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Roberto S.12's avatar
Roberto S.12
Helpful | Level 6
7 years ago

Automatic creation of nested folders

Hi, not sure how to describe this exactly, maybe is a new feature request maybe there is a trick to do that that I don't know yet, anyway. 

As part of my workflow, each time I start a new project I create a "main project folder" with 10 subfolders, some of each have subfolders too. I have a "main project folder" structure/template that is manually deployed inside DB with an app (Post Haste - https://www.digitalrebellion.com/posthaste/). My first question is: is there a way to do  something similar with DB alone without using an external app? The second question is: is there an integration that can be used to trigger the creation of the "main project folder" from another app using a template stored in DB? Example: when I create a new quote in QB I could use a Zap to trigger the creation of the "main project folder" with the same name as the quote. 

Hope this is clear and I'd like to know if this is something that anybody else does and what is your way to automate/optimize it. 

  • AlexisL's avatar
    AlexisL
    Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

    Hi @Roberto S.12! Great to e-meet you. You present an interesting workflow for us to explore and you've come to the right place to have this conversation! I'm a community manager here at Dropbox and while I don't have an identical use case, I can certainly help you explore what you might do next. Let's break things down by question.

    My first question is: is there a way to do  something similar [to Post Haste] with DB alone without using an external app?

    - Could you please elaborate on what you're specifically doing with Post Haste. If I understand correctly, it sounds like you're setting up file and folder templates for your projects. Is that right? If yes, then as far as I know there is no way to templatize folder creation at this time. However, you may be in luck with an integration.

    The second question is: is there an integration that can be used to trigger the creation of the "main project folder" from another app using a template stored in DB? Example: when I create a new quote in QB I could use a Zap to trigger the creation of the "main project folder" with the same name as the quote. 

    - My instinct was to suggest Zapier, actually! I do not have detailed knowledge of integrations like this, but I recommend tinkering with Zapier and IFTTT. Tray.io may be able to provide you a custom workflow, but that's something you'd have to investigate. Alternatively, depending on your technical knowledge, I recommend the Dropbox API. You might be interested in speaking with other developers on this subject in the API area of our forum, as well. 

    Please let us know if you have follow up questions. I look forward to hearing from others about their workflows and recommendations, too! 

    • Roberto S.12's avatar
      Roberto S.12
      Helpful | Level 6

      Hi AlexisL, great to meet you too and thanks for your reply.

      Yes, the reason I was asking if something similar to Post Haste was available in DB was to eventually get rid of the app, it doesn't live in the cloud so no way to use some kind of integration with it (it is a very useful little app, but has its limits).

      Thanks for suggesting the DB API but it is not something I'm confortable using at this time.

      I'll keep investigating with Zapier and related integrations, maybe someone will see my post and they'll be able give me a different suggestion.

      • AlexisL's avatar
        AlexisL
        Icon for Dropbox Staff rankDropbox Staff

        Thanks for following up Roberto S.12! Looking forward to seeing more thoughts come in from the community. Let us know if you have follow up questions and we'll be happy to help! 

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