BoxConnector

Connects to the Box file storage service to manage files and folders.

Typical Uses

Managing datasets on Box by uploading, downloading, and deleting files and folders
Transferring file contents into or out of an attribute in FME
Retrieving file and folder names, paths, links and other information from Box to use elsewhere in a workspace

How does it work?

The BoxConnector uses your Box account credentials to perform various management tasks on Box:

Action	Task
Delete	Delete files and folders.
Download	Download a file or folder to an attribute, file, or folder.
List	List the item details for the contents of a folder.
Upload	Upload a file, folder, or the contents of an attribute.

Once valid account credentials have been provided, you may browse to available content for the selected Action.

Usage Notes

This transformer cannot move or copy files between different locations. Consider using multiple connectors for these tasks, by downloading files/folders and re-uploading them to a new location.
The FeatureReader can access Box directly but does not download a local copy of the dataset.

Configuration

Input Ports

Output Ports

Output

Features with added attributes, as specified in parameters and according to Action:

Action	Output
Delete	Input feature unchanged.
Download	Input feature with details about the downloaded item.
List	Multiple features, one for each item in the specified location, with details about the items.
Upload	Input feature with details about the uploaded item.

Parameters

Request

Box Action

Select an operation to perform. Choices include:

Delete
Download
List
Upload

Box Account

Select or create a Web Connection, connecting to the Box Web Service.

See Using Web Connections.

Action > Download

Box Source

Object

Specify the file or folder to download.

Destination

Download as	Select a destination type for downloaded items: Attribute: The downloaded object will be stored in the specified attribute. File: The downloaded file will be stored in the specified folder. Folder: The downloaded folder object will be stored in the specified folder.
Download to Folder	When Download as is File or Folder, specify the path to the folder that will store the downloaded item.
Include Subfolders	When Download as is Folder, select a method for handling subfolders: Yes: Include all subfolders No: Do not include subfolders.
Download to Attribute	When Download as is Attribute, specify the attribute to contain the contents of the downloaded item. Encoding FME will attempt to convert the attribute's contents to a UTF-8 string. If this fails, the attribute's contents will be created as raw binary. To ensure that the original bytes are always preserved and never converted to UTF-8, use Download as >File instead.

Output Attributes

Attributes to Add

Select any available attributes to be included on the output features:

_download_path

Path of the downloaded object on the local file system. This attribute will not be added for Download as Attribute.

Action > List

Box Path

Generate Sharable Link

Select an option for retrieving a link to the file or folder that may be shared:

Yes: Include links.
No: Do not include links.

Note that content will be viewable and downloadable by anyone with access to these links.

Folder

Specify the folder on Box to list the contents of.

Output Attributes

Attributes to Add

Select any available attributes to be included on the output features:

_file_last_modified	Last modified date of an object on Box.
_file_or_folder	Type (file or folder) of an object on Box.
_file_size	Size of a file object on Box.
_id	ID of an object on Box.
_name	Name of an object on Box.
_relative_path	Relative path to an object on Box.
_sharable_link	A temporary publicly accessible URL that links to the file on Box.

Action > Upload

Source

Upload	Select the source type: Attribute: Upload the contents of an attribute. File: Upload a file. Folder: Upload a folder and its contents. Note that when working with large objects, File is generally the better choice as the data will be read from disk and not need to be held in memory. Box treats file uploads of the same name, in a specific folder, as duplicates, but does not allow multiple instances in a specific folder. You must upload the file to a different folder than the existing one.
Generate Sharable Links	Select an option for retrieving links to the file or folder that may be shared: Yes: Include links. No: Do not include links. Both the _direct_download_link and _sharable_link will be set. Note that content will be viewable and downloadable by anyone with access to the _sharable_link.
File to Upload	When Upload is File, specify the file to be uploaded.
Folder to Upload	When Upload is Folder, specify the folder to be uploaded.
Include Subfolders	When Upload is Folder, select a method for handling subfolders: Yes: Upload all subfolders No: Do not include subfolders.
Attribute to Upload as File	When Upload is Attribute, specify the attribute containing the content for upload.

Box Destination

Folder

Specify the path on Box to upload to.

To upload to the root directory, enter /.

Upload with File Name

When Upload is Attribute, specify the filename, including extension, to contain the uploaded content.

Output Attributes

Attributes to Add

Select any available attributes to be included on the output features:

_direct_download_link	A URL that links to the file on Box. The URL can only be used by authenticated users.
_id	ID of an object on Box.
_sharable_link	A temporary publicly accessible URL that links to the file on Box.

Editing Transformer Parameters

Transformer parameters can be set by directly entering values, using expressions, or referencing other elements in the workspace such as attribute values or user parameters. Various editors and context menus are available to assist. To see what is available, click beside the applicable parameter.

How to Set Parameter Values

Defining Values

There are several ways to define a value for use in a Transformer. The simplest is to simply type in a value or string, which can include functions of various types such as attribute references, math and string functions, and workspace parameters.

Using the Text Editor

The Text Editor provides a convenient way to construct text strings (including regular expressions) from various data sources, such as attributes, parameters, and constants, where the result is used directly inside a parameter.

Text Editor

Using the Arithmetic Editor

The Arithmetic Editor provides a convenient way to construct math expressions from various data sources, such as attributes, parameters, and feature functions, where the result is used directly inside a parameter.

Arithmetic Editor

Conditional Values

Set values depending on one or more test conditions that either pass or fail.

Parameter Condition Definition Dialog

Content

Expressions and strings can include a number of functions, characters, parameters, and more.

When setting values - whether entered directly in a parameter or constructed using one of the editors - strings and expressions containing String, Math, Date/Time or FME Feature Functions will have those functions evaluated. Therefore, the names of these functions (in the form @<function_name>) should not be used as literal string values.

Content Types

String Functions	These functions manipulate and format strings.
Special Characters	A set of control characters is available in the Text Editor.
Math Functions	Math functions are available in both editors.
Date/Time Functions	Date and time functions are available in the Text Editor.
Math Operators	These operators are available in the Arithmetic Editor.
FME Feature Functions	These return primarily feature-specific values.
FME Parameters	FME and workspace-specific parameters may be used.
Creating and Modifying User Parameters	Create your own editable parameters.

Dialog Options - Tables

Table Tools

Transformers with table-style parameters have additional tools for populating and manipulating values.

Row Reordering

Enabled once you have clicked on a row item. Choices include:

Add a row
Remove a row
Move current row up one
Move current row down one
Move current row to top
Move current row to bottom

Cut, Copy, and Paste

Enabled once you have clicked on a row item. Choices include:

Cut a row - delete and copy to clipboard
Copy a row to the clipboard
Paste a row from the clipboard

Cut, copy, and paste may be used within a transformer, or between transformers.

Filter

Start typing a string, and the matrix will only display rows matching those characters. Searches all columns. This only affects the display of attributes within the transformer - it does not alter which attributes are output.

Import

Import populates the table with a set of new attributes read from a dataset. Specific application varies between transformers.

Reset/Refresh

Generally resets the table to its initial state, and may provide additional options to remove invalid entries. Behavior varies between transformers.

Note: Not all tools are available in all transformers.

For more information, see Transformer Parameter Menu Options.

Reference

Processing Behavior	Feature-Based
Feature Holding	No
Dependencies	Box account
Aliases
History	Released FME 2017.0

FME Online Resources

The FME Community and Support Center Knowledge Base have a wealth of information, including active forums with 35,000+ members and thousands of articles.

Search for all results about the BoxConnector on the FME Community.

Examples may contain information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver, Open Government Licence - British Columbia, and/or Open Government Licence – Canada.

BoxConnector

Typical Uses

How does it work?

Usage Notes

Configuration

Input Ports

Output Ports

Parameters

Box Path

Output Attributes

Box Source

Destination

Encoding

Output Attributes

Box Path

Output Attributes

Source

Box Destination

Output Attributes

Editing Transformer Parameters

Defining Values

Using the Text Editor

Using the Arithmetic Editor

Conditional Values

Content

Table Tools

Reference

FME Online Resources