---
title: "Automatically convert handwriting in Google Drive to text"
canonical: "https://www.handwritingocr.com/integrations/google-drive"
pubDate: "2026-09-21T00:00:00.000Z"
updatedDate: "2026-09-21T00:00:00.000Z"
description: "Automatically convert handwritten PDFs and images in Google Drive to text. Use two-step Zapier templates or the Google Workspace add-on."
subtitle: "Watch a Google Drive folder for handwritten PDFs and images, process them with Handwriting OCR, and save the finished result back automatically."
---

Google Drive already stores the scans, photographed notes, forms and archive material that teams need to transcribe. Handwriting OCR gives you two ways to process them without a download-and-reupload routine:

1. **Automated folders with Zapier:** watch a selected folder, process each supported new file, and return the finished result to another folder.
2. **Files chosen by a person:** open the [Handwriting OCR Google Workspace add-on](https://workspace.google.com/marketplace/app/handwriting_ocr/3010873286) in Drive and process the file you select.

## Automate a Google Drive folder with Zapier

Use the two official templates together for a complete round trip:

1. **Google Drive to Handwriting OCR** watches an input folder and submits each new supported PDF or image.
2. **Handwriting OCR to Google Drive** watches for completed documents and saves the downloadable result to your results folder.

Both are two-step Zaps. You do not need a separate Filter step: the Handwriting OCR action checks the original filename before calling the API.

[Open the Google Drive and Handwriting OCR templates](https://zapier.com/apps/google-drive/integrations/handwriting-ocr).

## Keep input and results separate

Create two folders, such as `Handwriting OCR - Input` and `Handwriting OCR - Results`. The intake Zap watches the first; the return Zap writes to the second. This prevents a finished result from being treated as a new source document and gives the team a clear audit trail.

The intake action accepts **PDF, JPG/JPEG, PNG, TIF/TIFF, BMP, GIF, WebP and AVIF**. A PowerPoint, spreadsheet or other unsupported file stops before the Handwriting OCR API upload, so it does not create a failed document or use processing credits.

## Decide which results return

The return template defaults to **Zapier uploads only**. That setting keeps a paired folder workflow focused on documents created by the intake Zap.

Choose **All documents** if Google Drive should archive everything completed in your Handwriting OCR account, including dashboard, email, API and other integration uploads.

Automatic formatting uses:

- **Word (.docx)** for transcription and translation;
- **Excel (.xlsx)** for table extraction;
- **Excel (.xlsx) or CSV (.csv)** for custom extractors.

## Use the Workspace add-on for one-at-a-time work

If a person should decide which file to process, install the [Google Workspace add-on](https://workspace.google.com/marketplace/app/handwriting_ocr/3010873286). It works inside Google Drive and Gmail, uses your existing Handwriting OCR credits, and can write results back as a Google Doc or Google Sheet.

For a detailed comparison with Google Drive's built-in OCR, see the guide to [converting handwriting in Google Docs](/handwriting-to-text/how-to-convert-handwriting-to-text-in-google-docs).

[Create a Handwriting OCR account](https://dashboard.handwritingocr.com/register), explore the [Google Drive Zapier templates](https://zapier.com/apps/google-drive/integrations/handwriting-ocr), or see [all integrations](/integrations).