Delete a file or folder

Deletes the file or folder at the given path. Supply the full Dropbox path in Path. The operation returns metadata for the deleted item.

Standard SQL query example

This is the base query accepted by the connector. To execute it in SQL Server, you have to pass it to the Data Gateway via a Linked Server. See how to accomplish this using the examples below.

SELECT *
FROM delete
WITH (Path='/path/to/file/in/dropbox/I/want/to/delete.dat')

Using OPENQUERY in SQL Server

SELECT * FROM OPENQUERY([LS_TO_DROPBOX_IN_GATEWAY], 'SELECT *
FROM delete
WITH (Path=''/path/to/file/in/dropbox/I/want/to/delete.dat'')')

Using EXEC in SQL Server (handling larger SQL text)

The major drawback of OPENQUERY is its inability to incorporate variables within SQL statements. This often leads to the use of cumbersome dynamic SQL (with numerous ticks and escape characters).

Fortunately, starting with SQL 2005 and onwards, you can utilize the EXEC (your_sql) AT [LS_TO_DROPBOX_IN_GATEWAY] syntax.

DECLARE @MyQuery NVARCHAR(MAX) = 'SELECT *
FROM delete
WITH (Path=''/path/to/file/in/dropbox/I/want/to/delete.dat'')'
EXEC (@MyQuery) AT [LS_TO_DROPBOX_IN_GATEWAY]