Best way to get a file's URL

I've been trying to find a way to share an image url from dropbox so that I can use it in my newsletters. Something like what imgur does.

I tested it by copying a shared link from dropbox but it didn't work. Is there a way to share image url-s from dropbox. Since Dropbox hosts our images anyway wouldn't be so difficult I thought. 

SianZeng, can you elaborate on what didn't work? It sounds like you may want to use the options documented here:

https://help.dropbox.com/desktop-web/force-download

I may not be thinking about this correctly, so I'm open to alternatives.  I need to generate a document that lists all of the files and folders off of a selected Dropbox folder.  This I can do now with no issues.  One additional requirement is that the list be hyperlinked so if someone clicks on a link, that document will open.  I could have file hyperlinks for our desktop users, but what about mobile phone users?  I'm thinking that I'll need URL's for that.  So I need to know how to get URL's for selected files.  However, one of the messages above talks about links expiring.  Is there a way to get a permanant URL that can be stored in a document?

Thanks.

mikemalter It sounds like Dropbox shared links might be a good solution for your use case. They don't expire (though they can be manually revoked). You can create them programmatically using the API via /2/sharing/create_shared_link_with_settings (or a corresponding method if you're using an official SDK).

@Greg K., thanks for your answer.  Of course I have a few more questions.

1. If our group's content manager set up shared folders, is that the same thing as shared files?  Do we have to create a shared link to every file?
2. I looked at the Json code to create a shared link and I'm wondering can I do the same thing in C#?  I have not coded anything in Json at this point.
3. I noticed that there did not seem to be anyway to get a copy of the link for a file.  Is there a way to query dropbox and get the shared links of all files that exist?

Thanks for your help.  I am so new to this that my questions might not make sense, but hopefully you'll see what I'm up to and can answer accordingly.

mikemalter No problem:

1. No, shared folders are not the same as shared links. There's a help center article that covers these two different kinds of sharing here: 

https://help.dropbox.com/files-folders/share-file-or-folder

2. Yes, you can call the API from essentially any platform where you can make arbitrary HTTPS calls.  If you're using C#, we recommend using the official Dropbox API v2 .NET SDK, if you can. The SDK will do most of the work for you. For example, it has a CreateSharedLinkWithSettingsAsync method for /2/sharing/create_shared_link_with_settings.

3. Yes, you can retrieve existing shared links using /2/sharing/list_shared_links (which is ListSharedLinksAsync in the .NET SDK).

Hi Greg,

If I create a shared link to a folder, that does not mean that all of it's contents now have shared links. Please confirm my understanding that it's a one to one thing.  Thanks.

Also, some nuances with regard to shared links.  Let's say on Monday I programattically create shared links for all files and folders in our Dropbox.  Then someone adds new files and folders.  Can I run the same program that basically gets each item and assigns a shared link to it, or do I need to differentiate between those items who do not have a shared link and create a shared link.  Will it mess anything up if I just run my shared link utility on our whole dropbox each time?  I want to make sure I don't create issues on the back end for anyone.

Finally the first parameter for CreateSharedLinkWithSettingsAsync is the path of the item.  So the path to an example file is "C:\Users\malter.JOYOUSLIVING\Dropbox\FoldernameLevel1\FolderNameLevel1\FileName.pdf".  Is this what I pass, or do I pass the stuff just after Dropbox, or do I include Dropbox.  I don't see any example code, so I'm having to wing this.  Are there code examples?

Thanks.

If you create a shared link to a folder, that link is specifically for the folder. However, that link does also enable access to the contents of that folder.

If you attempt to create a shared link for a file or folder that already has a shared link, the call will fail with an error. You can catch that error though. I illustrated that as well as the path question here in the issue you opened for the .NET SDK:

https://github.com/dropbox/dropbox-sdk-dotnet/issues/64

Hope this helps! 

Greg,

Is is possible you could post a snippet of C# code that shows how to call an async method from another class?   I want to have a class called DropboxManager where I can put all of the Dropbox code in and then call those methods.  But I can't figure out how to pass parameters without another level of indirection.  Here are some code snippets to help you understand.  This is in the Form_Load method of my Windows Form application

this.dbx = DropboxManager.GetUserToken(this.DropboxDevelopmentAccessToken);

Task<FullAccount> task = Task.Run(GetCurrentAccount);
task.Wait();
this.full = task.Result;

this.lblDropboxUserName.Text = full.Name.DisplayName;
this.lblDropboxEmailAddress.Text = full.Email;

Task<List<string>> task1 = Task.Run(ListFolders);
task1.Wait();
int i = task1.Result.Count;

Here are the functions that are another level of indirection and in the same class as the Form_Load method.

async Task<List<string>> ListFolders()
{
	DropboxManager dm = new DropboxManager();
	List<string> FolderList = await dm.ListFolders(dbx);

	return FolderList;
}

async Task<FullAccount> GetCurrentAccount()
{
	try
	{
		DropboxManager dm = new DropboxManager();
		return await dm.GetCurrentAccount(dbx);
	}
	catch (Exception e)
	{
		throw e;
	}
}

Here are the methods that are called in my DropboxManager class:

public async Task<List<string>> ListFolders(DropboxClient dbx)
{
	try
	{
		List<string> FolderList = new List<string>();
		var list = await dbx.Files.ListFolderAsync(string.Empty);

		foreach (var item in list.Entries.Where(i => i.IsFolder))
		{
			FolderList.Add(item.Name);
		}

		return FolderList;
	}
	catch (Exception ex)
	{
		throw ex;
	}
}

public static DropboxClient GetUserToken(string oauth2AccessToken)
{
	try
	{
		DropboxClient dbx = new DropboxClient(oauth2AccessToken);
		return dbx;
	}
	catch (Exception e)
	{
		throw e;
	}
}

public async Task<FullAccount> GetCurrentAccount(DropboxClient dbx)
{
	try
	{
		return await dbx.Users.GetCurrentAccountAsync();
	}
	catch (Exception e)
	{
		throw e;
	}
}

So you can see that the only way I can pass parameters is by executing a Run() on an async function that calls another async function.  I can't figure out how to pass parameters from that first level.  Is that even possible?

Thanks.