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Forum Discussion
Can I link a folder to another website gallery and export the folder structure from Dropbox?
I am helping my father in law get his collection of postcards into an online gallery. I am hoping to use the Wix website to create a database of the postcards and include the web URL that each can be found at.
All of his postcards are in a Dropbox folder. The issue is that there are over 10,000 postcard images that need adding to the database collection. With this volume, it makes sense to use the Import facility available in Wix.
So I need a way of:
- Getting the folder structure from Dropbox, including subfolders and files into a spreadsheet
- Making an entire Dropbox folder public including subfolders and files
- Constructing the web URL from the filename and folder info obtained in step 1
I believe I can do step one easily enough through Excel and using the "Get Data" from folder. I also believe it is easy enough to give public access to a particular folder. My issue is creating the individual web URLs that will be in the sub folders. I don't want to have to visit each f the 10,000 items and copy and paste the public URL for the image into a spreadsheet.
Hopefully that makes sense, but if not please ask for clarification and I will do my best :)
- Nancy
Dropbox Staff
Thanks for posting on our Community today, robmarsh!
Although I’m not familiar with how Wix works, I’ll be more than happy to assist with any Dropbox-related questions.
Regarding point 1, I'm afraid that there's no direct way to export the file structure of your Dropbox account. It's great to hear that you may have found a way, though.
Moving on to point 2, what are you referring to with "a Dropbox folder"? The actual Dropbox folder on your desktop, or is it a specific folder where all of the postcards are currently saved?
If the former, while there's no way to share the root Dropbox folder or all of its content with one link, you can create individual view-only (shared) links to a folder or a file.
Finally, as for point 3, the name of an individual file should be visible in the link URL itself (this doesn't apply to entire folders though).
Let me know if you need further help.
With regards to the folder, it is a specific folder in the main parent Dropbox folder. If I create a share link to a folder, does it automatically create share links to each file contained in that folder? And, if so, how do I find out what those share links are (so I can start to determine the structure of the url)?
- Nancy
Thanks for clarifying! When creating a shared link to a folder with multiple files, then Dropbox will use the same shared link as the one generated for the parent folder, but it’ll also add the file’s name to it. In other words, if you open a file to preview, its URL will be the shared link of the parent folder combined with the name of the file.
Regarding your last question, you’d most likely need to create a script that automatically determines the correct URL for each file in that folder.
I have created a share link on a particular file. This is what it gives me:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/hi7pw6scdgy65rvkay3nj/2.jpg?rlkey=xmetxqzn3c1xocljpgqbly5uz&st=7n681qdk&dl=0
The actual filename is 2.jpg. The problem I have is that if I try change that link to 3.jpg (another file in the same folder), it still shows takes me to the 2.jpg file!
So the unique identifier I assume is the bit after the "scl/fi/" part in the link. This means it is impossible for me to construct a list of files to import into Wix. The only way that I can see is to import each file into Wix individually, in which case what is the point of having dropbox? I am then storing the file in two locations which is pointless.
Is there another way to construct my links dynamically?
- Mark
Super User II
Is there another way to construct my links dynamically?
Not via Dropbox itself. You would need to try and program it yourself.
However, what Id also say is that Dropbox simply isn't designed for hosting - its a syncing tool, not a content distribution system. Dropbox HAVE changed the way links are made or structured on multiple occasions which have resulted in all links failing that were previously made. There is also the ongoing bandwidth limitation issues which, if hit, cause all links to fail without a way of resetting things.
I'd strongly suggest using a proper tool for this rather than trying to shoehorn it in to Dropbox.
