Save a File or Spreadsheet in a Specific Folder of GDrive

Here is a quick code snippet to help you understand how to save a spreadsheet into a specific folder on Google drive.

In order to create a file in a folder, you will need to find the parent folder and pass it to the DriveApp when you create the file. Normally, file paths are in the form of "/path/to/file/file.js", so it makes sense to keep that same construct when saving files to GDrive. The following code accepts the full file path and creates a new file in that folder.

The next obvious question is how to create a spreadsheet. Unfortunately, you can't create it using the DriveApp, you need to use the SpreadsheetApp. Also, since the spreadsheet app cannot create files in a folder, you will need to create the spreadsheet, then move it to the correct folder. I usually create a separate function with similar logic to find the correct folder, then update the create logic to use SpreadsheetApp instead of DriveApp. See the second function for an example.

Thanks,
Russ

/******************************************
* Create File in a Specific Folder Path
* Version 1.0 
* Created By: Russ Savage
* FreeAdWordsScripts.com
******************************************/
function createFile(filePath) {
  var pathArray = filePath.trim().split('/');
  var folder;
  for(var i in pathArray) {
    var parentName = pathArray[i];
    if(!parentName || parentName === '') { continue; } // in the root folder
    // source: http://goo.gl/P0LQ86
    if(filePath.indexOf(parentName, filePath.length - parentName.length) !== -1) {
      // This is creating the actual file
      if(folder) {
        if(folder.getFilesByName(parentName).hasNext()) {
          Logger.log('Using existing file: '+parentName);
          return folder.getFilesByName(parentName).next();
        }
        return folder.createFile(parentName,'');
      } else {
        if(DriveApp.getRootFolder().getFilesByName(parentName).hasNext()) {
          Logger.log('Using existing file: '+parentName);
          return DriveApp.getRootFolder().getFilesByName(parentName).next();
        }
        return DriveApp.getRootFolder().createFile(parentName,'');
      }
    }
    if(!folder && !DriveApp.getRootFolder().getFoldersByName(parentName).hasNext()) {
      Logger.log('Creating folder: '+parentName);
      folder = DriveApp.getRootFolder().createFolder(parentName);
    } else if(folder && !folder.getFoldersByName(parentName).hasNext()) {
      Logger.log('Creating folder: '+parentName);
      folder = folder.createFolder(parentName);
    } else {
      Logger.log('Using existing folder: '+parentName);
      folder = (!folder) ? DriveApp.getRootFolder().getFoldersByName(parentName).next() 
                         : folder.getFoldersByName(parentName).next();
    }
  }
  // Should never get here
  throw "Invalid file path: "+filePath;
}

And to create a spreadsheet:

/******************************************
* Create Spreadsheet in a Specific Folder Path
* Version 1.0 
* Created By: Russ Savage
* FreeAdWordsScripts.com
******************************************/
function createSpreadsheet(filePath) {
  var pathArray = filePath.trim().split('/');
  var folder;
  for(var i in pathArray) {
    var parentName = pathArray[i];
    if(!parentName || parentName === '') { continue; } // in the root folder
    // source: http://goo.gl/P0LQ86
    if(filePath.indexOf(parentName, filePath.length - parentName.length) !== -1) {
      // This is creating the actual file
      if(folder) {
        if(folder.getFilesByName(parentName).hasNext()) {
          Logger.log('Using existing file: '+parentName);
          var file = folder.getFilesByName(parentName).next();
          return SpreadsheetApp.openById(file.getId());
        }
        // creates in folder
        var spreadsheet = SpreadsheetApp.create(parentName);
        var file = DriveApp.getRootFolder().getFilesByName(parentName).next();
        folder.addFile(file);
        DriveApp.getRootFolder().removeFile(file);
        return spreadsheet;
      } else {
        if(DriveApp.getRootFolder().getFilesByName(parentName).hasNext()) {
          Logger.log('Using existing file: '+parentName);
          var file = DriveApp.getRootFolder().getFilesByName(parentName).next();
          return SpreadsheetApp.openById(file.getId());
        }
        // creates in root folder
        return SpreadsheetApp.create(parentName);
      }
    }
    if(!folder && !DriveApp.getRootFolder().getFoldersByName(parentName).hasNext()) {
      Logger.log('Creating folder: '+parentName);
      folder = DriveApp.getRootFolder().createFolder(parentName);
    } else if(folder && !folder.getFoldersByName(parentName).hasNext()) {
      Logger.log('Creating folder: '+parentName);
      folder = folder.createFolder(parentName);
    } else {
      Logger.log('Using existing folder: '+parentName);
      folder = (!folder) ? DriveApp.getRootFolder().getFoldersByName(parentName).next() 
                         : folder.getFoldersByName(parentName).next();
    }
  }
  // Should never get here
  throw "Invalid file path: "+filePath;
}