How to modify Google URLs to Direct Download Links

Easily Create Google Drive Files, Google Docs, Google Slides and Google Sheets Direct Download Links

Intro

Don’t you hate how Google Drive makes you share files, docs, sheets and presentations based on emails? And even worse, when you do finally share the file there is an extra step that the person needs to go through to actually download it? Wouldn’t it be nice to have direct download links that let you snag those docs without having to share them first?

Well, strap on your seatbelts, because we’re about to take you on a step-by-step tutorial that will show you exactly how to create those direct download links for all file types! Files, Docs, Sheets and Presentations. And even if you’re a Google Drive novice, fear not! We’ll guide you through the entire process so smoothly, you’ll feel like a seasoned pro by the end. Not only that, but we will make it so easy it will be like swiping right on your favorite dating app!

But wait!

Before we get started I do want to point out two options that you have for doing this automatically. Gray Technical has developed the only product on the market that will allow the user to create direct download links for Google Drive folder contents, files, docs, sheets, presentations and more. This is called G-Drive Linker. This program will save the data into a spreadsheet, with a location listing and file tree, as well as give direct download links for each file in those folders.

Because it doesn’t use the Google API, it does have some limitations, but those limitations are made up for how secure and safe and safe it is. G-Drive Linker will never ask for any kind of login information, unlike other Google Drive applications. Even though G-Drive Linker is a paid for application, the free trial will do everything outlined in this blog post and more, so there is no reason not to try it.

The second option is our free online Google Drive Direct Download Link Generator. This is the only online option that will give you direct download links for files, docs, sheets and presentations. The only drawback is that it is only one URL at a time (currently).

If you are interested in G-Drive Linker, I will provide more information at the bottom of this article and in the link above.

Anyway, let’s get into the article so you can do this yourself, or, at the very least, to see how it is done.

Create Google Drive Direct Download URLs for Files

First up, let’s talk about creating direct download links for those pesky files. If you’re not already hip to Google Drive, it’s like a virtual filing cabinet in the sky that lets you share files with anyone, anywhere.

But, the basic sharing of files is quite lacking. When you use Google’s default method, users can not directly download a file. They are brought to a preview page, and if they have access, can view the file. From there they have to select to download the document. For most people, this is straight forward, even though it is time consuming. For others, who might not be as tech savvy, it is a difficult process to download the wanted file. So, lets bypass this with a clever URL edit!

To get started, here’s how to create a direct download link for a Google Drive file in just a few simple steps:

1. Open Google Drive and navigate to the file you want to create a direct download link for.

2. Right-click on the file and select “Get shareable link.”

3. In the window that pops up, make sure the link sharing setting is set to “Anyone with the link can view.”

4. Copy the link that appears in the window and paste it into a text editor, such as Notepad or TextEdit.

5. Replace the first part of the link “https://drive.google.com/file/d/” with “https://drive.google.com/u/0/uc?id=”.

6. Add “&export=download” to the end of the link. Your final link should look something like this:

https://drive.google.com/u/0/uc?id=[FILE_ID]&export=download

Guess what? That new URL is a direct download link to your file!

Look at you, creating direct download links like a pro! From now on, downloading Google Drive files will be as easy as taking candy from a baby. But hold on, we’re not done yet – let’s move on to Google Docs. Google Docs is like a virtual notepad that lets you create and edit documents online.

How to create direct download links from Google Docs

To create a direct download link for a Google Doc, follow these simple steps:

1. Open Google Docs and navigate to the document you want to download.

2. Click on “File” in the top left corner of the screen, select “Share” and “Share with others”.

3. In the window that pops up, make sure the link sharing setting is set to “Anyone with the link can view.”

4. Copy the link that appears in the window and paste it into a text editor, such as Notepad or TextEdit.

5. Replace “/edit” or “/edit?usp=sharing” at the end of the URL with “/export?format=docx”. Your final link should look something like this:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/[DOCUMENT_ID]/export?format=docx

Well, well, well, look at that! Direct download links with Google Docs. And they said it wasn’t possible, phft!

With this direct download link for your Google Docs, you’ll never have to worry about sharing with specific emails or having people edit your original docs again.

How to edit your Google Sheets URL for Direct Download

But wait, there’s more! Google Sheets is the online calculator on steroids that you never knew you needed. For several reasons I personally would rather use Excel, but with its cloud-based wizardry, creating and editing spreadsheets has never been easier.

But, its not so magical when you want to have someone download your spreadsheet. Google makes it a little tough to find that one setting. We would be better off just making sure it downloads automatically anytime someone clicks the link!

Don’t worry, it’s as easy as pie!

1. Click on “File” in the top left corner of the screen, select “Share” and “Share with others”.

2. In the window that pops up, make sure the link sharing setting is set to “Anyone with the link can view.”

3. Copy the link that appears in the window and paste it into a text editor, such as Notepad or TextEdit.

4. Replace “/edit” or “/edit?usp=sharing” at the end of the URL with “/export?format=xlsx”. Your final link should look something like this:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/[FILE_ID]/export?format=xlsx

And there you have it! Now you can send out those spreadsheets and not have to worry about people botching up your formulas or dealing with silly ‘email sharing’. Just copy, edit, send. Direct downloads of Google Sheets. You are a Sheets wizard! (or, at least, that’s what you can tell your coworkers)

Google Slides, presentations, URL’s and direct download links.

Besides being a horrible name for a book, the above headline does tell us everything we need to know about this section.

The process for this is just like the above.

1. Go to the presentation you want to share, click on “File” in the top left corner of the screen, select “Share” and “Share with others”.

2. In the window that pops up, make sure the link sharing setting is set to “Anyone with the link can view.”

3. Copy the link that appears in the window and paste it into a text editor, such as Notepad or TextEdit.

4. Replace the “https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/” at the beginning of the URL with “https://docs.google.com/presentation/export?format=pptx&id=”.

5. Finally delete “/edit” or “/edit?usp=sharing” at the end of the URL. Your final link should look something like this:

https://docs.google.com/presentation/export?format=pptx&id=[FILE_ID]

Now slide to the left, and slide to the right! Five hops this time!

Besides showing my age with that last line, I really hope that I have helped you! Having the ability to download slides directly to someone is very useful! I personally have used this in my teaching career during my COVID ‘lock down’ teaching months. It was a massive headache dealing with students not being able to load presentations, or editing them.

Conclusion

I hope that his post was helpful to you! If you would like to have all the functionality you learned today in an easy, one click application that also offers folder browsing and bulk link generation, consider trying G-Drive Linker. Like I mentioned before, the free trial offers more than any other online link generator, and it is the only secure Google Drive app available (simply because it is the only one that doesn’t require you to log in).

If you absolutely don’t want to download anything and would rather go the one-link-at-a-time route, then you can use our free online link generator that does everything shown in the post above. We are proud to say that no other online link generator does files, sheets, slides and docs in one window.

Anyway, thank you for reading and I hope I was helpful!