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Downloading a file from using the Python Dropbox API

Hello,

Sorry for the basic question. I'm updating the code I had for the V1 Python API and I'm having a trouble with the download function. Originally I used the following:

f, metadata = client.get_file_and_metadata('/' + j)
out = open(j)
out.write(f.read())
out.close()

Where 'j' is just a name of a picture from a list of names; this was what was used in the tutorial for the previous answer. Now, it seems that in the newest version of the API that function is gone and there seem to be two replacements: 'files_download()' and 'files_download_to_file()'. I'm confused because both essentially produce the same type of response:

(<SPAN class="pre">dropbox.files.FileMetadata</SPAN>, <SPAN class="pre">requests.models.Response</SPAN>)

What would be the correct way to transform the previous methodology to the new one?

Thanks,

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Accepted answers

Greg-DB

The files_download method is the closest to what you were using. The files_download_to_file method takes an extra parameter for saving the file locally for you.

So either of these should be equivalent to your old code:

metadata, f = dbx.files_download('/'+ j)
out = open(j, 'wb')
out.write(f.content)
out.close()

or just

dbx.files_download_to_file(j, '/'+ j)

All comments

Greg-DB

The files_download method is the closest to what you were using. The files_download_to_file method takes an extra parameter for saving the file locally for you.

So either of these should be equivalent to your old code:

metadata, f = dbx.files_download('/'+ j)
out = open(j, 'wb')
out.write(f.content)
out.close()

or just

dbx.files_download_to_file(j, '/'+ j)

hilaal_leo

Hi Greg

metadata, f = dropbox.file_download_details('/test.pdf')
out = open('test.pdf', 'wb')
out.write(f.content)
out.close()

I am getting the following error in terminal

metadata, f = dropbox.file_download_details('/test.pdf')

AttributeError: 'module' object has no attribute 'file_download_details'

Thanks in advance

Greg-DB

@hilaal_leo The official Python SDK doesn't have a `file_download_details` method. Please refer to my earlier posts in this thread for examples of how to download files using the SDK. There's also an example included with the SDK here.

JatinSingh2012

Hi Greg,

I am currently reading multiple files by a for loop and I dont want to keep saving these pdfs on my desktop and then reading them. Is there a way around this where I dont need to download the file?

Greg-DB

@JatinSingh2012 Yes, you can use the files_download method to read the file data without saving it to the local filesystem, like the example here.

hosamsandid

what dose the letter j means??

Greg-DB

@hosamsandid The variable 'j' was used in the original code sample shared in this thread, but the definition of its value wasn't shown. In that context though, it would've just been a file name, like "example.jpg".

It was used both on the Dropbox API, formatted as "/example.jpg", for instance, and to open a local file.