FME Flow: 2025.0

Dropbox Directory

The Dropbox Directory trigger monitors activity on a Dropbox folder, and sends JSON messages about that activity, which can include adding, changing, and deleting files.

The Dropbox Directory trigger has two output ports. The success port (✔) can send a message if the trigger polls successfully. The failure port (x) can send a message if the trigger fails to poll.

Configuring Your Dropbox Account App

Before creating a Dropbox Directory trigger on a Dropbox account, you must configure the account with an app.

  1. Login to your Dropbox account and navigate to https://www.dropbox.com/developers/apps.
  2. On the My apps page, click Create app.
  3. On the Create a new app on the Dropbox Platform page:
    1. Choose an API: Select Dropbox API.
    2. Choose the type of access you need: Select Full Dropbox.
    3. Name your app: Provide a name for your app.
    4. Review the Dropbox API Terms and Conditions and check the box.
    5. Click Create app.

Parameters

Note  See also Working with Parameters in Automations Workflows.
Tip  To test that your parameters work as expected, click Validate.
  • Authentication Mode: Specifies the type of OAuth2 access token for the Dropbox account you want to watch.
    • Use Authorization Code: Use a Dropbox token generated dynamically. You must authorize with Dropbox to generate an access token, which expires after a four-hour session, and a refresh token that is applied automatically for longer access:
      1. Click Authorize.
      2. On the Authorize Dropbox dialog, provide the following credentials for your Dropbox account app:
        • App Key
        • Authorization Code
        • App Secret
      3. Click Authorize.
    • Use Token: Use a Dropbox access token generated before September 2021 that does not expire.
  • Access Token: If Use Authorization Code is specified above, this field auto-populates after Dropbox authorization is completed. If Use Token is specified above, provide the OAuth2 access token for the Dropbox account you want to watch.
  • Refresh Token: If Use Authorization Code is specified above, this field auto-populates after Dropbox authorization is completed.
  • Access Token Expiry: If Use Authorization Code is specified above, this field auto-populates after Dropbox authorization is completed.
  • Path to Watch: Provide a location on your Dropbox account to watch for changes, using forward slashes. For example: /MyFolder. To specify the top-level, or 'root', use a single forward slash: /.
  • Watch Subdirectories: To watch activity in the selected directory and all subdirectories, specify Yes. To watch activity only in the selected directory and not in its subdirectories, specify No.
  • Events to Watch for: By default, all actions on the specified directory are monitored, including adding (CREATE), changing (MODIFY), and deleting (DELETE) files (and folders, if applicable). To monitor only one or two of these actions, click the "x" beside the action you do not want to monitor to remove it. To add an action after removing it, click inside the dropbox and select it.
    • Note  Events trigger based on changes in file date. If a file is overwritten, a MODIFY event is triggered.

Output Attributes

See Also

Attribute Description
time Event time
source Event type
error.type

(Failure port only) Error type:

  • InvalidMessage: An error occurred while configuring this component, such as missing or malformed values.
  • DeadLetter: An error occured while connecting to an external resource. Examples may include connection issues, invalid credentials, or generic external resource exceptions.
error.message (Failure port only) Error message
file.event (Success port only) File action (Create/Modify/Delete)
file.path (Success port only) File path
file.rootName

(Success port only) File root name
dropbox.user (Success port only) Dropbox account