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Link a Google Drive or Notion document to add it to Company Knowledge without copying it. Your team keeps editing it in the source, and Windy uses the latest version. Linking works best for documents that change often, like a handbook in Google Docs or a team wiki in Notion.
Linked documents are rolling out gradually. If you don’t see Link a document, contact your Windmill team.

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How linked documents work

  • The source stays the original. You edit the document in Google Drive or Notion. Windmill reads it when needed and never changes it.
  • Windy uses it like any other knowledge. Windy sees its title and When to use note, reads its content, and finds it in search.
  • The Windmill folder decides who can see it. See Who can see a linked document.

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Before you start

You need:
  • A connected integration: Google Workspace or Notion
  • Admin or HR Admin access
  • Edit access to the folder you’re linking into
You can link these documents:

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Linking a document

1

Open the library

Go to Settings → Knowledge.
2

Choose a source

Click Add knowledge, then Link a document, then Google Drive or Notion.
3

Pick the document

Search for it and select it to see a preview. If it’s already linked, you’ll see where. Click Next.
4

Place it

Add a When to use this note and choose the Location. Check Sharing to see who will be able to read it, then click Link.
The document shows Processing for a few minutes while Windmill prepares it for Windy.

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Which integration Windmill uses

  • Your company’s account connection, if it can open the document
  • Otherwise, your personal connection
  • Never another member’s personal connection
The document’s details show who linked it and through which connection.

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Who can see a linked document

A linked document gets the access of the Windmill folder it’s in, not its sharing in Google Drive or Notion. Anyone who can see the folder can read it, even if they can’t open the original. This includes documents linked through a personal connection.
Linking never changes sharing in Google Drive or Notion. To limit who can read a linked document in Windmill, put it in a folder with narrower access. See Sharing and access.

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How changes reach Windmill

Windmill picks up edits automatically: The document’s details show when it was last edited. To rename a linked document, rename it in the source. The new title follows the same timing.

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Document status

When Windmill can’t read a linked document, the library shows a status and Windy stops using the document until it’s fixed. If you can’t edit the folder, ask someone who can.

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Managing linked documents

  • Edit it in the source. Use Open in Google Drive or Open in Notion.
  • Change the When to use note in Windmill at any time.
  • Move it to another folder. Its access changes to match.
  • Remove it to take it out of Windmill for everyone. Windy stops using it, and the original stays in the source.

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FAQs

Windmill reads the content from the source when needed. It keeps a cache of the content for up to 48 hours, and a search index of the text so Windy can find it. The index updates when the document changes, and Windmill deletes it when you remove the document.
No. Linked documents are read-only in Windmill. Edit them in Google Drive or Notion.
No. Windmill checks that the connection can open the document when you link it. After that, the Windmill folder decides who can read it.
Edits take up to an hour to arrive from Google Drive, and a few minutes from Notion. If it’s been longer, check the document for a status like Reconnect required. See Document status.
Documents linked through an account connection keep working. A document linked through that person’s personal connection stops working when the connection loses access. Click Relink to read it through your account or an account connection.