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Common Questions

Google Drive Import

Pick files from Google Drive and KnowStack imports a copy, extracts the text and keeps it ready for knowledge base generation. You choose each file; KnowStack never browses your Drive.

Google Drive import is included on Professional, Business and Enterprise, and during the free trial. It isn't part of the Starter plan. To import or remove files your role needs the 'Manage Data Collection' permission.

Access KnowStack asks for

  • KnowStack requests Google's drive.file permission, which covers only the files you pick. The page says 'KnowStack only sees the files you pick — not your whole Drive.'
  • Google asks you to allow access each time you import. KnowStack uses that access for the import and doesn't keep it.
  • There is no Drive connection to manage or disconnect in KnowStack.

Import files

  1. In the sidebar, open 'Sources', then 'Google Drive'.
  2. Optional: open a folder under 'Imported files'. Imports land in the folder you're in.
  3. Click 'Pick files from Google Drive'.
  4. In Google's window, choose your account and allow access.
  5. The picker opens at My Drive. Open folders to find files, then select one or more. Folders themselves can't be selected, and only supported file types are shown.
  6. Confirm your choice. KnowStack shows 'Importing 3 files…', then a summary such as '3 imported · 1 skipped', with the reason for each skipped file.
  7. The files appear under 'Imported files' as 'Pending', then 'Processing', and change to 'Ready' once their text is extracted.

The picker shows My Drive. Files that are only under 'Shared with me' or in a shared drive don't appear. Add them to My Drive first, or ask the owner to share a copy.

What you can import

FileImported asSize limit
Google DocsPlain text. Formatting, tables and images in the Doc are not keptGoogle's export limit
Google SheetsExcel workbook (.xlsx), read sheet by sheet as tablesGoogle's export limit
PDF, Word (.docx), Excel (.xlsx), CSV, textThe original file25 MB
Images (PNG, JPEG, WebP)The original file, read by an AI vision model25 MB
Audio (MP3, M4A, WAV, OGG, FLAC, WEBM, AAC)The original file, then transcribed200 MB

You can import up to 20 files at a time. Files beyond that are skipped with 'You can import up to 20 files at a time.'

How the text is extracted

PDFs are read the same way as in Documents: KnowStack first reads the PDF's own text. If the PDF has no text layer, for example a scanned paper document, it is read with OCR (text recognition) instead. Images are read by an AI vision model, and audio is transcribed as in Meetings. Extracting text from PDFs and images counts toward your AI usage.

When a file is done, people with the 'Manage Data Collection' permission get a notification in the bell. A file whose text could not be read shows 'No text'; one that failed shows 'Failed'.

Keeping files up to date

An import is a one-time copy. KnowStack doesn't follow the file in Drive, so later edits don't come through. To refresh a file, remove it in KnowStack and pick it again. Picking the same file again without removing it creates a second copy.

Preview and remove files

  • Click a file to open 'Drive File Preview' and read its extracted text. Use 'Copy Text' to copy it.
  • Imported files can't be downloaded from KnowStack. Open the original in Google Drive.
  • To remove a file, click its trash icon and confirm 'Remove file'. This deletes KnowStack's copy only; the file in Drive isn't touched.
  • Folders, moving, 'Select' and 'Search files…' work the same way as in Documents.

To withdraw the access you gave KnowStack to the files you picked, remove KnowStack from your Google Account permissions at myaccount.google.com/permissions.

Messages you might see

MessageWhat to do
'Your Google access expired — reconnect and pick the files again.'Click 'Pick files from Google Drive' again and allow access
'This file is larger than the size limit.'Files over 25 MB, or 200 MB for audio, are skipped. Split or compress the file
'This Google file is too large to import.'Google couldn't export the Doc or Sheet. Split it into smaller files
'This file type can't be imported.'Save the file in one of the supported formats
'Couldn't download this file from Google Drive.'Try again. If it keeps failing, check that the file still opens in Google Drive
'Couldn't open the Google Picker. Please try again.'Try again. If your browser blocks pop-ups, allow them for this site
'Import failed. Please try again.'On the Starter plan imports are refused. Upgrade to import from Drive