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Forum Discussion
Quickest way to check if a folder and subfolders are empty?
I only want the Dropbox Embedder to show if the specified folder actually have any files in it.
What is the best way to figure out if a folder (or subfolder) has any files?
At first I thought about "list_folder" and loop though the result to see if theres any file. But list_folder only returns 1 directory, and apparently need to use "continue" to get anything more? That's a bunch of queries!
The "Search" endpoint was my next thought, but I'm not sure how to search only for files?
Anyone have any suggestions?
- Greg-DB
Dropbox Staff
While it may require more than one API call, using the /2/files/list_folder[/continue] endpoints (or corresponding native methods in the SDKs) is the best way to check if a particular folder is empty or not. The exact number of entries per page and total number of pages is not guaranteed and may vary by folder/account, so you would need to call back to /continue until 'has_more' is returned as false. I'll also pass this along as a feature request for a simpler way to check that, but I can't promise if or when that might be implemented.
Thanks for your reply.
The folder I tested list_folder with, contains only 4 directories. The API call only returned 1 folder (+ the root folder). Is that normal behavior?
It thought it would only require the continue call if there were lots of folder/files?- Greg-DB
The number of entries you get back per page is not guaranteed, and it may require multiples calls even if there is not a large number of entries. You'll need to implement both list_folder and list_folder/continue and always call back for more entries until has_more is false in order to get the full listing.
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