Facing issue while appending files into single file

The issue is that retrieving a file in Zapier returns metadata, not the actual content. To get the text content out of each file you need to use the Google Drive "Get File Content" action, not just retrieve. Once you have the raw content from each file, you can concatenate them using a Text or Code step before passing the combined output to your AI prompt. Note that for .docx and Sheets files, you may need to export them as plain text first before the content is readable.

Hi ​@ProjectReportAssistant 

For us to have more context about what you are referring to, post screenshots showing how your Zap steps are outlined and configured.

Hi ​@ProjectReportAssistant 

Here's the Zapier doc that might help: 

• Trigger 60,000 rows from a CSV file (Files by Zapier)

• Google Drive error: Required field "file" is missing

• Google Docs error: Nothing could be found for the search

If you're still running into issues, drop a screenshot of the error and a quick description of what your Zap is doing, happy to take a look!

And if you'd rather just get it sorted quickly, I offer a free 20-min Zapier troubleshooting call. Book it under Resources on my Zapier Directory profile: https://zapier.com/partnerdirectory/automatemybiz

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The problem is not the last step.

Zapier is not getting the real text inside the files.

So before you join the files together, you need to first pull the words out of each file.

Simple version:

• txt file = easy, get the text

• docx / Google Doc = convert or export to text first

• Google Sheet = get the cell data, not the file itself

So the fix is: get the text from each file first, then combine that text into one file.

Hey ​@ProjectReportAssistant,

Try using Get Document content action to get the actual content.

After that you can concatenate them using a Formatter action or dynamically pass them to the AI action. Hope it helps!

PS: If you need more active help, I’m happy to connect through my Zapier Solution Partner page if you’d like to reach out here- https://zapier.com/partnerdirectory/automation-jinn

Hi ​@ProjectReportAssistant 

Just checking in—did you get this sorted?

If you're still running into issues, drop a screenshot of the error and a quick description of what your Zap is doing, happy to take a look!

And if you'd rather just get it sorted quickly, I offer a free 20-min Zapier troubleshooting call. Book it under Resources on my Zapier Directory profile: https://zapier.com/partnerdirectory/automatemybiz

Thanks everyone for replying.

I was away for a while so I have not been able to work on the suggestions.

I had tried the Get Document content solution and it had not worked.

I will attempt rest of the above suggestions/reference pages and revert with screenshots if it doesn't work.

Thanks again.

Hey ​@ProjectReportAssistant,

Sure no worries. The document action should be able to retrieve the content of the document. But the exact workflow really depends as workflows are usually personalized to user’s needs. Hope it helps!

Retrieve File is likely the wrong step here. It often gives you the file object / metadata, not the actual text you want to combine.

Simple way to do it:

1. Find the files in Google Drive
2. Loop through them one by one
3. For each file, use a step that gets the real file text/content
4. Append / combine all that text after the loop
5. Send the final big text to your AI step

Important:

• Google Docs / Sheets / Slides are not “real files” in Zapier the same way uploaded files are, so they often need an export/download/content method instead of a normal file step.
• Zapier also has Files by Zapier options for extracting text from files, which is usually a better fit when your goal is “get the text, then combine it.”

So the short answer is:

Do not use Retrieve File to build the final text.
Use a download/export/text extraction step for each file, then combine those text results into one block.

Easy flow:

Google Drive → Loop files → Get file text → Append text → Send to AI