Google Docs

Overview#

Create, read and append to documents you connect.

Use this block when its responsibility is clear in the graph. Give it a name that describes the work it performs, then test it with representative input before publishing.

Setting it up#

You never see anyone's Google Docs sign-in, and you do not need your own Google Docs account to build with this step. People who run the workflow connect their own account and approve exactly what it may do before it starts.

Actions#

• Create a document - Creates a blank document with a title. Makes a change. Needs: Title. People running it are asked to allow: _Create documents_.
• Read a document - Reads the text of the selected document. Only looks things up. People running it are asked to allow: _Read the document they choose_.
• Append text - Adds text to the end of the selected document. Makes a change. Needs: Text to add. People running it are asked to allow: _Add text to the document they choose_.

Which document it acts on#

• The person running picks a document - the default, and the right choice for anything you publish. They choose one of their own documents before the run starts.
• Always this document - fixed to one you name. Use it for a workflow only you will run.
• Any document they allow - reaches every document their connection covers. They see a clear warning, and the run gets a lower limit on actions.

Filling in the fields#

Every field can be filled three ways: type it (a fixed value), from a step (a value an earlier step produced - pick it from a list, no paths to type), or text + steps (fixed text with values from earlier steps woven in). The panel shows what will be sent, using sample data, and tells you before you publish if a field is missing or points at a step that is no longer connected.

Trying it#

Test runs from the canvas use sample Google Docs data. Nothing reaches a real account until someone runs the published workflow with their own connection.

Working examples#

These are complete starting points, not decorative diagrams. Every graph is also available in the main template library and is checked by the workflow compiler.

1. Append to a running log doc#

You will build: Each run appends one entry to a shared document.

A document is the running note teams already keep. An interrupted append is checked against the end of the document, never doubled.

Open this template and adapt the labels, prompts, or credentials to your own workflow.

2. Read a brief from a doc#

You will build: The workflow answers from the doc's current text.

Reading needs no write permission, so the consent screen stays narrow. Reads retry safely; a slow response never loses the run.

Open this template and adapt the labels, prompts, or credentials to your own workflow.

3. Meeting notes file#

You will build: A fresh notes document, titled and linked.

A document per meeting beats hunting through one unending file. A document create cannot be checked after a crash, so the run fails openly rather than risking a duplicate.

Open this template and adapt the labels, prompts, or credentials to your own workflow.

Ports#

• Input: Input (in): any, optional, multi_object.
• Output: Success (success): object, optional, single.
• Output: Error (error): object, optional, single.

Inspector#

• Action panel: choose what the step does, which account resource it acts on, and where each field's value comes from. See _Setting it up_ above.

Behavior#

• Input requirement: Choose an action. Fields can come from earlier steps or be typed in.
• Execution: Runs through the Edgaze Gateway, which talks to the provider on the runner's behalf.
• Timeout: 30000 ms by default (1000 to 120000 ms).

Cost#

Uses outbound HTTP transport and may contribute to the run's compute cost.

Security#

• The person running the workflow connects their own account and approves exactly what this step may do before the run starts. The workflow never holds their sign-in, and you never see it.
• Actions that make changes are listed separately on the approval screen, and the run is limited to the account resources the person chose.

Retry#

If a step is interrupted mid-change, Edgaze checks with the provider whether the change went through before ever trying again, so nothing is posted or created twice.

Production checklist#

• Test the happy path and one malformed or empty input.
• Keep credentials out of prompts and published graph configuration.
• Set a timeout and retry policy that matches the operation's side effects.
• Name the final result so a runner can tell what success looks like.