Converting Google Drive links for receipts

If your receipts are stored in Google Drive, you need to convert each link into a direct download link before you upload your CSV file to Remote. This lets us download and attach each receipt correctly.

Choose one of the options below, depending on how many links you have.

Option 1: Convert a few links manually

Use this method if you only have a small number of Google Drive links.

1. Copy the original Google Drive link. It usually looks like this: https://drive.google.com/open?id=FILE_ID.
2. Find the file ID. This is the part of the link that comes after id=. For example, in https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Iz5yZu34GNFZiaib-6YTmplxBNsCxeJw, the file ID is 1Iz5yZu34GNFZiaib-6YTmplxBNsCxeJw.
3. Add the file ID to this format to create a direct download link: https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=FILE_ID. Using the example above, the new link is https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1Iz5yZu34GNFZiaib-6YTmplxBNsCxeJw.
4. Paste the new link into the receipt column of the file you will upload to Remote.

Option 2: Convert many links at once with a spreadsheet

Use this method if your CSV file contains many Google Drive links.

1. Open your CSV file in Excel or Google Sheets.
2. Select the column that contains your Google Drive links.
3. Open Find and Replace:
   • In Excel on Windows, press Ctrl + H.
   • In Excel on Mac, press Cmd + H.
   • In Google Sheets, open Edit and select Find and replace.
4. Enter the following values:
   • In Find, paste https://drive.google.com/open?id=
   • In Replace with, paste https://drive.google.com/uc?export=download&id=
5. Select Replace all to update every link in the column.
6. Save your file.

Test one link before you upload everything

Before you upload the full file to Remote, check that a converted link works.

1. Copy one of your new direct download links.
2. Paste it into your web browser and press Enter.
3. Confirm that the file either starts to download or opens in a preview.

💡 If the link does not work, the receipt may not be shared publicly. In Google Drive, right click the file, select Share, change the access to "Anyone with the link", set the permission to Viewer, and then test the link again.

Once your test link works, you can use the updated file to complete the bulk expense import.