Google Drive: Only files with binary content can be downloaded

[bschen]

The error message is "Only files with binary content can be downloaded. Use Export with Docs Editors files."

I searched solutions online and found:"
Modification points:
When the Google Docs files are downloaded by get_media method, such error occurs.
In the case of get_media method, the files except for Google Docs (Spreadsheet, Document, Slides and so on) can be downloaded.
When you want to download Google Docs files, please use export_media method.
In this case, the raw Google Docs cannot be downloaded because of the specification of Google side. So please convert it to other format. For example, in the case of Spreadsheet, it's Excel format, CSV format and so on."

But I am unable to modify the program. How could I sync my google drive? Thanks.

[Zenju]

Yes, FFS could "export" these file types, but this wouldn't be a synchronization then. Essentially Google wants to keep you vendor-locked-in by not allowing to download their internal data format.

[Zenju]

Design alternatives:

1. Assign file extensions to these files (.gdoc, .gsheet, .gdraw), so that they can at least be excluded via filter.

2. Download as "shell links" instead, so that double-clicking in Windows Explorer opens the online version of the file in the browser. That's what the "Google Drive for Desktop" software does. But this only works if this Google software is also currently installed.

3. Other ideas?

[Zenju]

Drawbacks:

1.) adds artificial file extensions, which is technically a corruption of the actual data. Google's file types don't have extensions in Google Drive.

2.) Downloading a link instead of the actual Google file (which is not possible/allowed) is also a corruption of the actual data. Copying such a "shell link" does not consitute a backup.
What if such a "shell link" is copied back to Google Drive!? Should it "unpack" into the real online version again?