Connectors

When a live model sits in a shared drive and updates by the hour, the last thing you want is to analyze a stale copy you downloaded yesterday. Most of the time you bring a document to Claude by uploading it from your computer. Connectors offer a second route: they let Claude reach into an approved source, such as a shared drive, and pull a file in directly. It saves the download-then-upload shuffle and keeps you working from the current version.

Where connectors appear

Connectors live behind the same plus button you use to attach a file. Open the attach menu and, alongside “Upload from computer”, you will see the sources your firm’s workspace has switched on, for example Google Drive.

1. Upload from computer is the everyday route, and it always works.
2. A connector, here a shared drive, lets you search that source and add a file without leaving Claude.

What a connector is good for

A connector earns its place when a file already lives in an approved source and you would otherwise download it just to upload it again.

• Pulling from a shared drive. Reach the current version of a model or deck without saving a local copy.
• Working from the live document. You always get the latest file, so there is no risk of analyzing a stale download.
• Fewer files on your laptop. Documents stay in their managed home rather than scattering across your downloads folder.

Using a connector, step by step

1. Open the attach menu

   Click the plus button in the message box. The menu lists your computer and any connectors your workspace has enabled.

2. Choose your source

   Select the connector, for example the shared drive. You can then search within it by file name.

3. Pick the file

   Choose the document you need. It attaches to your message just like an upload, shown as a file chip above the text.

4. Ask your question

   Brief Claude exactly as you would with an uploaded file: set the role, the task, and the format you want back.

Once attached, a connected file behaves like any other. The chip sits above your prompt, and you can mix it with files from other sources in the same message.

What to take from this

Connectors save you a download-then-upload step by letting Claude pull a file straight from an approved source like a shared drive. They are a convenience layered on top of the normal attach flow, and the file behaves identically once attached. Treat a connected file exactly as you would an upload, and brief Claude well. To see a connected file feed straight into real deal work, follow the Project Atlas walkthrough.