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Help using the dotnet documentation

PaulELong

I'm trying to understand and use the API for dotnet. I'm finding it ****** to use the online documentation and I'm wondering if there's something I'm missing.

For instance, I'm using Files.DownloadAsync. I found a page with a few simple examples, but now I want to see how what it returns. The example uses var response = await dbx.File.DownloadAsync(path), which doens't tell me what the response type is. The example would be better if it was possible to explicitly show the types. But now how do I find more info on DownloadAsync and what it returns?

I can find the help but the navigation on the left side doens't work. When I try to open a category, like Drop API it doens't always show anything. If I start from the root I can navigate down to Dropbox.API.Files, which I think woudl be the right place, but I don't see an DownloadAsync listed.

I can use C# to help me understand the type that is returend, which I discover is IDownloadResponse, but how to find that in the help? There is also not a way to search the help.

What is the best why to search and find things in the dotnet help?

Thanks, Paul

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Accepted answers

Greg-DB

Thanks for the feedback! Dropbox.Api.Files and Dropbox.Api.Files.Routes are each linked separately in the sidebar at the top level here:

https://dropbox.github.io/dropbox-sdk-dotnet/html/R_Project_DotNetApiDocumentation.htm

The docs themselves don't have search built in, but you can search the doc site using a web search engine, such as:

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=IDownloadResponse%20site%3Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fdropbox.github.io%2Fdropbox%2Dsdk%2Ddotnet%2F

All comments

Greg-DB

Thanks for the post, and I'm sorry to hear about the confusion.

You can find the full documentation for the official Dropbox API v2 .NET SDK hosted here:

https://dropbox.github.io/dropbox-sdk-dotnet/html/R_Project_DotNetApiDocumentation.htm

There are a a number of sections listed in the sidebar. The Dropbox.Api Namespace, for instance, contains top level objects:

https://dropbox.github.io/dropbox-sdk-dotnet/html/N_Dropbox_Api.htm

For instance, that contains DropboxClient:

https://dropbox.github.io/dropbox-sdk-dotnet/html/T_Dropbox_Api_DropboxClient.htm

And, for each area of the API, there is a namespace each for the types and routes. For instance, the Dropbox.Api.Files Namespace lists the Files types here:

https://dropbox.github.io/dropbox-sdk-dotnet/html/N_Dropbox_Api_Files.htm

And the Dropbox.Api.Files.Routes Namespace contains the FilesUserRoutes class:

https://dropbox.github.io/dropbox-sdk-dotnet/html/N_Dropbox_Api_Files_Routes.htm

The FilesUserRoutes Class lists all of the methods for the Files API routes:

https://dropbox.github.io/dropbox-sdk-dotnet/html/T_Dropbox_Api_Files_Routes_FilesUserRoutes.htm

For example, that lists DownloadAsync:

https://dropbox.github.io/dropbox-sdk-dotnet/html/M_Dropbox_Api_Files_Routes_FilesUserRoutes_DownloadAsync_1.htm

And that includes the response type, linking to IDownloadResponse:

https://dropbox.github.io/dropbox-sdk-dotnet/html/T_Dropbox_Api_Stone_IDownloadResponse_1.htm

Hope this helps!

PaulELong

I suppose that helps me locate teh IDownloadResponse page, but I can't reproduce your path. I can get to the Dropbox_api_files section, but I don't see Routes. In fact if I click on https://dropbox.github.io/dropbox-sdk-dotnet/html/N_Dropbox_Api_Files.htm and search for "routes" on the page, nothing comes up. Further more I don't know how I would have known to click on routes, I'm sure there's some rational, but it doesn't seem obvious to me. BTW, the arrow glyphs on the left side don't always work.

Is there a search functionallity?

Greg-DB

Thanks for the feedback! Dropbox.Api.Files and Dropbox.Api.Files.Routes are each linked separately in the sidebar at the top level here:

https://dropbox.github.io/dropbox-sdk-dotnet/html/R_Project_DotNetApiDocumentation.htm

The docs themselves don't have search built in, but you can search the doc site using a web search engine, such as:

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=IDownloadResponse%20site%3Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fdropbox.github.io%2Fdropbox%2Dsdk%2Ddotnet%2F

PaulELong

That will do, thanks. Maybe somebody could bolt that google link onto the website

Paul

snaidamast

There is defintely something wrong here with the API documentation.

To do a simple file download, all of the sample coding I have researched, including the final sample that actually worked uses the following method call to perform the actual download...

loDropBoxClient.Files.DownloadAsync("/ResearchIndex Files" + "/AvailableExtensionsList.txt")

The object, "loDropBoxClient", is my successfully, instantiated cleint. And as one can see, it uses the "Files" namespace with the subordinated method, "DownloadAsync".

However, there is absolutely no way one can backtrack this in the ApI Reference Documentation as the snapshot beliow demonstrates...

Missing "DownloadAsync" Method

As one can see, the methods for the "DropBox.API.Files" namespace does not include the "DownloadAsync" method.

This is the type of issue I have opened a new thread for and the relates to the issue that the poster of this thread has described...

Greg-DB

@snaidamast Thanks for the additional detail! I see you opened a new thread so I'll follow up with you there.