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Forum Discussion
Implementing Dropbox features in a custom file explorer: API limitations for desktop apps?
I'm developing a desktop application as an alternative to Windows Explorer / macOS Finder and want to integrate the following Dropbox features: 1. Reading thumbnails for images and other supported f...
No, Dropbox does not offer a way to programmatically retrieve thumbnails locally without having the user authorize the app to access their content via the Dropbox API.
LewisO wrote:...
After reviewing the API documentation, it appears the Dropbox API is designed primarily for web applications and doesn't allow direct access to local Dropbox folder content. Is this correct? ...
Hi LewisO,
In fact No - Dropbox API can be used in standalone applications as well as web based application - no any such limitations. If you mean that the application need to perform HTTP link then Yes, that's correct.
LewisO wrote:..., are there any recommended approaches or alternative APIs for implementing these features in a desktop application?
In fact there are such implementations - all plugins you want to mimic use such interfaces. Unfortunately, all those interfaces are not documented and, in this context, difficult to use.
Let's hope this will change at some point.
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