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Re: Best way to get a file's URL

Best way to get a file's URL

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I am making an iOS app that displays all of the images from a selected folder. To make caching the images easier and more efficient I'm using the SDWebImage Library. SDWebImage requires a URL and I'm currently using the getTemporaryLink function to get a link for each image in the folder. Is there a better way to get a URL? I'm concerned that the links expiring will cause issues. 

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Greg-DB
Dropbox Staff
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That is the right way to get a direct link to a file using the API.

I'll be happy to pass along as feedback or feature requests though. What specifically would be more useful? Thanks in advance!

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24 Replies 24

Greg-DB
Dropbox Staff
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That is the right way to get a direct link to a file using the API.

I'll be happy to pass along as feedback or feature requests though. What specifically would be more useful? Thanks in advance!

SianZeng
New member | Level 2
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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. 

Greg-DB
Dropbox Staff
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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

mikemalter
Helpful | Level 5
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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.

Greg-DB
Dropbox Staff
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@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).

mikemalter
Helpful | Level 5
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@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.

 

 

Greg-DB
Dropbox Staff
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@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).

mikemalter
Helpful | Level 5
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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.

Greg-DB
Dropbox Staff
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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! 

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