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Beginner question - How do I get the File ID for file if I know path and file name?

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Brent_M

Wow, a lot of doc on API!  Trying to sort thru it all.

 

I have an in-house ASP.NET web forms app that displays information for an order.  I want to put a link on the page that will pull up a given .pdf file that is stored in the our companies Box folder available to anyone using the web page (read only).

 

I will know the folder path/name where the file will be stored as well as the exact file name (order#.pdf).

 

So looking thru the doc, I believe the function I want is the "Get Shared Link" from https://developer.box.com/reference

string fileId = "11111";
BoxFile file = await client.FilesManager.GetInformationAsync(fileId);
string sharedLinkUrl = file.SharedLink.Url;

Then the link I want to put on the page is passed in from file.SharedLink.Url.   Correct?

 

The piece I am not finding is how do I get "fileId" of a file when I know it's path and name?  

Is there a function for that?

Thanks

 

 

 

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Comments

4 comments

Date Votes
  • Kourtney

     If you just want a link to the file instead of displaying the actual file on your webpage then yes, a shared link is the way to go. Do you have access to the file in the webapp? If so, the easiest way to get a file ID is to navigate to the file within the webapp and look at the URL, which will be something like: https://kourtneybiz.app.box.com/file/412627423792. In this example 412627423792 is the file ID. 

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  • Brent_M

    Hey Kourt,

    Thanks for the reply.

    I think we may be using the webapp.  I can put in a URL like:

    "https://MyCompanyName.app.box.com/folder/0123456789" and get to the exact folder I want.

     

    So now I have a new question.  You know how on that page there is a  "Search Files and Folders" box at the top.

    Is there someway that I can add text to my URL to have that text auto-populate that Search box?

    Thanks,

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  • Kourtney

     

     

    Would you be able to share a little more about your use case for "add[ing] text to my URL to have that text auto-populate that Search box"? 

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  • Brent_M

    We have folders divided up by plant.   In each folder, our file names start with Order-Item number.  We only want to see the files for the particular order/item we pass to the search.  (We don't want the user to have to bother typing or copy/pasting into the search bar.  We want it automated.)

     

    Someone in our company figured it out.  You do it like this:

     

    https://MyCompany.app.box.com/folder/1234567890/search?metadata=&owners=&query="11111111_222"

     

    If there is documentation on how to very useful things like this, I would like to know where to find it.

    Any other useful tips along this line?

    Thanks

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