How to Use the Google Drive App – OptiSigns

In this article, we'll show how to play the images and videos in a Google Drive folder on your digital signs with OptiSigns.

What You'll Need
Creating a Google Drive App
- Advanced
- Checking and Refreshing a Sync
Deploying a Google Drive App
Supported File Types
Limitations

With the Google Drive app, it's possible to play the images and videos in a Google Drive folder on your screens. The app turns the folder into a playlist and keeps it in sync, so when you add, change or remove a file in Google Drive, your screens update too. Your team can update what's on screen without ever signing in to OptiSigns.

Let's get started.

What You'll Need

An OptiSigns account - Standard Plan or higher
A Google account with access to the Google Drive folder you want to show
An OptiSigns-enabled device
A screen, set up and paired with OptiSigns (see our Getting Started guide)

Creating a Google Drive App

From the OptiSigns portal, go to Files/Assets and select Apps.

OptiSigns Files/Assets page with the Apps button highlighted

Search for Google Drive and select the Google Drive app.

Add App dialog searched for Google Drive, with the Google Drive app card highlighted

Click Sign in with Google and sign in with your Google account.

Google Drive app window with the sign-in button highlighted

Click Allow to let OptiSigns access your Google Drive.

Google consent screen asking to allow OptiSigns access to Google Drive, with Allow highlighted

Choose the folder you want to show on your screens:

Google Drive folder picker with a folder selected and the Select button

The Google Drive app settings will open.

Google Drive app form showing the account badge, Name, Folder, transition and duration fields

Fill them in:

Name - The name of your Google Drive asset. This is for organizational purposes within OptiSigns only and will not display on your screens.
Folder - The Google Drive folder you chose.
Transition Effects - The effect between each image and video. Choose from None, Fade, Slide from Right, Slide from Left, Rotate In, Flip or Gallery.
Transition Speed - How fast the transition plays. Choose Slow, Medium or Fast, or Custom to set your own speed.
Duration for Image - How long each image shows, in seconds. The default is 10.
Max Video Duration - The longest each video plays, in seconds. The default is 0, which plays every video to the end. For example, at 60, a 90-second video is cut off after 60 seconds, while a 45-second video plays in full.

Advanced

Click Advanced for more options:

Advanced section expanded, showing the Force Sync Interval field

Force Sync Interval - How often, in hours, OptiSigns runs a full sync of your folder. Changes are normally picked up automatically, and this scheduled sync catches anything that was missed. The default is 12, and you can set any value from 1 to 24.

Now hit Save. You'll have created a Google Drive app, and it will appear in your Files/Assets. Depending on how many files are in your folder, the first sync may take a moment, as every file is copied to OptiSigns.

TIP

Files play in order by name. To control the order, rename your files in Google Drive, for example by starting each name with 1, 2, 3.

Google Drive folder with files numbered 1, 2 and 3 to set the playback order

Checking and Refreshing a Sync

When files are added, changed or removed in your Google Drive folder, OptiSigns syncs the changes automatically. To see when the last change was synced and which file was synced last, open the app again from Files/Assets. To sync right away, click Refresh Data.

Google Drive app settings with the Refresh Data button highlighted

Deploying a Google Drive App

To push your Google Drive app to a screen, go to the Screens tab, then click Edit next to the screen you want to display it on.

Screens list with the Edit button highlighted on a screen row

The Edit Screen pop-up will appear. Select Asset under Content Type, then hit Change next to Selected Asset.

Edit Screen dialog with Content Type set to Asset and the Change button highlighted

The Select Asset window will open. Search for your Google Drive app, click it, then hit Select.

Select Asset dialog with the Google Drive asset selected

Back in Edit Screen, hit Save. Your Google Drive files will now play on your screen.

Your Google Drive app can also be displayed in a Playlist or Schedule, or as one zone of a Split Screen.

Supported File Types

The Google Drive app syncs these file types from your folder:

Images - JPG (JPEG) and PNG only
Videos - MP4. For the best compatibility, we recommend MP4 videos encoded in H.264. If a video won't play, see How to re-encode video files.

Any other files in the folder, such as documents or spreadsheets, are skipped. For the full list of file types OptiSigns supports on its own, see What types of files are supported?

Limitations

Only the file types listed under Supported File Types are synced. Any other files in the folder are ignored.
Sub-folders aren't supported. Only files directly inside the folder you choose are synced.
To keep the app running smoothly, keep each file to 100 MB or less, and keep up to 200 files per folder. For large videos, we recommend uploading them directly to OptiSigns. For more than 200 files, split them across several folders.
Avoid special characters such as / in your file names, or the folder may not load.

That’s all!

OptiSigns is the leader in digital signage software. If you have any additional questions, concerns or any feedback about OptiSigns, feel free to reach out to our support team at support@optisigns.com.