Create a shortcut to a file

To create a shortcut instead of a file stored in Drive, use the files.create method of the API and make sure you set the MIME type application/vnd.google-apps.drive-sdk. Do not upload any content when creating the file.

Java

File fileMetadata = new File();
fileMetadata.setTitle("Project plan");
fileMetadata.setMimeType("application/vnd.google-apps.drive-sdk");

File file = driveService.files().insert(fileMetadata)
    .setFields("id")
    .execute();
System.out.println("File ID: " + file.getId());

Python

file_metadata = {
    'title': 'Project plan',
    'mimeType': 'application/vnd.google-apps.drive-sdk'
}
file = drive_service.files().insert(body=file_metadata,
                                    fields='id').execute()
print 'File ID: %s' % file.get('id')

PHP

$fileMetadata = new Google_Service_Drive_DriveFile(array(
    'title' => 'Project plan',
    'mimeType' => 'application/vnd.google-apps.drive-sdk'));
$file = $driveService->files->insert($fileMetadata, array(
    'fields' => 'id'));
printf("File ID: %s\n", $file->id);

.NET

var fileMetadata = new File()
{
    Title = "Project plan",
    MimeType = "application/vnd.google-apps.drive-sdk"
};
var request = driveService.Files.Insert(fileMetadata);
request.Fields = "id";
var file = request.Execute();
Console.WriteLine("File ID: " + file.Id);

Ruby

file_metadata = {
    title: 'Project plan',
    mime_type: 'application/vnd.google-apps.drive-sdk'
}
file = drive_service.insert_file(file_metadata, fields: 'id')
puts "File Id: #{file.id}"

Node.js

var fileMetadata = {
  'title': 'Project plan',
  'mimeType': 'application/vnd.google-apps.drive-sdk'
};
drive.files.insert({
  resource: fileMetadata,
  fields: 'id'
}, function (err, file) {
  if (err) {
    // Handle error
    console.error(err);
  } else {
    console.log('File Id:', file.id);
  }
});

Adding custom thumbnails and indexable text

To increase the discoverability of files associated with shortcuts, you can upload both thumbnail images and indexable text when inserting or modifying the file metadata. For more information, see Manage File Metadata.