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How to show in-browser view of a file (i.e. jpg or PDF)
The URL from get_temporary_link() forces Firefox to initiate a download instead of an in-browser view of the file (which is what I want) and it is causing IE to just show a blank window. The create_shared_link does not allow an expiry for basic accounts, but I don't want to create a permanent share link for every file the user happens to view. How can I open a window in the browser that shows a file from the user's box? There seem to be two ways to display file: 1) using Dropbox's web view (given by create_shared_link) and 2) using the browser's native ability to show the file type. I want the ability to do both, but can't get either one working.
3 Replies
- Greg-DB
Dropbox Community Moderator
The links returned by get_temporary_link aren't intended for being directly displayed in the browser unfortunately, but I'll be sure to pass this along as a feature request. Thanks Greg. In v1 of the API we could get a temporary shared link (lasting four hours) and use that with a slight tweak to show the file in the browser. Is there no equivalent feature, have we lost that capability, in v2?
In v2, the /create_shared_link_with_settings would be the correct end-point to get the URL for in-browser viewing, however it does not allow me to get an expiring link since our users usually have basic accounts. So must I create a permanent shared link for every file the user views?
- Greg-DB
It sounds like you're referring to API v1's /media endpoint. The API v2 equivalent is /files/get_temporary_link, but unfortunately it's not designed for displaying directly in the browser. Sorry I don't have a better answer for you!
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