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4 ways to automate Canto with Zapier

By Hannah Herman · May 8, 2025
The Canto logo connected to other app logos against a light blue background

If you've ever gone to schedule a social post and had to hunt through thousands of poorly labeled files to find the right image, you're not alone. That's where tools like Canto, a digital asset manager, come in handy. With organizational features like folders, albums, and search—plus collaborative tools like commenting—Canto keeps all your creative assets in one central place, so you always have the right file ready when you need it.

With Zapier, you can connect Canto to thousands of other apps and create Zaps (what we call automated workflows) that streamline your asset management tasks. Read on to learn how.

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Table of contents

Automatically upload new files to Canto

Canto can be revolutionary for marketing and creative teams—if you can keep it organized. But just having a digital asset manager doesn't give you organizational superpowers. You'll still need to sort your assets into folders and stay on top of importing and exporting the right files. That is, unless you automate the process.

Automation can help you keep Canto up to date with the latest images and collateral. For example, you can use a Zap to automatically add new files to Canto from your favorite file management tool, like Dropbox. You can also create a Zap that does the opposite, instantly uploading new Canto files to your storage app. And both Zaps are fully customizable, so you can decide which folders files come from or go to.

Upload new OneDrive files to Canto instantly

  • OneDrive logo
  • Canto logo
OneDrive + Canto
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    When a new file gets added to your OneDrive, streamline your digital asset management by having Canto upload the file instantly. This seamless workflow between OneDrive and Canto helps keep all your important files organized and accessible in your Canto library. No more wasting time doing the same task in different apps and stay focused on higher priority tasks.

    Add new Dropbox files to Canto

    • Dropbox logo
    • Canto logo
    Dropbox + Canto
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      Find new files in Dropbox, and then send them to Canto site.

      Add new Box files to Canto

      • Box logo
      • Canto logo
      Box + Canto
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        Find new files on Box site, and then send to Canto site.

        Upload files to Dropbox when there are new files in Canto

        • Canto logo
        • Dropbox logo
        Canto + Dropbox
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          Find new files on the Canto site, and then send them to the Dropbox site.

          Upload new files in Canto to Box

          • Canto logo
          • Box logo
          Canto + Box
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            Tired of managing your files across applications by hand? This integration offers a better way, automatically finding your new files in Canto and sending them to your Box account.

            Instantly turn Canto files into tasks

            Managing your assets involves more than just putting files into the right folders. You also need to make sure your team can take action based on those assets—whether that's adding an image to a social post, uploading a PDF to your website, or getting approval from your CMO on the latest digital ads. 

            That action often has to happen fast, so your team can keep their work moving and stay on deadline. If you're juggling multiple projects at once, it's easy to forget individual tasks—and before you know it, you've missed a crucial deadline. But thankfully, you can use a little automation to streamline asset follow-ups and keep everyone on track. 

            Let's say you want to make sure your social team adds the right images to the right posts in their social calendar. You can create a Zap that automatically adds new Canto files from your social album to Trello tasks as an attachment. That way, your team always has the right asset for each post. 

            Add attachments to cards in Trello for new files in Canto albums

            • Canto logo
            • Trello logo
            Canto + Trello
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              When new files are added to Canto albums, files are sent over to specified cards in Trello.

              Create tasks in Asana for new files in a Canto album

              • Canto logo
              • Asana logo
              Canto + Asana
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                Stay on top of your project management game with this efficient workflow. When a new file lands in your Canto Album, a task is instantly created in Asana. This seamless integration offers a clear solution to staying organized and efficient, cutting down on any manual data entry so you can focus on what matters most. It's just a more streamlined way to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.

                Create Notion database items from new files in Canto

                • Canto logo
                • Notion logo
                Canto + Notion
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                  If your team needs to act on files quickly, use this Zap. Every time a new file gets added to a Canto folder, a new item appears in your Notion database, making it easier to follow up.

                  Pro tip: If you have multiple social media coordinators to manage different platforms, AI and Paths by Zapier can enhance your workflow even more. Add a ChatGPT step that analyzes your image in Canto, then suggests the ideal social platform for the image based on its format and content. Depending on the analysis, you can create paths to automatically assign tasks to the right coordinator in your project management tool.

                  Get notifications for Canto activity

                  On a dynamic marketing team, you're always waiting for the latest: the newest leads, the freshest data, the most up-to-date assets. But all that waiting can turn into a big time suck, and your team has better things to do than constantly refresh Canto. 

                  Instead of whittling away time to watch for new assets, you can automate the process and give your whole team more space to focus. For example, you can create a Zap that instantly lets you know when there's a new file in a Canto album. 

                  These notifications can be delivered wherever you spend the most time, whether that's a Slack channel, a DM, or your email inbox. You can also customize the notification so it contains all the most relevant information about the new file, giving you an overview of what's new.

                  Message a Slack channel when a new file gets added to a Canto album

                  • Canto logo
                  • Slack logo
                  Canto + Slack
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                    Refreshing Canto to check if new assets have been uploaded to an album slows everybody down. Instead, automatically notify a Slack channel after an asset gets uploaded, so your team has time for more productive work.

                    Send direct messages in Slack for new files in a Canto album

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                    • Slack logo
                    Canto + Slack
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                      Keep your team in the loop without any extra effort with this workflow. When there's a new file in a Canto Album, a direct message is sent through Slack, ensuring everyone is informed immediately. This automation simplifies communication and keeps your project updates timely and efficient.

                      Send notifications in Gmail after a new file gets added to a Canto album

                      • Canto logo
                      • Gmail logo
                      Canto + Gmail
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                        Keep up with every new file added to a Canto album without wasting time on checking the tool. This Zap automatically sends an email in Gmail for every new asset added to your Canto album, streamlining the time you spend on your asset management process.

                        Send outbound emails with Email by Zapier when new files are added in Canto album

                        • Canto logo
                        • Email by Zapier logo
                        Canto + Email by Zapier
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                          Ensure you never miss any updates with this efficient workflow. When a new file appears in your Canto Album, an email notification is instantly sent through Email by Zapier, keeping you informed and up to date. This process not only saves time but also streamlines communication, making sure you're always in the loop.

                          Pro tip: Worried about spamming your team channels or inbox with too many messages? Use a filter step to only send messages that meet specific criteria so you limit the noise.

                          Automatically save email and chat files to Canto

                          On a dynamic marketing team, assets can come from many sources. There are the ones you create in-house, of course, but you might also partner with an external agency for some campaigns—or rely on user-generated content as part of your creative strategy. 

                          Regardless of where a specific asset comes from, you need a way to ensure every single item gets uploaded to Canto. You could manually add assets yourself, but that quickly becomes too much manual work at scale. And even if you can spend several hours a week uploading files to Canto, the lag time between when an asset arrives and when you finally upload it will slow your team down.

                          Instead, you can use automation to streamline the process. Let's say you work with a creative agency regularly to help create images for your business's social media. You can create a Zap that instantly pulls new asset files from email or Slack and adds them to Canto—so every time the agency delivers new work, your whole team can access the assets right away.

                          Upload new Slack messages as files to Canto

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                          • Canto logo
                          Slack + Canto
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                            Easily transform your team's communication system into a streamlined document storage. When a new message is pushed on your Slack, this workflow instantly uploads the file to your Canto. It saves you crucial time, making sure your important files are effectively organized and securely stored without delay. Efficiently manage your digital assets even in fast-paced work chat environments.

                            Upload new Microsoft Outlook attachments to Canto as files

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                            • Canto logo
                            Microsoft Outlook + Canto
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                              Harness the power of automation with this powerful workflow. Whenever you receive a new attachment in Microsoft Outlook, it will instantly upload that file to Canto. This streamlined process not only boosts your productivity by eliminating tedious manual uploading, but also ensures that all your vital attachments are securely stored and easily accessible in Canto. Stay organized, save precious time, and focus on tasks that truly matter.

                              Upload a new Gmail attachment to Canto

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                              • Canto logo
                              Gmail + Canto
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                                If you receive assets in Gmail as email attachments, manually adding each file to Canto can be a hassle. By automatically uploading email attachments you receive to your Canto account, you can deal with files directly in one central location.

                                Manage assets effortlessly with Canto and Zapier

                                For creative teams, Canto's digital asset management platform is a huge boon—and you can exponentially increase its impact with automation. By connecting Canto to your other apps with Zapier, you can keep your creative organized, reduce the busywork on your team's plate, and make sure no asset ever falls through the cracks.

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                                A Zap with the trigger 'When I get a new lead from Facebook,' and the action 'Notify my team in Slack'