A Dropbox Get File activity lets a user (at configuration time) select from different files associated with a path (a directory) at Dropbox and specify a schema. At runtime, the activity downloads the file and parses it using the specified schema. The activity is intended to be used as a source to provide data in an operation. After configuring a Dropbox connection, you can configure as many Dropbox activities as you like for each Dropbox connection.
From the design canvas, open the Connectivity tab of the design component palette:
Use the Show dropdown to filter on Endpoints, and then click the Dropbox connection block to display activities that are available to be used with a Dropbox connection:
To create an activity that can be configured, drag the activity block from the palette to the operation.
For more information about the parts of an operation and adding activities to operations, see Operation Creation and Configuration.
After a Dropbox activity has been added to an operation, menu actions for that activity are accessible from the project pane in either the Workflows or the Components tabs, and from the design canvas:
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Project Pane: In the Workflows or Components tab of the project pane, hover over an activity name and click the actions menu icon to open the actions menu.
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Design Canvas: Within the operation, click an existing activity block to open the actions menu.
Each of these menu actions is available:
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View/Edit: Opens the activity configuration screen for you to configure the activity. For details, see Configuring a Dropbox Get File Activity later on this page.
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Delete: Permanently deletes the activity. A message asks you to confirm that you want to delete the activity.
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Rename: Positions the cursor on the activity name in the project pane for you to make edits.
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View Dependencies: Changes the view in the project pane to display any other parts of the project that the activity is dependent on.
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Remove: Removes the activity as a step in the operation without deleting it from the project. (This is available only from the actions menu on the design canvas.) When you remove an activity that is adjacent to a transformation and schemas are provided within that activity, the schemas are longer referenced by the transformation. Removed components can be accessed or permanently deleted from the project pane.
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Deploy: Deploys the activity and any components it is dependent on.
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Configurable Deploy: Opens the deployment screen, where you can select project components to deploy.
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Add to Group: Opens a prompt to create a new custom group or to add the component to an existing group.
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Duplicate: Creates a copy of the activity as a new, unreferenced component. On creating the component copy, the cursor is positioned on the component name within the project pane for you to rename the component.
Follow these steps to configure a Dropbox Get File activity:
- Step 1: Enter Basic Information
- Step 2: Select the Dropbox File
- Step 3: Review Data Schema
TIP: Fields with a variable icon 
support using
global variables,
project variables, and
Jitterbit variables. Begin by either typing an open
square bracket [ into the field or by clicking the variable icon to display a list of the existing variables to
choose from.
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Name: Enter a name to use to identify the Dropbox Get File activity. The name must be unique for each Dropbox Get File activity and must not contain forward slashes (
/) or colons (:). -
Folder Path: Enter a valid path. The path should point to an existing directory on the Dropbox server. For example,
/inbound. -
Save & Exit: If enabled, click to save the configuration for this step and close the activity configuration.
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Next: Click to continue to the next step and temporarily store the configuration.
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Discard Changes: After making changes, click to close the configuration without saving changes made to any step. A message asks you to confirm that you want to discard changes.
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Select a File for Processing, either a JSON or XML File: This section displays files available in the Dropbox endpoint to use to get the data. The file selected will determine the XML schema used when processing the data. When reopening an existing activity configuration, only the selected file is displayed instead of reloading the entire file list.
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Selected File: After a file is selected, it will be listed here.
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Search: Enter any part of the file name into the search box to filter the list of files. The search is not case-sensitive. If files are already displayed within the table, the table results will be filtered in real time with each keystroke. To reload files from the endpoint when searching, enter search criteria and then refresh, as described below.
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Refresh: Click the refresh icon
or the word Refresh to
reload files from the Dropbox endpoint. This may be useful if you have recently added files to Dropbox. This
action refreshes all metadata used to build the table of files displayed in the configuration. -
Selecting a File: Within the table, click anywhere on a row to select a file. Only one file can be
selected. The information available for each file is fetched from the Dropbox endpoint:-
Name: The file name from Dropbox.
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ModifiedOn: The file type from Dropbox.
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Type: The date and time that the file from Dropbox was last modified.
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TIP: If the table does not populate with available files, the Dropbox connection may not be successful. Ensure you are connected by reopening the connection and retesting the credentials.
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Back: Click to return to the previous step and temporarily store the configuration.
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Next: Click to continue to the next step and temporarily store the configuration.
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Discard Changes: After making changes, click to close the configuration without saving changes made to any step. A message asks you to confirm that you want to discard changes.
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Data Schema: The request and response data schemas for Dropbox will be displayed. If the operation uses a transformation, the data schemas will be displayed again later during the transformation mapping process, where you can map to target fields using source objects, scripts, variables, custom values, and more.
The Dropbox connector uses the Dropbox Java SDK API. Refer to the SDK documentation for information on the schema fields.
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Refresh: Click the refresh icon
or the word Refresh to
regenerate schemas from the endpoint. This action also regenerates the schema in other locations throughout
the project where the same schema is referenced, such as in an adjacent transformation. -
Back: Click to return to the previous step and temporarily store the configuration.
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Finished: Click to save the configuration for all steps and close the activity configuration.
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Discard Changes: After making changes, click to close the configuration without saving changes made to any step. A message asks you to confirm that you want to discard changes.
After configuring a Dropbox Get File activity, complete the configuration of the operation by adding and configuring other activities, transformations, or scripts as operation steps. You can also configure an operation's operation settings, which include the ability to chain operations together that are in the same or different workflows.
Dropbox Get File activities can be used as a source with these operation patterns:
- Transformation Pattern
- Two-Target Archive Pattern (as the first source only)
- Two-Transformation Pattern (as the first or second source)
Other patterns are not valid using Dropbox Get File activities. See the validation patterns on the Operation Validity page.
A typical use case is to use a Dropbox Get File activity in the Two-Transformation Pattern. In this example, the first transformation (Dropbox Get File Request) creates a request structure that is passed to the Dropbox Get File activity. The second transformation (Dropbox Get File Response) receives the response structure, which is then written to a variable by a Variable Write activity (Write Dropbox Get File Response) and a message is then logged by the Write to Operation Log script:
To use the activity with scripting functions, write the data to a temporary location and then use that temporary location in the scripting function.
When ready, deploy and run the operation and validate behavior by checking the operation logs.