Third party files in an on-demand database service

A computer program product comprising computer-readable program code capable of being executed by one or more processors when retrieved from a non-transitory computer-readable medium, the program code comprising instructions configurable to cause:

• processing user input, the processing of the user input comprising identifying the user input as requesting that one or more third-party files be shared in a chat-based workspace comprising one or more channels configured to provide online conversation for collaboration by a team of users, the one or more third-party files being stored in a cloud-based third-party storage location external to the chat-based workspace;
• importing the one or more third-party files from the third-party storage location into the chat-based workspace at least in part by generating or updating one or more persistent objects to store, in a database of a database system:
• at least a portion of file data of the one or more third-party files as stored in the third-party storage location, and
• one or more references to the one or more third-party files as stored in the third-party storage location;
• sharing the imported one or more third-party files in the one or more channels of the chat-based workspace;
• processing online conversation data regarding the shared one or more third-party files, the online conversation data shared in the one or more channels by one or more users of the team of users, the processing of the online conversation data comprising associating the online conversation data with the one or more references to the one or more third-party files as stored in the third-party storage location;
• processing a search request received from a computing device, the processing of the search request comprising performing a file search in the database to identify at least one of the shared one or more third-party files as satisfying the search request;
• and
• providing a search result to the computing device, the search result identifying:
• the at least one shared third-party file, and
• the online conversation data.

A method comprising:

• processing user input, the processing of the user input comprising identifying the user input as requesting that one or more third-party files be shared in a chat-based workspace comprising one or more channels configured to provide online conversation for collaboration by a team of users, the one or more third-party files being stored in a cloud-based third-party storage location external to the chat-based workspace;
• importing the one or more third-party files from the third-party storage location into the chat-based workspace at least in part by generating or updating one or more persistent objects to store, in a database of a database system:
• at least a portion of file data of the one or more third-party files as stored in the third-party storage location, and
• one or more references to the one or more third-party files as stored in the third-party storage location;
• sharing the imported one or more third-party files in the one or more channels of the chat-based workspace;
• processing online conversation data regarding the shared one or more third-party files, the online conversation data shared in the one or more channels by one or more users of the team of users, the processing of the online conversation data comprising associating the online conversation data with the one or more references to the one or more third-party files as stored in the third-party storage location;
• processing a search request received from a computing device, the processing of the search request comprising performing a file search in the database to identify at least one of the shared one or more third-party files as satisfying the search request;
• and
• providing a search result to the computing device, the search result identifying:
• the at least one shared third-party file, and
• the online conversation data.