File objects represent individual files in Box. They can be used to download a file's contents, upload new versions, and perform other common file operations (move, copy, delete, etc.).
- Get a File's Information
- Update a File's Information
- Download a File
- Upload a File
- Upload Preflight Check
- Upload a Large File in Chunks
- Upload a Large File Version in Chunks
- Upload a Large File Or File Version Manually
- Move a File
- Copy a File
- Delete a File
- Get Previous Versions of a File
- Upload a New Version of a File
- Download a Previous Version of a File
- Promote a Previous Version of a File
- Delete a Previous Version of a File
- Lock a File
- Unlock a File
- Create a Shared Link
- Add a Collaborator
- Get an Embed Link
- Get Thumbnail
- Create Metadata
- Get Metadata
- Update Metadata
- Delete Metadata
- Get All Metadata on File
- Get File Representations
- Get Representation Content
Calling getInfo()
on a file returns a snapshot of the file's info.
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "id");
BoxFile.Info info = file.getInfo();
Requesting information for only the fields you need with
getInfo(String... fields)
can improve performance and reduce the size of the network request.
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "id");
// Only get information about a few specific fields.
BoxFile.Info info = file.getInfo("size", "owned_by");
Updating a file's information is done by creating a new BoxFile.Info
object or updating an existing one, and then calling
updateInfo(BoxFile.Info fieldsToUpdate)
.
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "id");
BoxFile.Info info = file.new Info();
info.setName("New Name");
file.updateInfo(info);
A file can be downloaded by calling download(OutputStream stream)
and providing an OutputStream
where the file's contents will be written.
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "id");
BoxFile.Info info = file.getInfo();
FileOutputStream stream = new FileOutputStream(info.getName());
file.download(stream);
stream.close();
Download progress can be tracked by providing a ProgressListener
to download(OutputStream stream, ProgressListener progress)
.
The ProgressListener
will then receive progress updates as the download
completes.
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "id");
BoxFile.Info info = file.getInfo();
FileOutputStream stream = new FileOutputStream(info.getName());
// Provide a ProgressListener to monitor the progress of the download.
file.download(stream, new ProgressListener() {
public void onProgressChanged(long numBytes, long totalBytes) {
double percentComplete = numBytes / totalBytes;
}
});
stream.close();
Files are uploaded to a folder by calling the
uploadFile(InputStream fileContents, String fileName)
method
on the BoxFolder
you want to upload the file into.
BoxFolder rootFolder = BoxFolder.getRootFolder(api);
FileInputStream stream = new FileInputStream("My File.txt");
BoxFile.Info newFileInfo = rootFolder.uploadFile(stream, "My File.txt");
stream.close();
Upload progress can be tracked by providing the size of the file and a
ProgressListener
to
uploadFile(InputStream fileContents, String fileName, long fileSize, ProgressListener progress)
.
The ProgressListener
will then receive progress updates as the upload completes.
BoxFolder rootFolder = BoxFolder.getRootFolder(api);
FileInputStream stream = new FileInputStream("My File.txt");
BoxFile.Info newFileInfo = rootFolder.uploadFile(stream, "My File.txt", 1024, new ProgressListener() {
public void onProgressChanged(long numBytes, long totalBytes) {
double percentComplete = numBytes / totalBytes;
}
});
stream.close();
You may want to check if a file can be successfully uploaded before beginning
the file transfer, in order to the time and bandwidth of sending the file over
the network if the upload would not have succeeded. Calling the
BoxFolder#canUpload(String fileName, long fileSize)
method
on the folder you want to upload a new file into will verify that there is no
name conflict and that the account has enough storage space for the file.
String fileName = "My Doc.pdf";
BoxFolder rootFolder = BoxFolder.getRootFolder(api);
try {
folder.canUpload(fileName, 98734576);
// If the file upload would not have succeeded, it will not be attempted
folder.uploadFile(fileContents, fileName);
} catch (BoxAPIException ex) (
)
A large file can be uploaded with the
uploadLargeFile(InputStream fileContents, String fileName, long fileSize)
method on the folder to upload the new file into. This will upload the file in
parts with integrity checks on each part, to ensure that network errors
mid-upload do not fail the entire operation.
File myFile = new File("My Large_File.txt");
FileInputStream stream = new FileInputStream(myFile);
BoxFolder rootFolder = BoxFolder.getRootFolder(api);
BoxFile.Info fileInfo = rootFolder.uploadLargeFile(inputStream, "My_Large_File.txt", myFile.length());
To upload a new file version for a large file, call the
uploadLargeFile(InputStream fileContents, long fileSize)
method on the file to be updated. This will upload the new version of the file
in parts with integrity checks on each part, to ensure that network errors
mid-upload do not fail the entire operation.
File myFile = new File("My Large_File.txt");
FileInputStream stream = new FileInputStream(myFile);
String fileID = "12345";
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, fileID);
BoxFile.Info fileInfo = file.uploadLargeFile(inputStream, myFile.length());
To start the process of uploading a large file or file version, first create a
new upload session with
BoxFolder#createUploadSession(String fileName, String fileSize)
for a new file, or
BoxFile#createUploadSession(long fileSize)
for a new file version. Once the upload session is created, all other steps
are identical for both cases.
BoxFileUploadSession.Info sessionInfo;
if (/* uploading a new file */) {
// Create the upload session for a new file
BoxFolder rootFolder = BoxFolder.getRootFolder(api);
sessionInfo = rootFolder.createUploadSession("New Large File.pdf", fileSize);
} else if (/* uploading a new version of an exiting file */) {
// Create the uplaod session for a new version of an existing file
String fileID = "93465";
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, fileID);
sessionInfo = file.createUploadSession(fileSize);
}
//Get the session resource from the session info
BoxFileUploadSession session = sessionInfo.getResource();
//Create the Message Digest for the whole file
MessageDigest digest = null;
try {
digest = MessageDigest.getInstance("SHA1");
} catch (NoSuchAlgorithmException ae) {
throw new BoxAPIException("Digest algorithm not found", ae);
}
Both of these methods will return a
Once the upload session is created, the large file can be uploaded in chunks with the
uploadPart(InputStream stream, long offset, int partSize, long totalSizeOfFile)
method of the session instance. If there is a failure in uploading any of the
parts, the failed part can be uploaded again without affecting the other parts.
//Reading a large file
FileInputStream fis = new FileInputStream("My_Large_File.txt");
//Create the digest input stream to calculate the digest for the whole file.
DigestInputStream dis = new DigestInputStream(fis, digest);
List<BoxFileUploadSessionPart> parts = new ArrayList<BoxFileUploadSessionPart>();
//Get the part size. Each uploaded part should match the part size returned as part of the upload session.
//The last part of the file can be less than part size if the remaining bytes of the last part is less than
//the given part size
long partSize = sessionInfo.getPartSize();
//Start byte of the part
long offset = 0;
//Overall of bytes processed so far
long processed = 0;
while (processed < fileSize) {
long diff = fileSize - processed;
//The size last part of the file can be less than the part size.
if (diff < partSize) {
partSize = diff;
}
//Generate a unique part ID
String partId = LargeFileUpload.generateHex();
//Upload a part. It can be uploaded asynchorously
BoxFileUploadSessionPart part = session.uploadPart(partId, dis, offset, partSize, fileSize);
parts.add(part);
//Increase the offset and proceesed bytes to calculate the Content-Range header.
processed += partSize;
offset += partSize;
}
At any point in time, the list of parts that have been uploaded successfully can be retrieved with the
listParts(int offset, int limit)
method of the session instance.
//The following snippet retrives first 1000 parts that are uploaded.
BoxFileUploadSessionPartList partList = session.listParts(0, 1000);
List<BoxFileUploadSessionPart> parts = partList.getEntries();
Once all the parts are uploaded successfully, the upload session can be committed with the
commit(String digest, List<BoxFileUploadSessionPart> parts, Map<String, String> attributes, String ifMatch, String ifNoneMatch)
method.
//Creates the file hash
byte[] digestBytes = digest.digest();
//Base64 encoding of the hash
String digestStr = Base64.encode(digestBytes);
//Commit the upload session. If there is a failure, abort the commit.
BoxFile.Info fileInfo = session.commit(digestStr, parts, null, null, null);
The upload session can be aborted at any time with the
abort()
method of the session instance. This will
cancel the upload and any parts that were already uploaded will be lost.
session.abort();
The upload session status can be retrieved at any time with the getStatus()
method.
This call will update the parts processed and other information in the session info instance.
BoxFileUploadSession.Info updatedSessionInfo = session.getStatus();
To move a file from one folder into another, call
move(BoxFolder destination)
on the file to be moved with the
destination folder.
String fileID = "1234";
String destinationFolderID = "5678";
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, fileID);
BoxFolder destinationFolder = new BoxFolder(destinationFolderID);
file.move(destinationFolder)
To avoid name conflicts in the destination folder, you can optionally provide a
new name for the file to move(BoxFolder destination, String newName)
. The file
will be placed into the destination folder with the new name.
String fileID = "1234";
String destinationFolderID = "5678";
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, fileID);
BoxFolder destinationFolder = new BoxFolder(destinationFolderID);
file.move(destinationFolder, "Vacation Photo (1).jpg");
A file can be copied to a new folder and optionally be renamed with the
copy(BoxFolder destination)
and
copy(BoxFolder destination, String newName)
methods.
// Copy a file into the user's root folder
BoxFolder rootFolder = BoxFolder.getRootFolder(api);
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "id");
BoxFile.Info copiedFileInfo = file.copy(rootFolder, "New Name");
Calling the delete()
method will move the file to the user's trash.
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "id");
file.delete();
For users with premium accounts, versions of a file can be retrieved with the
getVersions()
method.
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "id");
List<BoxFileVersion> versions = file.getVersions();
for (BoxFileVersion version : versions) {
System.out.format("SHA1 of \"%s\": %s\n", item.getName(), version.getSha1());
}
New versions of a file can be uploaded with the
uploadVersion(InputStream fileContents)
method.
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "id");
FileInputStream stream = new FileInputStream("My File.txt");
file.uploadVersion(stream);
For users with premium accounts, previous versions of a file can be downloaded
by calling download(OutputStream output)
.
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "id");
List<BoxFileVersion> versions = file.getVersions();
BoxFileVersion firstVersion = versions.get(0);
FileOutputStream stream = new FileOutputStream(firstVersion.getName());
firstVersion.download(stream);
stream.close();
A previous version of a file can be promoted with the promote()
method to become the current version of the file.
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "id");
List<BoxFileVersion> versions = file.getVersions();
BoxFileVersion firstVersion = versions.get(0);
firstVersion.promote();
A version of a file can be deleted and moved to the trash by calling
delete()
.
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "id");
List<BoxFileVersion> versions = file.getVersions();
BoxFileVersion firstVersion = versions.get(0);
firstVersion.delete();
A file can be locked indefinitely by calling lock()
on the file to
be locked. A locked file cannot be modified by any other user until it is
unlocked. This is useful if you want to "check out" a file while you're working
on it, to ensure that other collaborators do not make changes while your changes
are in progress.
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "id");
file.lock();
When locking a file, you can optionally prevent other users from downloading the
file in addition to prevent changes by calling
lock(boolean preventDownload)
with true
.
// Lock the file and prevent downloading
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "id");
file.lock(true);
You can also set a date when the lock will automatically be released by
calling lock(Date expirationDate)
with the date on
which the lock should expire. This is recommended to prevent a file
from accidentally being locked longer than intended.
final long ONE_WEEK_MILLIS = 1000 * 60 * 60 * 24 * 7;
long expirationTimestamp = System.currentTimeMillis() + ONE_WEEK_MILLIS;
Date expirationTime = new Date(expirationTimestamp);
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "id");
file.lock(expirationTime);
Both options can be passed together to
lock(boolean preventDownload, Date expireTime)
.
A file can be unlocked by calling unlock()
.
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "id");
file.unlock();
A shared link for a file can be generated by calling
createSharedLink(BoxSharedLink.Access accessLevel, Date unshareDate, BoxSharedLink.Permissions permissions)
.
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "id");
BoxSharedLink.Permissions permissions = new BoxSharedLink.Permissions();
permissions.setCanDownload(true);
permissions.setCanPreview(true);
Date unshareDate = new Date();
BoxSharedLink sharedLink = file.createSharedLink(BoxSharedLink.Access.OPEN, null, permissions);
You can invite another person to collaborate on a file by email with
collaborate(String emailAddress, BoxCollaboration.Role role, Boolean notify, Boolean canViewPath)
.
The notify
parameter will determine if the user or group will receive an
email notification when being added as a collaborator. This option is only
available to enterprise administrators.
The canViewPath
parameter allows the invitee to see the entire list of ancestor
folders of the associated file. The user will not gain privileges in any ancestor
folder, but will be able to see the whole path to that file in the owner's account.
Both the notify
and canViewPath
parameters can be left as null
.
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "id");
BoxCollaboration.Info collabInfo = file.collaborate("testuser@example.com", BoxCollaboration.Role.EDITOR, true, true);
Alternatively, if you know the user's ID, you can invite them directly
without needing to know their email address with the
collaborate(BoxCollaborator user, BoxCollaboration.Role role, Boolean notify, Boolean canViewPath)
BoxUser collaborator = new BoxUser(api, "user-id");
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "file-id");
BoxCollaboration.Info collabInfo = file.collaborate(collaborator, BoxCollaboration.Role.EDITOR, true, true);
A file embed link can be generated by calling getPreviewLink()
.
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "id");
URL embedLink = file.getPreviewLink();
A thumbnail for a file can be retrieved by calling
getThumbnail(BoxFile.ThumbnailFileType thumbnailtype, int minWidth, int minHeight, int maxWidth, int maxHeight)
.
// Get a thumbnail with size exactly 256x256
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "id");
byte[] thumbnail = file.getThumbnail(BoxFile.ThumbnailFileType.PNG, 256, 256, 256, 256)
Metadata can be created on a file by calling
createMetadata(Metadata properties)
,
createMetadata(String templateKey, Metadata properties)
, or
createMetadata(String templateKey, String templateScope, Metadata properties)
.
// Add property "foo" with value "bar" to the default metadata properties
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "id");
file.createMetadata(new Metadata().add("/foo", "bar"));
Retrieve a files Metadata by calling getMetadata()
,
getMetadata(String templateKey)
, or
getMetadata(String templateKey, String templateScope)
.
These methods return a Metadata
object, which allows access to metadata values.
// Get the default free-form metadata properties
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "id");
Metadata metadata = file.getMetadata();
// Unknown type metadata field, you can test for type or try to get as any type
JsonValue unknownValue = metadata.getValue("/someField");
// String or Enum metadata fields
String stringValue = metadata.getString("/author");
// Float metadata fields can be interpreted as any numeric type
float floatValue = metadata.getFloat("/price");
// Date metadata fields
Date dateValue = metadata.getDate("/deadline");
// Multiselect metadata fields
List<String> multiSelectValues = metadata.getMultiSelect("/categories");
Update a files Metadata by calling updateMetadata(Metadata properties)
.
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "id");
file.updateMetadata(new Metadata().add("/foo", "bar"));
A files Metadata can be deleted by calling
deleteMetadata()
,
deleteMetadata(String templateKey)
, or
deleteMetadata(String templateKey, String templateScope)
.
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "id");
file.deleteMetadata("myMetadataTemplate");
Calling the getAllMetadata()
method on a file will return
an iterable that will page through all of the metadata associated with the file.
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "id");
Iterable<Metadata> metadataList = file.getAllMetadata();
for (Metadata metadata : metadataList) {
// Do something with the metadata.
}
To get the preview representations of a file, call the
getInfoWithRepresentations(String representationHints, String... fields)
method with the representation hints to fetch, along with any other
fields on the file object to fetch simultaneously. This method returns a BoxFile.Info
object that contains the representations as a list of Representation
objects.
Note that this method only provides information about a set of available representations; your application will need to handle checking the status of the representations and downlaoding them via the provided content URL template.
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "1234");
// Get the PDF representation and file name
String repHints = "[pdf]";
BoxFile.Info fileInfo = file.getInfoWithRepresentations(repHints, "name");
List<Representation> representations = fileInfo.getRepresentations();
String name = fileInfo.getName();
To write the contents of a single file representation to an OutputStream
, call the
getRepresentationContent(String representationHint, OutputStream output)
method with an X-Rep-Hints value specifying the representation you want.
Note: This method only supports getting the contents of a single representation; if your X-Rep-Hints value specifies multiple representations, an arbitrary one of them will be fetched.
// Read the PDF representation of file 12345 into memory
ByteArrayOutputStream output = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "12345");
file.getRepresentationContent("[pdf]", output);
For representations with multiple files, e.g. multi-page images, you will need to pass an assetPath
parameter to specify which file you want to fetch.
// If file 12345 is a document, its PNG representation will consist of one image per page of the document
// Get the image of the first page of the document and write it to a file
FileOutputStream output = new FileOutputStream("/path/to/file.png");
BoxFile file = new BoxFile(api, "12345");
file.getRepresentationContent("[png?dimensions=1024x1024]", "1.png", output);