direct messages.
Copy file
Duplicates an existing file in google drive, identified by its `file id`.
Direct Message Received
Triggered when a new direct message (DM) is sent to a user in Slack. Catches all DMs across all DM channels.
Create Comment
Tool to create a comment on a file. use when you need to add a new comment to a specific file in google drive.
Message Reaction Added
Triggered when a reaction is added to a message in Slack. Supports optional filtering by channel and emoji name.
Create Shared Drive
Tool to create a new shared drive. use when you need to programmatically create a new shared drive for collaboration or storage.
Message Reaction Removed
Triggered when a reaction is removed from a message in Slack. Supports optional filtering by channel and emoji name.
Create File or Folder
Creates a new file or folder with metadata. use to create empty files or folders, or files with content by providing it in the request body (though this action primarily focuses on metadata creation).
Reaction Added Trigger
DEPRECATED: use `SLACK_MESSAGE_REACTION_ADDED` instead. Triggered when a reaction is added to a message in Slack.
Create a File from Text
Creates a new file in google drive from provided text content (up to 10mb), supporting various formats including automatic conversion to google workspace types.
Reaction Removed Trigger
DEPRECATED: use `SLACK_MESSAGE_REACTION_REMOVED` instead. Triggered when a reaction is removed from a message.
Create a folder
Creates a new folder in google drive, optionally within a parent folder specified by its id or name; if a parent name is provided but not found, the action will fail.
New Bot Message Received Trigger
DEPRECATED: use `SLACK_CHANNEL_MESSAGE_RECEIVED` with `is_bot_message=true` instead. Triggered when a new bot message is posted to a Slack channel.
Create Reply
Tool to create a reply to a comment in google drive. use when you need to respond to an existing comment on a file.
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When this happens · Trigger
Do this · Action
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