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Configure Google Docs Integration

There are two ways to configure the Google Docs Integration: modify the properties in alfresco-global.properties or update the settings in the Google Docs Console of the Admin Console (Enterprise-only).

Configure using properties

The following properties can be configured for Google Docs Integration in the alfresco-global.properties file.

Property Description
googledocs.enabled Required. Enables the Google Docs functionality. By default, this property is set to true. If you set this option to false, the Edit in Google Docs action will not be available. Documents that are currently being edited will still be available using the Resume editing in Google Docs action until they are saved or discarded.
googledocs.idleThresholdSeconds Optional. Sets the idle time threshold in seconds. Additional Google users that you invite to collaborate on the document will be considered to be ‘idle’ after this period. The period is measured from the time when the user last made a change to the document. When saving documents back to Alfresco Content Services, or discarding changes, you must confirm that you want to disconnect any non-idle users before the action completes.

Configure using the Admin Console

The Google Docs Console provides the settings for enabling and controlling Google Docs Integration (in Enterprise-only releases). Launch the Admin Console by following the steps in Launch Admin Console.

  1. Open the Admin Console.

  2. In the Consoles section, click Google Docs Console.

  3. Set the properties:

    Property Description
    googledocs.enabled Required. Enables the Google Docs functionality. By default, this property is set to true. If you set this option to false, the Edit in Google Docs action will not be available. Documents that are currently being edited will still be available using the Resume editing in Google Docs action until they are saved or discarded.
    googledocs.idleThresholdSeconds Optional. Sets the idle time threshold in seconds. Additional Google users that you invite to collaborate on the document will be considered to be ‘idle’ after this period. The period is measured from the time when the user last made a change to the document. When saving documents back to Alfresco Content Services, or discarding changes, you must confirm that you want to disconnect any non-idle users before the action completes.
  4. Click Save to apply the changes you have made to the properties.

    If you do not want to save the changes, click Cancel.

Authenticate Google accounts with Alfresco Content Services

In Enterprise-only releases, you can register a custom Google configuration for API access.

Note: This functionality is not available in Alfresco Community Edition releases.

When this configuration is added to the Google Docs Integration, you can define the OAuth flow by creating your own web application configuration in the Google API Manager.

  1. Place google-auth-return.html on a web server that’s accessible by all users.

    This file lets users authenticate their Google account with Alfresco Content Services.

  2. Register the Google Docs Integration from the Google API Manager: https://console.developers.google.com.

    Check that you have enabled the Google Drive API.

  3. Click Library in the left-hand navigation, select Drive API, and then Enable.

    This allows your registered application to access the Drive API.

  4. Click Credentials, select Create Credentials, and then pick OAuth client ID from the list.

  5. Click Configure consent screen, complete the required fields, and then select Save.

  6. Select Web Application as the application type.

  7. Enter a name for your application.

    This is what the application will be known as in your users Google Account.

  8. Enter a path in the Authorized redirect URIs field.

    This is the path to the google-auth-return.html page.

  9. Click Create.

    You may be see a popup showing your Client ID and Secret. If so, click OK.

  10. Navigate to your registered application by selecting the name.

  11. Click Download JSON.

    Next, use the Repository Administration Console to add your custom configuration.

  12. Open the Admin Console.

  13. In the Consoles section, click Google Docs Console.

  14. Copy the content of the JSON file into the Google Docs OAuth Config field.

  15. Click Save.

    Note: Before completing these steps, be aware that if there are files currently being edited in Google Docs when changing this configuration, it will cause users to lose the ability to use the Check in action to bring those files back into Alfresco Content Services. We recommend that all files are checked back into Alfresco Content Services before switching the configuration.

    Note: Switching the integration repeatedly between different configurations can corrupt the Google authentication store in Alfresco Content Services for your users. If this happens, users will need to remove access to the integration from their Google Account so that their connection can be set up again.

    Note: If, while using the Google Docs Integration, when a user is logging into their Google Drive account and they see the message This App isn't verified, you'll need to upgrade to at least version 4.1.0 of the integration. Users can click the Advanced link in the message to allow them to continue to the login screen.

Google Docs supported document types

Google Docs restricts the formats of files or documents that can be uploaded or created.

The following table shows the file format restrictions for content that integrates with Google Docs.

File type Description
DOC A Microsoft Word 97-2003 document.
XLS A Microsoft Excel 97-2003 Workbook.
PPT A Microsoft PowerPoint 97-2003 Presentation.
DOCX An XML-based Microsoft Word document.
XLSX An XML-based Microsoft Excel Workbook.
PPTX An XML-based Microsoft PowerPoint presentation.

Note: You can edit the DOC, XLS, and PPT formats in Google Docs but when you save the content back to Alfresco Content Services, you must confirm that these formats will be converted to the equivalent Microsoft Office 2007 (OOXML) formats.

Google places further restrictions on the size and complexity of documents that can be edited in Google Docs. The Edit in Google Docs action is not available for documents or spreadsheets larger than 2 MB and presentations larger than 50 MB. Google also prevents editing of other documents that exceed their published limits. See the published Google size limits.

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