C# Google Drive Connector
In this article you will learn how to integrate Using Google Drive Connector you will be able to connect, read, and write data from within C#. Follow the steps below to see how we would accomplish that. Driver mentioned in this article is part of ODBC PowerPack which is a collection of high-performance Drivers for various API data source (i.e. REST API, JSON, XML, CSV, Amazon S3 and many more). Using familiar SQL query language you can make live connections and read/write data from API sources or JSON / XML / CSV Files inside SQL Server (T-SQL) or your favorite Reporting (i.e. Power BI, Tableau, Qlik, SSRS, MicroStrategy, Excel, MS Access), ETL Tools (i.e. Informatica, Talend, Pentaho, SSIS). You can also call our drivers from programming languages such as JAVA, C#, Python, PowerShell etc. If you are new to ODBC and ZappySys ODBC PowerPack then check the following links to get started. |
See also
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Create ODBC Data Source (DSN) based on ZappySys API Driver
To get data from GoogleDrive using C# we first need to create a DSN (Data Source) which will access data from GoogleDrive. We will later be able to read data using C#. Perform these steps:
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Install ZappySys 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 DriverYou should create a System DSN (instead of a User DSN) if the client application is launched under a Windows System Account, e.g. as a Windows Service. If the client application is 32-bit (x86) running with a System DSN, use ODBC Data Sources (32-bit) instead of the 64-bit version. -
When the Configuration window appears give your data source a name if you haven't done that already, then select "Google Drive" from the list of Popular Connectors. If "Google Drive" 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:
GoogleDriveDSNGoogle Drive -
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 to get Google Drive Credentials
To make this work you will have to create an OAuth application. To register an App, perform the following steps (Detailed steps found in the help link at the end):
- Go to Google API Console
- From the Project Dropdown (usually found at the top bar) click Select Project
- On Project Propup click CREATE PROJECT
- Once project is created you can click Select Project to switch the context (You can click on Notification link or Choose from Top Dropdown)
- Click ENABLE APIS AND SERVICES
- Now we need to enable Google Drive API.
- Search Google Drive API. Select and click ENABLE
- Go to back to main screen of Google API Console
- Click OAuth Concent Screen Tab. Enter necessary details and Save.
- Click Credentials Tab
- Click CREATE CREDENTIALS (some where in topbar) and select OAuth Client ID option.
- When prompted Select Application Type as Desktop App and click Create to receive your ClientID and Secret. You can use this information now to configure Connection with UseCustomApp=true.
Fill in all required parameters and set optional parameters if needed:
GoogleDriveDSNUser Account [OAuth]https://www.googleapis.com/Required Parameters UseCustomApp Fill in the parameter... Optional Parameters ClientId Fill in the parameter... ClientSecret Fill in the parameter... Scope Fill in the parameter... RetryMode Fill in the parameter... RetryStatusCodeList Fill in the parameter... RetryCountMax Fill in the parameter... RetryMultiplyWaitTime Fill in the parameter... Steps to get Google Drive Credentials
Use these steps to authenticate as service account rather than Google / GSuite User. Learn more about service account here Basically to call Google API as Service account we need to perform following steps listed in 3 sections (Detailed steps found in the help link at the end)Create Project
First thing is create a Project so we can call Google API. Skip this section if you already have Project (Go to next section)- Go to Google API Console
- From the Project Dropdown (usually found at the top bar) click Select Project
- On Project Propup click CREATE PROJECT
- Once project is created you can click Select Project to switch the context (You can click on Notification link or Choose from Top Dropdown)
- Click ENABLE APIS AND SERVICES
- Now we need to Enable two APIs one by one (Drive API).
- Search Drive. Select and click ENABLE
Create Service Account
Once Project is created and APIs are enabled we can now create a service account under that project. Service account has its ID which looks like some email ID (not to confuse with Google /Gmail email ID)- Go to Create Service Account
- From the Project Dropdown (usually found at the top bar) click Select Project
- Enter Service account name and Service account description
- For Role, do not select anything for now and Click Continue and then click Done. Next we will create Key.
Create Key
Once service account is created we need to create key file (i.e. credentials).- In the Cloud Console, click the email address for the service account that you created.
- Click Keys.
- Click Add key, then click Create new key.
- Click Create and select P12 format. A P12 key file is downloaded to your computer. We will use this file in our API connection.
- Click Close.
- Now you may use downloaded *.p12 key file as secret file and Service Account Email as Client ID (e.g. some-service-account-name@your-project-id.iam.gserviceaccount.com ).
Add Permission
Now last thing is give read/write permission to Service Account. Basically you can create or open Google Sheet and add the Service Account as an editor to it as below.- Copy the email address of your service account we created in previous step (its usually like this some-service-account-name@your-project-id.iam.gserviceaccount.com).
- Create or select an existing Google Docs File.
- Navigate to Google Docs File for which you like to give read/write access to Service Account.
- Click on the Share button in the top right, and add the email address of the service account as an editor. Here is how to share file(s) with specific people. Juse share with Service Account (use Service Account Email found on previous section)
Fill in all required parameters and set optional parameters if needed:
GoogleDriveDSNService Account (Using Private Key File) [OAuth]https://www.googleapis.com/Required Parameters Service Account Email Fill in the parameter... Service Account Private Key Path (i.e. *.p12) Fill in the parameter... Optional Parameters Scope Fill in the parameter... RetryMode Fill in the parameter... RetryStatusCodeList Fill in the parameter... RetryCountMax Fill in the parameter... RetryMultiplyWaitTime Fill in the parameter... -
Once the data source has been configured, you can preview data. Select the Preview tab and use settings similar to the following to preview data:
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Click OK to finish creating the data source.
Read data in C# from the DSN
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Create a new Console project and use this code to read the data:
"GoogleDriveDSN"; -
Press F5 to run the code and read the data:
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Here is the code in text format:
using System; using System.Data.Odbc; namespace ConsoleApp { class Program { static void Main() { var dsn = "GoogleDriveDSN"; using (var conn = new OdbcConnection(String.Format("DSN={0}", dsn))) { conn.Open(); var cmd = new OdbcCommand("SELECT * FROM Products", conn); var rdr = cmd.ExecuteReader(); while (rdr.Read()) { for (int i = 0; i < rdr.FieldCount; i++) { Console.Write("{0}\t", rdr[i]); } Console.WriteLine(); } } Console.ReadKey(); } } }
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If you want to avoid being dependent on a DSN and creating multiple DSNs for each platform (x86, x64), then you can use a fully qualified connection string. Simply go to your DSN and copy the Connection String . Then in your C# code, pass the connection string as an argument when calling the OdbcConnection object's constructor, for example:
var connectionString = "DRIVER={ZappySys API Driver};ServiceUrl=https://services.odata.org/V3/Northwind/Northwind.svc;Provider=OData;AuthName=Http;"; using (var conn = new OdbcConnection(connectionString)) { // ... }
How to Overcome the Long Connection String Issue
This issue is typically caused when the connection string includes a long RefreshToken attribute (i.e. RefreshToken=xxxxxxxxxxxx...xxx, especially if it's more than 1,000 characters).
A good solution is to supply the RefreshToken by a file. Simply copy and paste the RefreshToken into a text file and save it, and then pass that file path in the connection string instead of directly supplying the RefreshToken.
Here is an example of a connection string that can cause the issue:
var connectionString = "Driver={ZappySys API Driver};RefreshToken=xxxxxxxxxxxx...xxxxxxx;ServiceUrl=...;"; using (var conn = new OdbcConnection(connectionString)) { // ... }
Here is an example of a connection string that has resolved the issue by moving the RefreshToken attribute to the file c:\my_refresh_token.txt:
var connectionString = "Driver={ZappySys API Driver};RefreshTokenFile=c:\my_refresh_token.txt;ServiceUrl=...;"; using (connectionString) { // ... }
Create Custom Store Procedure in ZappySys Driver
You can create procedures to encapsulate custom logic and then only pass handful parameters rather than long SQL to execute your API call.
Steps to create Custom Store Procedure in ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders anywhere inside Procedure Body. Read more about placeholders here
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Go to Custom Objects Tab and Click on Add button and Select Add Procedure:
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Enter the desired Procedure name and click on OK:
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Select the created Store Procedure and write the your desired store procedure and Save it and it will create the custom store procedure in the ZappySys Driver:
Here is an example stored procedure for ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders anywhere inside Procedure Body. Read more about placeholders here
CREATE PROCEDURE [usp_get_orders] @fromdate = '<<yyyy-MM-dd,FUN_TODAY>>' AS SELECT * FROM Orders where OrderDate >= '<@fromdate>';
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That's it now go to Preview Tab and Execute your Store Procedure using Exec Command. In this example it will extract the orders from the date 1996-01-01:
Exec usp_get_orders '1996-01-01';
Create Custom Virtual Table in ZappySys Driver
ZappySys API Drivers support flexible Query language so you can override Default Properties you configured on Data Source such as URL, Body. This way you don't have to create multiple Data Sources if you like to read data from multiple EndPoints. However not every application support supplying custom SQL to driver so you can only select Table from list returned from driver.
Many applications like MS Access, Informatica Designer wont give you option to specify custom SQL when you import Objects. In such case Virtual Table is very useful. You can create many Virtual Tables on the same Data Source (e.g. If you have 50 URLs with slight variations you can create virtual tables with just URL as Parameter setting.
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Go to Custom Objects Tab and Click on Add button and Select Add Table:
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Enter the desired Table name and click on OK:
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And it will open the New Query Window Click on Cancel to close that window and go to Custom Objects Tab.
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Select the created table, Select Text Type AS SQL and write the your desired SQL Query and Save it and it will create the custom table in the ZappySys Driver:
Here is an example SQL query for ZappySys Driver. You can insert Placeholders also. Read more about placeholders here
SELECT "ShipCountry", "OrderID", "CustomerID", "EmployeeID", "OrderDate", "RequiredDate", "ShippedDate", "ShipVia", "Freight", "ShipName", "ShipAddress", "ShipCity", "ShipRegion", "ShipPostalCode" FROM "Orders" Where "ShipCountry"='USA'
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That's it now go to Preview Tab and Execute your custom virtual table query. In this example it will extract the orders for the USA Shipping Country only:
SELECT * FROM "vt__usa_orders_only"
Conclusion
In this article we discussed how to connect to Google Drive in C# and integrate data without any coding. Click here to Download Google Drive Connector for C# and try yourself see how easy it is. If you still have any question(s) then ask here or simply click on live chat icon below and ask our expert (see bottom-right corner of this page).
Download Google Drive Connector for C#
Documentation
Actions supported by Google Drive Connector
Google Drive Connector support following actions for REST API integration. If some actions are not listed below then you can easily edit Connector file and enhance out of the box functionality.Parameter | Description |
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PageSize |
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Search Criteria |
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PageSize |
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Search Criteria |
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PageSize |
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Search Criteria |
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Id |
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File Id |
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Export As (Mime Type) |
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fields |
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FileName |
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DiskFilePath |
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ParentFolderId |
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KeepRevisionForever |
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AddParents |
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OcrLanguage |
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UseContentAsIndexableText |
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Name |
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ParentFolderId |
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Id |
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Id |
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DiskFilePath |
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KeepRevisionForever |
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AddParents |
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OcrLanguage |
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UseContentAsIndexableText |
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Id |
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AddParents |
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OcrLanguage |
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UseContentAsIndexableText |
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Url |
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Body |
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IsMultiPart |
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Filter |
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Headers |
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Other App Integration scenarios for Google Drive
Other Connectors for C#
Download Google Drive Connector for C#
Documentation
How to connect Google Drive in C#?
How to get Google Drive data in C#?
How to read Google Drive data in C#?
How to load Google Drive data in C#?
How to import Google Drive data in C#?
How to pull Google Drive data in C#?
How to push data to Google Drive in C#?
How to write data to Google Drive in C#?
How to POST data to Google Drive in C#?
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Consume Google Drive API in C#
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Google Drive C# Integration
Integration Google Drive in C#
Consume real-time Google Drive data in C#
Consume realtime Google Drive API data in C#
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Load Google Drive in C#
Load Google Drive data in C#
Read Google Drive data in C#
Google Drive API Call in C#