How to integrate Dropbox using Java

Learn how to quickly and efficiently connect Dropbox with Java for smooth data access.

Read and write Dropbox data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate files and folders — almost no coding required. You can do it all using the high-performance Dropbox ODBC Driver for Java (often referred to as the Dropbox Connector). How is this possible? You will connect to the ZappySys Data Gateway, which acts as a seamless bridge between the ODBC and JDBC layers. We'll walk you through the entire setup.

Ready to dive in? Download the product to jump right in, or follow the step-by-step guide below to see how it works.

Dropbox ODBC Driver Powering this integration

High performance
Bidirectional
Low-code / No-code
Easy to use

Built on the ZappySys API Driver, the Dropbox ODBC Driver is a high-performance, low-code / no-code solution. It enables you to connect to Dropbox data without any coding right in your SQL Server, or any ODBC/JDBC application. Part of the ODBC PowerPack.

Documentation

Create data source in ZappySys Data Gateway

In this section we will create a data source for Dropbox in the Data Gateway. Let's follow these steps to accomplish that:

Download and install ODBC PowerPack (if you haven't already).
Search for gateway in the Windows Start Menu and open ZappySys Data Gateway Configuration:
Go to the Users tab and follow these steps to add a Data Gateway user:
- Click the Add button
- In the Login field enter a username, e.g., john
- Then enter a Password
- Check the Is Administrator checkbox
- Click OK to save
Now we are ready to add a data source:
- Click the Add button
- Give the Data source a name (have it handy for later)
- Then select Native - ZappySys API Driver
- Finally, click OK
DropboxDSN

ZappySys API Driver
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:

DropboxDSN

Dropbox

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.

User Account

Dropbox authentication

To use OAuth authentication, firstly, you need to create OAuth application:

Log into your Dropbox account.
Go to Dropbox My Apps.
Then press Create app button to create a new app:
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.
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).
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:
1. For ClientId field use App key value.
2. For ClientSecret field use App secret value.
3. 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.

API Connection Manager configuration

Just perform these simple steps to finish authentication configuration:

Set Authentication Type to User Account [OAuth]
Optional step. Modify API Base URL if needed (in most cases default will work).
Fill in all the required parameters and set optional parameters if needed.
Press Generate Token button to generate the tokens.
Finally, hit OK button:

DropboxDSN

Dropbox

User 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

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 - Dropbox

Read and write Dropbox data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate files and folders — almost no coding required.

DropboxDSN
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 Java to retrieve data from Dropbox. Hit OK button to use this query in the next step.
```
SELECT *
FROM list_folder
```
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 data much 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 Java:
ZappySys API Driver - Dropbox

Read and write Dropbox data effortlessly. Integrate, manage, and automate files and folders — almost no coding required.

DropboxDSN
```
SELECT *
FROM list_folder
```
You can also access data quickly from the tables dropdown by selecting <Select table>.

A WHERE clause, LIMIT keyword will be performed on the client side, meaning that the whole 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.
Once done, go to the Network Settings tab and Add a firewall rule for inbound traffic:
- This will initially allow all inbound traffic.
- Click Edit IP filters to restrict access to specific IP addresses or ranges.
Crucial Step: After creating or modifying the data source, you must:
- Click the Save button to persist your changes.
- Hit Yes when prompted to restart the Data Gateway service.
This ensures all changes are properly applied:

Skipping this step may cause the new settings to fail, preventing you from connecting to the data source.

Read data in Java from the DSN

Java code to get the data:

"jdbc:sqlserver://localhost:5000;databasename=DropboxDSN;user=john;password=test"
When you run the code it will make the API call and read the data:

Here is Java program's code in text format:


//Step-1: Install ZappySys ODBC PowerPack and Configure Data Gateway

//Step-2:Assuming the Microsoft SQL Server JDBC Driver is in below folder
//C:\Program Files\Microsoft Jdbc Driver 6.0 for SQL Server\sqljdbc_6.0\enu\auth\x64
package padaone;

import java.sql.*;

public class zappy {

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        // Create a variable for the connection string.
        String connectionUrl = "jdbc:sqlserver://localhost:5000;databasename=DropboxDSN;user=test;password=test";

        // Declare the JDBC objects.
        Connection con = null;
        Statement stmt = null;
        ResultSet rs = null;

            try {
                // Establish the connection.
                Class.forName("com.microsoft.sqlserver.jdbc.SQLServerDriver");
                con = DriverManager.getConnection(connectionUrl);

                // Create and execute an SQL statement that returns some data.
                String SQL = "SELECT Country , SUM(UnitPrice * Quantity) Total " 
                           + "FROM value " 
                           + "GROUP BY Country "
                           + "WITH (SRC='https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc/Invoices?$format=json')";
                stmt = con.createStatement();
                rs = stmt.executeQuery(SQL);

                // Iterate through the data in the result set and display it.
                while (rs.next()) {
                    System.out.println(rs.getString(1) + " " + rs.getString(2));
                }
            }

        // Handle any errors that may have occurred.
        catch (Exception e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        } 
        
        finally {
            if (rs != null) try { rs.close(); } catch (Exception e) {}
            if (stmt != null) try { stmt.close(); } catch (Exception e) {}
            if (con != null) try { con.close(); } catch (Exception e) {}
        }
    }
}

Supported Dropbox Connector actions

Got a specific use case in mind? We've mapped out exactly how to perform a variety of essential Dropbox operations directly in Java, so you don't have to figure out the setup from scratch. Check out the step-by-step guides below:

Conclusion

In this article we showed you how to connect to Dropbox in Java and integrate data without writing complex code — all of this was powered by Dropbox ODBC Driver.

Download ODBC PowerPack now or ping us via chat if you have any questions or are looking for a specific feature (you can also reach out to us by submitting a ticket):

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