DropBox Connector for MS ExcelRead / write DropBox data inside your app; perform many DropBox operations without coding, just use easy to use high performance API Connector for DropBox In this article you will learn how to quickly and efficiently integrate DropBox data in MS Excel without coding. We will use high-performance DropBox Connector to easily connect to DropBox and then access the data inside MS Excel. Let's follow the steps below to see how we can accomplish that! DropBox Connector for MS Excel is based on ZappySys API Driver which is part of ODBC PowerPack. It is a collection of high-performance ODBC drivers that enable you to integrate data in SQL Server, SSIS, a programming language, or any other ODBC-compatible application. ODBC PowerPack supports various file formats, sources and destinations, including REST/SOAP API, SFTP/FTP, storage services, and plain files, to mention a few. |
Connect to DropBox in other apps
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Create ODBC Data Source (DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver
Step-by-step instructions
To get data from DropBox using MS Excel we first need to create a DSN (Data Source) which will access data from DropBox. We will later be able to read data using MS Excel. Perform these steps:
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Download and install ODBC PowerPack.
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Open ODBC Data Sources (x64):
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Create a User data source (User DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver
ZappySys API Driver
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Create and use User DSN
if the client application is run under a User Account.
This is an ideal option
in design-time , when developing a solution, e.g. in Visual Studio 2019. Use it for both type of applications - 64-bit and 32-bit. -
Create and use System DSN
if the client application is launched under a System Account, e.g. as a Windows Service.
Usually, this is an ideal option to use
in a production environment . Use ODBC Data Source Administrator (32-bit), instead of 64-bit version, if Windows Service is a 32-bit application.
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Create and use User DSN
if the client application is run under a User Account.
This is an ideal option
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When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "DropBox" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "DropBox" is not present in the list, then click "Search Online" and download it. Then set the path to the location where you downloaded it. Finally, click Continue >> to proceed with configuring the DSN:
DropboxDSNDropBox
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Now it's time to configure the Connection Manager. Select Authentication Type, e.g. Token Authentication. Then select API Base URL (in most cases, the default one is the right one). More info is available in the Authentication section.
Steps how to get and use DropBox credentials : User Account [OAuth]
To use OAuth authentication, firstly, you need to create OAuth application:
- Log into your DropBox account.
- Go to DropBox My Apps.
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Then press Create app button to create a new app:
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Once a new page opens, select Scoped access option:
- Next, select Full Dropbox to access all files and folders or App folder to access specific folder's files and folders option.
- Continue by giving your app a name.
- Then check I agree to Dropbox API Terms and Conditions checkbox.
- Click Create app button.
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Once a new page opens, click Enable additional teams and Enable additional users buttons:
- Then copy App key and App secret and copy paste them into your favorite text editor (you will need them later).
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Proceed by setting a Redirect URI and clicking Add button.
NOTE: If you don't have a working Redirect URI, you can use
https://zappysys.com/oauth(it's safe). -
Then click on Permissions tab and select application scopes:
- Select all Individual Scopes and Team Scopes if you want to manage team data.
- Click Submit button.
- Now go to SSIS package or ODBC data source and in User Account authentication set these parameters:
- For ClientId field use App key value.
- For ClientSecret field use App secret value.
- For ReturnUrl field use Redirect URI value.
- Done! Now you are ready to use Dropbox Connector!
NOTE: If you are planning to use your current data connection/token for automated processes, we recommend that you use a generic account for token generation when the login box appears (e.g. sales_automation@mycompany.com instead of bob_smith@mycompany.com). When you use a personal account which is tied to a specific employee profile and that employee leaves the company, the token may become invalid and any automated processes using that token will fail. Another potentially unwanted effect of using a personal token is incorrect logging; the API calls (e.g. Read, Edit, Delete, Upload) made with that token will record the specific user as performing the calls instead of an automated process.Fill in all required parameters and set optional parameters if needed:
DropboxDSNDropBoxUser Account [OAuth]https://api.dropboxapi.com/2/Required Parameters UseCustomApp Fill-in the parameter... ReturnUrl Fill-in the parameter... Optional Parameters ClientId ClientSecret Scope RetryMode RetryWhenStatusCodeMatch RetryStatusCodeList 429 RetryCountMax 5 RetryMultiplyWaitTime True 
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Once the data source connection has been configured, it's time to configure the SQL query. Select the Preview tab and then click Query Builder button to configure the SQL query:
ZappySys API Driver - DropBoxRead / write DropBox data inside your app; perform many DropBox operations without coding, just use easy to use high performance API Connector for DropBoxDropboxDSN
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Start by selecting the Table or Endpoint you are interested in and then configure the parameters. This will generate a query that we will use in MS Excel to retrieve data from DropBox. Hit OK button to use this query in the next step.
SELECT * FROM make_test
Some parameters configured in this window will be passed to the DropBox API, e.g. filtering parameters. It means that filtering will be done on the server side (instead of the client side), enabling you to get only the meaningful datamuch faster . -
Now hit Preview Data button to preview the data using the generated SQL query. If you are satisfied with the result, use this query in MS Excel:
ZappySys API Driver - DropBoxRead / write DropBox data inside your app; perform many DropBox operations without coding, just use easy to use high performance API Connector for DropBoxDropboxDSNSELECT * FROM make_test
You can also access data quickly from the tables dropdown by selecting <Select table>.AWHEREclause,LIMITkeyword will be performed on the client side, meaning that thewhole result set will be retrieved from the DropBox API first, and only then the filtering will be applied to the data. If possible, it is recommended to use parameters in Query Builder to filter the data on the server side (in DropBox servers). -
Click OK to finish creating the data source.
Video Tutorial
Read data in Excel from the DSN
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In Excel click Data, then select Get Data, proceed with From Other Sources and choose From ODBC item. This will get data from ODBC data source we created:
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A small window opens, then simply select the data source you created in previous steps:
DropboxDSN
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Most likely, you will be asked to authenticate to a newly created DSN. Just select Windows authentication option together with Use my current credentials option:
DropboxDSN
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Finally, you will be asked to select a table or view to get data from. Select one and load the data!
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Finally, finally, use data extracted from DropBox API in an Excel worksheet:
Actions supported by DropBox Connector
Learn how to perform common DropBox actions directly in MS Excel with these how-to guides:
- Create folder
- Delete
- Download a file
- Download a folder and folders/files within as ZIP archive
- List folder
- Make connection test
- Upload a file
- Generic Request
- Generic Request (Bulk Write)
Conclusion
In this article we showed you how to connect to DropBox in MS Excel and integrate data without any coding, saving you time and effort. It's worth noting that ZappySys API Driver allows you to connect not only to DropBox, but to any Java application that supports JDBC (just use a different JDBC driver and configure it appropriately).
We encourage you to download DropBox Connector for MS Excel and see how easy it is to use it for yourself or your team.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact ZappySys support team. You can also open a live chat immediately by clicking on the chat icon below.
Download DropBox Connector for MS Excel Documentation
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