Create a Folder Tree Zibot

Create a folder tree inside your Google Drive or Dropbox automatically.

Updated over a week ago

Summary: This Zibot will automatically create a folder tree inside your Google Drive/Dropbox. The Create a Folder Tree Zibot can be used in a single flow or as part of a multi-step flow.

Where is the feature setup? The Create a Folder Tree Zibot can be applied inside the Zibot step when creating or amending a Flow. Ziflow is able to automatically create a folder tree based on your cloud storage events.

Follow instructions on:


Create a folder tree Zibot Event configuration

Before you create your first automation, you'll need to connect your Google Drive/Dropbox personal/Dropbox Businesses. Start by entering the Connect tab and pressing a Create flow button located in the right upper corner of a dashboard. Name your flow (eg. Create a folder tree when project manager Peter uploads a new file) and select a previously added cloud storage connection. Alternatively, you can add a new cloud connection from this page as well.

Next, select type of the event that is going to trigger the automation:

There are 4 types of events who can choose from:

  1. File is added to a folder - select this event if you want to create a folder tree based on a file being uploaded.

  2. File is modified - select this event if you want to create a folder tree based on a file being modified.

  3. File is deleted - select this event if you want to create a folder tree based on a file being removed.

  4. New folder is created - select this event if you want to create a folder tree based on a folder being added.

Let's now Set up details for your event. Please see "Understanding event settings" for more information.

The above settings let you narrow down files that will trigger the automation later on. You can decide which files, uploaded where and by whom will trigger later actions. Once you're done with adjusting the trigger settings, click the Next button and proceed with the Zibot configuration.


Create a folder tree Zibot configuration

You'll be presented with a list of available Zibots, select the Create a folder tree option.

When you select the Create a folder tree action as part of your flow, you will see the following window.

  1. Target folder - Ziflow is asking where you want to create the folder tree.


    Output folder from the previous Zibot - This option will become available if you have set up a multi-stage flow. It is asking if the folder structure should be created inside the output folder specified by the previous in the flow.


    Other - This allows you to browse to the location where you want the folder tree to be created.

  2. Structure - This is where you specify the folder structure that the Create Folder Tree Zibot will automatically create. Let’s take a closer look:


    In the following example we want the following to happen:


    A. On your cloud storage, you have a folder called “Live Jobs”.


    B. When somebody in your team creates a new folder inside “Live Jobs” say “1234_ABC” with the 1234 being a job number and the ABC being the client name.


    C. You want Ziflow to create the common job structure inside this new folder so you do not have to manually do it every time.


    Here is how that example would look the cloud storage:

    Inside Ziflow the folder structure you want to automatically build will look like this in the interface …

    • Click the + sign to add a folder

    • Click the Pencil icon to rename a folder

    • Click the red cross to delete a folder

  3. Notice the folders and how they are indented - the indent relates to where the folder will be in the tree structure. For example, the Copy folder contains the and Word folders.


    If I wanted to move the Word folder to another part of the structure you simply click and drag the grey dotted square located next to the name and position it where you desire.

  4. If the folder already exists - If a folder already exists with the same name in the destination folder what do you want Ziflow to do?


    A. Replace the existing folder - use with caution as if you do this the contents of the old folder will be lost when the new folder replaces it.


    B. Keep both folders will keep the old folder and put a sequence number at the end of the new folder.


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