Introduction
This article will go through the steps to create a Google Drive web service connection for FME Form. For instructions on how to do this in FME Flow, please see this article. Like other Google web service connections, an OAuth application must be made to get your client ID and client secret. Safe Software has already registered applications with many commonly used web service providers, providing convenient out-of-the-box web service options to get started. However, these web services use credentials (client ID and client secret) owned by Safe Software and will not work in other environments.
Creating a new OAuth 2.0 web service and connection using organizational credentials from your registered application will allow you to maintain and troubleshoot connection issues and connect to the web service on FME Flow.
Requirements
- FME Form
- A Google account with permissions to create credentials
- Prior knowledge of APIs and familiarity with the OAuth 2.0 protocol.
For more information on APIs and FME, please see the Getting Started with APIs tutorial. The OAuth section of this article provides an overview of OAuth 2.0 in the context of FME web connections and key terminology.
Step-by-step Instructions
1. Create and Register an Application
Log in to your Google Cloud dashboard and select APIs & Services. On the next screen, in the top menu bar, click Enable APIs and services.
Type in Google Drive in the search bar, or scroll down to find the API. Click on the Google Drive API tile, and click Enable. Now that the Google Drive API is enabled, we can create credentials for the API. Click the Create credentials button in the grey text box.
Set the following parameters and click Next
- Select an API: Google Drive API
- What data will you be accessing?: User Data
Leave Scopes (optional) blank, click Save, and continue.
In the OAuth Client ID section, please set the following:
- Application Type: Desktop app
- Name: FME Form Google Drive
Click Create. Download the credentials that have been created. This file contains the client ID and client secret. After downloading, click Done.
2. Create a Web Service in FME Form
We need to create a new web service for our web connection. The default templates provided cannot be edited, which means you cannot provide your own client ID and client secret. We can create a copy of the existing web service and add our credentials.
Open FME Workbench and select Utilities > FME Options (2025.1+) or Tools > FME Options. In the Options window, select Web Connections and then click Manage Services in the bottom right.
Click on the drop-down arrow button on the bottom left of the Manage Services Window and select Create From > Google Drive. A copy of the web service will be created, which you can edit
Next, we need to edit the copy of the web service we created. You can rename the web service if you wish, but you must replace the Client ID and Client Secret with the ones you created in part 1.
After replacing those two fields, click close.
3. Create a new Web Connection to Google Drive
Back in the FME Options Web Connections window, click on the plus sign to add a new web connection.
Set the following parameters in the window:
- Web Service: Google Drive (your copy)
- Connection Name: GoogleDrive
-
Visibility: Shared
- This may differ depending on your organization and how connections are stored and shared
Click Sign in with Google, and then authenticate the web connection with your own Google credentials. Once authenticated, your Google Drive web connection can now be used in Workbench. Continue on to Part 3 for steps on how to use the web connection on FME Flow.
Additional Resources
How to Create a Google Drive OAuth 2.0 Web Connection for FME Flow
Creating an OAuth 2.0 Web Service and Connection in FME
Getting Started with Sending and Receiving Email in FME Form and FME Flow