Save Email Attachments to Google Drive Automatically

Email attachments are valuable. Invoices, contracts, receipts, project files, screenshots — they contain the information you need later.

The problem? Attachments live in your inbox. When you delete the email, you lose the file. When you need to find it three months later, you spend 10 minutes scrolling through threads or searching for keywords you can't quite remember.

Downloading attachments manually solves this, but creates new problems. You end up with files scattered across your Downloads folder, desktop, and random subfolders. Finding anything requires remembering what you named it and when you saved it.

This guide shows you how to automatically save email attachments to Google Drive — and link them in a spreadsheet so you can find them instantly. No manual downloads, no lost files, no disorganized folders.

The Problem with Manual Attachment Management

Most people handle email attachments the hard way:

1. Open an email with an attachment
2. Download the file
3. Rename it to something meaningful
4. Move it to a folder
5. Hope you remember where you put it

This works when you get three attachments per week. It fails when you're processing receipts daily, managing client files, or archiving project documents.

The pain points:

• Lost files — You delete the email but forget to save the attachment first
• Duplicate downloads — You download the same invoice twice because you can't find the first copy
• No context — The file IMG_4732.png means nothing without the original email
• Folder chaos — You create folders but don't organize consistently
• No searchability — Finding a specific attachment means remembering the filename

Even when you're disciplined about saving files, you still waste time. Every attachment requires manual action. When you're processing dozens of emails, that time adds up.

How Automatic Attachment Saving Works

Automation solves this by removing all manual steps. When an email arrives with attachments:

1. Attachments are uploaded to Google Drive automatically
2. Files are organized in a dedicated folder specific to your workflow
3. Links to the files are added to your tracking spreadsheet in the same row as the email details
4. You can click the link to open the file directly from your spreadsheet

You never download, rename, or organize anything manually. The system does it for you.

This approach gives you three benefits:

Permanent storage — Attachments live in Google Drive, independent of your inbox. Delete emails without worry.

Instant searchability — Your spreadsheet contains email details plus attachment links. Search by sender, subject, date, or any custom field to find the file you need.

Organized structure — All attachments for a specific workflow live in one Drive folder. No more Downloads folder chaos.

Setting Up Automatic Attachment Saving with Quicktion

Here's how to build this system using Quicktion and Google Sheets.

Step 1: Create a Google Sheets Tracking Spreadsheet

Start with a new Google Sheets spreadsheet. Set up columns for the data you want to track:

• Subject — Email subject line
• Sender Name — Who sent it
• Sender Email — Email address
• Date — When it arrived
• Body — Email content (optional)
• Attachments — Links to files in Google Drive

You can add more columns for status tracking, tags, or custom fields. The key column is Attachments — this is where Quicktion will add Drive links.

Step 2: Connect Quicktion to Your Google Account

Sign in to Quicktion and connect your Google account. This gives Quicktion permission to:

• Access your Google Drive to upload attachments
• Write to your Google Sheets spreadsheet

Quicktion uses OAuth, so you're granting access through Google's secure authorization flow. You can revoke access anytime from your Google Account settings.

Step 3: Create a Destination

In Quicktion, create a destination that points to your tracking spreadsheet. A destination defines:

• Which spreadsheet to save emails to
• Which columns map to which email fields
• How to handle attachments (upload to Drive and link)

When setting up your destination, Quicktion will ask which sheet and columns to use. Map the email fields to your spreadsheet columns:

• Subject → Subject column
• Sender Name → Sender Name column
• Date → Date column
• Attachments → Attachments column

Quicktion automatically creates a folder in your Google Drive for this destination. All attachments will be uploaded there.

Step 4: Forward Emails or Use the Gmail Add-on

Now that your destination is configured, you have two ways to save emails with attachments:

Option 1: Email Forwarding

You get a unique forwarding address like abc123@in.quicktion.io. Forward any email to this address, and Quicktion will:

• Extract the email details
• Upload attachments to your Google Drive folder
• Add a new row to your spreadsheet with links to the attachments

Set up forwarding rules in your email client to automate this. For example:

• Forward all emails from invoices@vendor.com
• Forward emails with "Receipt" in the subject
• Forward emails to/from specific clients

Learn more in the email forwarding guide.

Option 2: Gmail Add-on

Install the Quicktion Gmail add-on from the Google Workspace Marketplace.

Open any email in Gmail and click the Quicktion sidebar. Select your destination and click Save. The email and its attachments are processed immediately.

This is faster when you're manually triaging emails and want to save specific ones with one click.

Both methods produce the same result: email in your spreadsheet, attachments in Drive.

How Attachments Are Organized in Google Drive

When Quicktion uploads attachments, it creates a folder structure that keeps files organized.

Folder naming: Each destination gets its own folder. For example, if your destination is named "Client Invoices", Quicktion creates a folder called "Quicktion - Client Invoices" in your Google Drive.

File naming: Attachment filenames are preserved. If someone emails you invoice-jan-2026.pdf, that's the filename in Drive. No renaming or random IDs.

Folder contents: All attachments from all emails saved to this destination live in the same folder. This gives you one place to browse files if needed, but the real power is in the spreadsheet links.

Permissions: The folder and files are owned by your Google account. You control sharing and access. If you want to share attachments with your team, share the folder or individual files using Google Drive's sharing settings.

What about emails with multiple attachments? Quicktion uploads all of them. In your spreadsheet, the Attachments column will contain multiple links — one per file.

3 Real-World Use Cases

Let's look at how people use automatic attachment saving to solve specific problems.

Use Case 1: Invoice and Receipt Archiving

You receive invoices and receipts from vendors, contractors, and service providers. You need these files for expense tracking, tax filing, and reconciliation.

The manual way: Download each PDF, rename it with the vendor name and date, save it to a folder. When tax season comes, spend hours organizing files.

The automated way: Forward all invoice emails to your Quicktion destination. Emails appear in your tracking spreadsheet, and PDFs are uploaded to Drive automatically.

Spreadsheet columns:

• Vendor Name (Sender)
• Invoice Number (manually added or extracted from subject)
• Amount (manually added)
• Date
• Attachments (auto-linked PDF)
• Category (manually added for expense categorization)

Result: You have a searchable database of all invoices. Need to find the invoice from "ABC Consulting" in March? Search your spreadsheet, find the row, click the link. Your accountant gets a clean folder of PDFs with zero effort from you.

Use Case 2: Contract and Document Management

You exchange contracts, proposals, NDAs, and project documents with clients and partners. These files need to be archived permanently.

The manual way: Save each attachment, organize by client or project name, maintain a folder structure. Hope you remember where you put that contract from last year.

The automated way: Forward contract-related emails to your Quicktion destination. Contracts are uploaded to Drive and logged in your spreadsheet with context.

Spreadsheet columns:

• Client/Partner Name
• Document Type (Contract, NDA, Proposal, etc.)
• Subject
• Date Received
• Attachments (auto-linked document)
• Status (Signed, Pending, Expired)
• Notes

Result: Every contract is linked to the email that delivered it. You see who sent it, when, and what the subject line was. Click the link to open the file. Add status tracking to know which contracts are still pending.

This gives you a lightweight document management system without paying for DocuSign Business Pro or similar tools.

Use Case 3: Project File Collaboration

You receive design files, screenshots, mockups, and technical documents from clients or team members. These files need to be accessible for reference during the project.

The manual way: Download files, upload them to a shared project folder, notify your team. Repeat for every email.

The automated way: Forward project-related emails to your Quicktion destination. Files are uploaded to a shared Drive folder automatically.

Spreadsheet columns:

• Sender
• Subject
• Project Name (manually added or extracted from subject)
• File Type (Image, PDF, Document, etc.)
• Date
• Attachments (auto-linked files)

Result: Your team sees all project files in one spreadsheet. They can filter by project name, search by sender, or sort by date. Click any link to view the file in Drive. No one has to ask "Where's that screenshot Sarah sent last week?"

You can also use Quicktion's email tracking spreadsheet approach to add status tracking, assignments, and workflow management.

Comparison: Automatic Saving vs. Alternatives

How does automatic attachment saving with Quicktion compare to other methods?

Quicktion vs. Manual Downloads

Quicktion vs. Zapier or Make

You could use Zapier or Make to automate attachment saving. Here's the difference:

Zapier/Make:

• Requires building a multi-step workflow (Gmail trigger → Extract attachments → Upload to Drive → Update spreadsheet)
• Costs money for the number of tasks you run (typically $20+/month for unlimited)
• Requires technical setup and maintenance
• Each step can fail independently, requiring debugging

Quicktion:

• Pre-built workflow — just connect and configure
• $8/month for unlimited emails (free for up to 25/month)
• No-code setup takes 5 minutes
• Purpose-built for email-to-Sheets workflows, including attachments

If you're already a Zapier power user, you might prefer building your own flow. If you want a solution that works immediately, Quicktion is faster and cheaper.

Quicktion vs. Apps Script

Google Apps Script can automate attachment downloads from Gmail. You write code that:

• Monitors your Gmail inbox
• Extracts attachments from matching emails
• Uploads them to Drive
• Logs details in Sheets

Pros: Free, fully customizable, runs on Google's infrastructure.

Cons: Requires JavaScript knowledge, time to write and test code, ongoing maintenance when Gmail API changes.

Apps Script makes sense if you have specific requirements that no tool can meet. For standard use cases, Quicktion eliminates the development and maintenance burden.

Best Practices for Managing Attachments

Once your automatic system is running, follow these practices to keep it organized:

1. Use Consistent Forwarding Rules

Set up email filters that forward specific types of emails to your Quicktion destination. Examples:

• All emails from noreply@stripe.com (payment receipts)
• Emails with "Invoice" in the subject
• Emails from your client's domain

Consistency ensures you don't miss important attachments.

2. Review Your Spreadsheet Regularly

Even though the system is automatic, check your spreadsheet weekly to:

• Add manual fields like Amount, Category, or Status
• Delete rows for spam or irrelevant emails
• Verify that attachments are uploading correctly

This keeps your data clean and useful.

3. Set Up Folders for Long-Term Archiving

After 6-12 months, consider moving old attachments from your active Drive folder to an archive folder. This keeps your working folder fast and scannable.

You can also use Google Drive's search to find old files directly — no need to rely on the spreadsheet for historical searches.

4. Share the Drive Folder with Your Team

If multiple people need access to attachments, share the Quicktion-managed Drive folder with them. They can browse files directly or click links in the shared spreadsheet.

Google Sheets and Drive handle permissions independently, so you can share the spreadsheet without sharing all the files, or vice versa.

5. Use Spreadsheet Filters to Segment Attachments

If you're logging multiple types of emails in one spreadsheet (receipts, contracts, project files), use filters or tags to segment them.

Add a "Type" column and populate it with values like "Invoice", "Contract", "Design File". Then create filter views to show only specific types.

This gives you multiple databases in one spreadsheet.

What File Types Are Supported?

Quicktion handles all standard email attachment types:

• PDFs — Invoices, contracts, receipts, reports
• Images — PNG, JPG, GIF, screenshots, photos
• Documents — Word (.docx), Google Docs, text files
• Spreadsheets — Excel (.xlsx), CSV, Google Sheets
• Presentations — PowerPoint (.pptx), Google Slides
• Archives — ZIP, RAR (uploaded as-is)

Files are uploaded to Google Drive in their original format. Quicktion doesn't convert or modify them — what you receive is what you get in Drive.

What about file size limits? Quicktion processes standard email attachments without issue. Very large files (50MB+) may take slightly longer to upload, but there's no hard limit imposed by Quicktion itself. Google Drive's own storage limits apply (15GB free, more with paid plans).

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Attachments aren't appearing in Drive

Check that your Quicktion destination is configured correctly and that you've granted Drive upload permissions during OAuth. Re-authenticate if needed.

Links in the spreadsheet don't work

Verify that the Attachments column is formatted as plain text (not number or date format). Quicktion inserts clickable markdown-style links.

Duplicate files in Drive

If you forward the same email multiple times, Quicktion will upload attachments again. Use Gmail's add-on for one-click saving to avoid duplicates.

Files are uploaded but not organized

Each destination creates its own folder. If you're using multiple destinations, check which folder corresponds to which destination by looking at the folder name in Drive.

Integration with Other Tools

Automatic attachment saving works well alongside other productivity tools:

Google Workspace: Attachments uploaded to Drive can be opened in Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides for editing. No need to download and re-upload.

Slack or Teams: Share Drive links in team channels. When someone asks "Where's the invoice?", paste the link from your spreadsheet.

Accounting software: Export your invoice tracking spreadsheet to CSV and import into QuickBooks, Xero, or similar tools.

Project management: Link to Drive attachments from Trello cards, Asana tasks, or Notion pages.

The spreadsheet becomes your source of truth, and attachments are always one click away.

You can also combine this with Gmail-to-Sheets workflows for more advanced automation.

FAQ

Can I automatically save email attachments to Google Drive?

Yes. With Quicktion, attachments from forwarded emails are automatically uploaded to a Google Drive folder and linked in your spreadsheet. No manual downloading needed.

Where are attachments stored in Google Drive?

Quicktion creates a folder in your Google Drive for each destination. All attachments from forwarded emails are uploaded to that folder and linked in the corresponding spreadsheet row.

What file types are supported?

All standard attachment types are supported: PDFs, images (PNG, JPG), Word documents, Excel files, and more. Each file is uploaded to Drive as-is.

Can I save attachments without using Google Sheets?

Currently, attachments are saved as part of the email-to-Sheets workflow. When you save an email to Google Sheets, attachments are automatically uploaded to Drive and linked in the spreadsheet row.

Is there a file size limit?

Quicktion handles standard email attachments. Very large files may take slightly longer to process, but there's no hard limit imposed by Quicktion itself — Google Drive's own limits apply.

Get Started

Stop downloading email attachments manually. Build a system that saves them to Google Drive automatically — and gives you a searchable spreadsheet to find any file in seconds.

Quicktion connects your email to Google Drive and Sheets in minutes. Forward emails from any client, save them from Gmail with one click, and get attachments uploaded automatically.

The free plan includes 25 emails per month and access to the Gmail add-on. Pro plans start at $8/month for unlimited emails and destinations.

Set up your first destination today and see your attachments appear in Drive — automatically.