Connectors → Dropbox

About Dropbox

Dropbox is a file hosting service that offers cloud storage, file synchronization, personal cloud, and client software. Dropbox brings files together in one central place by creating a special folder on the user's computer. The contents of these folders are synchronized to Dropbox's servers and to other computers and devices where the user has installed Dropbox, keeping the same files up-to-date on all devices, whether computers, mobile devices, or tablets. Dropbox uses a freemium business model, where users are offered a free account with a set storage size, with paid subscriptions available that offer more capacity and additional features.

About the Dropbox connector

With the Dropbox connector, you can create a data source for a Dropbox file or folder. The Dropbox connector supports the following file extensions:

.csv
.tsv
.tab
.txt
.xlsx

You can access all folders and files that you own, in addition to any folders that someone shares with you, and you add to your Dropbox account.

Note

You are not able to access files that someone directly shares with you if this is not through a shared folder.

The Dropbox connector supports the following Incorta specific functionality:

Feature	Supported
Chunking	✔
Data Agent
Encryption at Ingest
Incremental Load	✔
Multi-Source	✔
OAuth	✔
Performance Optimized	✔
Remote
Single-Source	✔
Spark Extraction
Webhook Callbacks	✔

Important

Dropbox supports storing multiple versions of the same file. The Dropbox connector can access only the current version of a file.

The Dropbox connector prerequisites

In the case of deploying the Dropbox connector in an on-premises environment of Incorta, it requires the following:

Security configurations
Default and Tenant Configurations

Note

Some configurations may differ if you are deploying the Dropbox connector on an Incorta Cloud instance. For example, an Incorta Cluster in Incorta Cloud natively supports Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS). Additionally, you have the Default and Tenant configurations already defined. You only need to provide the credentials of your Dropbox account, if you are not already signed-in, when authorizing Incorta to connect to it.

Security configurations for the Dropbox connector

Dropbox requires authentication using the OAuth 2.0 protocol to authorize external applications to access user files. Security and system administrators typically address the security requirements for the Dropbox connector. The Dropbox connector uses the Dropbox API, and thus it requires the following:

HTTPS for the Incorta Cluster
A Dropbox developer account
A Dropbox app to connect to your Dropbox account, and you have to configure it with the OAuth 2.0 Redirect URI that Incorta uses at the authorization time

HTTPS for the Incorta Cluster

In order to use the Dropbox connector, you must configure your Incorta Cluster to use HTTPS . Typically, a System Administrator for the operating system with root access configures an Incorta Cluster for HTTPS.

To learn more about how to configure HTTPS with TLS/SSL for your Incorta Cluster using Let’s Encrypt, Certbot and OpenSSL, please review Security → HTTPS for Apache Tomcat with OpenSSL.

App (Client) Credentials

A Security Administrator or System Administrator who manages your organization’s Dropbox accounts as well as your Incorta Cluster creates the required App on the Dropbox platform.

Use the Dropbox Account to sign in to the Dropbox App Console
Create an app
Enable additional users so that multiple users can connect to the Dropbox account using this app
Register the exact OAuth 2.0 Redirect URI that Incorta uses at the authorization time
Get the client credentials (that is, the App Key and App Secret)

To learn more about how to create a Dropbox app using the App Console, refer to Getting Started → App Console → Creating a Dropbox app.

Default and Tenant Configurations for the Dropbox connector

A Cluster Management Console (CMC) administrator for your Incorta Cluster must define the default tenant configuration, and each tenant, if required, to use the client credentials (App Key and App Secret).

Important

After configuration, you must restart the Analytics Service, Loader Service, and any add-ons such as the Notebook Service.

Specify the client credentials for the Default Tenant Configuration

Here are the steps to specify the required properties for the Default Tenant Configuration:

Sign in to the CMC.
In the Navigation bar, select Clusters.
In the cluster list, select a Cluster name.
In the canvas tabs, select Cluster Configurations.
In the panel tabs, select Default Tenant Configurations.
In the left pane, select Integration.
In the right pane, specify:
- Your App Key in Dropbox App Key.
- Your App Secret in Dropbox App Secret.
Select Save.

Specify the client credentials for a Tenant Configuration

Here are the steps to specify the required properties for a specific tenant:

Sign in to the CMC.
In the Navigation bar, select Clusters.
In the cluster list, select a Cluster name.
In the canvas tabs, select Tenants.
For the given tenant, select Configure.
In the left pane, select Integration.
In the right pane, specify:
- Your App Key in Dropbox App Key.
- Your App Secret in Dropbox App Secret.
Select Save.

Restart the Incorta Services

Here are the steps to restart the various services in an Incorta Cluster from the Cluster Management Console (CMC).

As the CMC Administrator, sign in to the CMC.
In the Navigation bar, select Clusters.
In the cluster list, select a Cluster name.
In the Details canvas tab, in the footer bar, select Restart.

Steps to Connect Dropbox and Incorta

To connect Dropbox and Incorta, here are the high level steps, tools, and procedures:

Create an external data source
Create a schema with the Schema Wizard
or, Create a schema with the Schema Designer
Load the schema
Explore the schema

Create an external data source

Here are the steps to create an external data source with the Dropbox connector:

Sign in to the Incorta Direct Data Platform™.
In the Navigation bar, select Data.
In the Action bar, select + New → Add Data Source.
In the Choose a Data Source dialog, in File System, select Dropbox.
In the New Data Source dialog, specify the applicable connector properties.
To test, select Test Connection.
Select Ok to save your changes.

Note

If you select the lowest folder in the tree, you will see No Data in the Select Directory from dialog. You will have access to the files in this folder upon schema creation. However, you will not be able to select the parent folder.

Dropbox connector properties

Here are the properties for the Dropbox connector:

Property	Control	Description
Data Source Name	text box	Enter the name of the data source
Authorize	button	Select this button to authenticate your Dropbox account and grant Incorta read access to your Dropbox storage . Sign in to your Dropbox account, and then select the Allow button. The New Data Source dialog will reappear, and the Authorize button will change to Authorized with the name of the Dropbox account to the right.
Browse	button	Select a folder from the directories shown that contains the folders or files you would like to connect to. If you do not choose a folder, you will have access to all folders and files found in your Dropbox storage, in addition to folders (not files) shared with you and added to your Dropbox. It is not possible to select the root folder for a table data source.

Create a schema with the Schema Wizard

Here are the steps to create a Dropbox schema with the Schema Wizard:

Sign in to the Incorta Direct Data Platform™.
In the Navigation bar, select Schema.
In the Action bar, select + New → Schema Wizard
In (1) Choose a Source, specify the following:
- For Enter a name, enter the schema name.
- For Select a Datasource, select the Dropbox external data source.
- Optionally, create a description.
In the Schema Wizard footer, select Next.
In (2) Manage Tables, in the Data panel, navigate the directory tree as necessary to select your file.
In the Schema Wizard footer, select Next.
In (3) Finalize, in the Schema Wizard footer, select Create Schema.

Create a schema with the Schema Designer

Here are the steps to create a Dropbox schema using the Schema Designer:

Sign in to the Incorta Direct Data Platform™.
In the Navigation bar, select Schema.
In the Action bar, select + New → Create Schema.
In Name, specify the schema name, and select Save.
In Start adding tables to your schema, select File System.
In the Data Source dialog, specify the table data source properties.
Select Add.
In the Table Editor, in the Table Summary section, enter the table name.
To save your changes, select Done in the Action bar.

Dropbox table data source properties

You can specify a single file or folder in the Data Source dialog. Both the Schema Designer and Table Editor represent a single file and folder data source as a single-source table. In order to select a folder in your Dropbox storage, you must enable Union Files.

Note

This release has limited support for Union Files for Excel (.xlsx) Workbook files. The Loader Service only loads Worksheets with the same name as defined in the table data source properties.

Common properties for a file and folder

Here are some of the common properties for both the selection a file and a folder:

Property	Control	Description
Type	drop down list	Default is File System
Data Source	drop down list	Select the Dropbox external data source
File Type	drop down list	Select Text (`.csv`, `.tsv`, `.tab`, `.txt`) or Excel (`.xlsx`)
Incremental	toggle	Enable to support incremental loading. For a single file, you must specify both a File and Update File.
Has Header?	toggle	Select if the first row contains column header values
Callback	toggle	Enable post extraction callback, that is, enable callback on the data source data set(s) by invoking a certain callback URL with parameters containing details about the load job
Callback URL	text box	Enable Callback to configure this property. Specify the URL.

Important

Some points you need to consider when you enable incremental load.

If the table does not have a defined Key column, the Loader Service will append new rows to the table. This scenario may result in duplicate rows and no updates to existing rows.
When you enable Incremental load for a single file, you must specify both a File and Update File. In this case, when you perform a full load for the first time, the Loader Service neglects the Update File. And if you perform a full load after an incremental load, the Update File data will be removed from the table.

Common file properties

Here are some of the common properties specifically related to selecting a file of either type: Text (.csv, .tsv, .tab, .txt) or Excel (.xlsx).

Property	Control	Description
File	button	Select to open the Add File from dialog. The dialog shows the files from your Dropbox data source. Select a single file and select Add.
Update File	button	When you enable Incremental, Update File is available. Select this button to open the Add File from dialog. The dialog shows the files from your Dropbox data source. Select a single file and select Add.

Properties for an Excel Workbook file

Here are the specific properties for an Excel Workbook (.xlsx) file:

Property	Control	Description
Worksheet	drop down list	Select a given worksheet for the Excel Workbook
Update Worksheet	drop down list	When you enable Incremental, Update Worksheet is available. Select a worksheet from the Update File you select

Properties for a Text file

Here are the properties specific to a Text (.csv, .tsv, .tab, .txt) file:

Property	Control	Description
Date Format	drop down list	Select a specific format for date columns. Date formats are Java date format conventions. With `Automatic`, Incorta will determine the format by sampling the first few rows.
Timestamp Format	drop down list	Select a specific format for timestamp columns. Timestamp formats are Java date and time format conventions. With `Automatic`, Incorta will determine the format by sampling the first few rows.
Character Set	drop down list	Select a supported character set.
Separator	drop down list	Specify a separator for columns in the row values. `Comma` and `Tab` are standard delimiters. `Other` requires that you specify a value such as `:`.
Other	text box	Available when the Separator is `Other`. Enter one or more characters to specify the column separator or delimiter between values in a row.
Enable Chunking	toggle	Enable for large file sizes
Chunk Size (MB)	text box	Enter a value in megabytes (MB) to specify the chunk size

Common folder properties

Folder properties are available when you enable Union Files. It is not possible to select a parent folder.

Here are the properties specifically related to selecting a folder:

Property	Control	Description
Union Files	toggle	Enable this property to select all files within a given folder. You will only be able to select a folder from your Dropbox data source.
Directory	button	Select a folder from your Dropbox data source. It is not possible to select a parent folder. Make sure that the files you want to union have the same column names; otherwise, the Loader Service will load them as different columns.
Include	text box	Enter a keyword with a wildcard `*` symbol to include specific named files within the folder
Exclude	text box	Enter a keyword with a wildcard `*` symbol to exclude specific named files within the folder
Include Sub-Directories Files	toggle	Enable to include files from sub-folders
Add Filename as a column	toggle	Enable this property to add the filename of the file as a column. You will then need to specify a column name.
Filename column	text box	Enter a column name for the filename such as `source_file_name`

Important

Column names are case-sensitive. When creating a table from multiple sources or from files in a directory, make sure that the same column has the same name in the different files; otherwise Incorta will extract and load them as different columns.

Folder properties for Excel Workbook files

This release has limited support for Union Files for Excel Workbook (.xlsx) files. The Loader Service only loads Worksheets with the same name as defined in the table data source properties. For this reason, each Excel Workbook file in the selected folder must have a common Worksheet tab name. You must select this common Worksheet name in the drop down list.

Here are the properties specifically related to selecting a folder with a file type as Excel Workbook (.xlsx):

Property	Control	Description
Worksheet	drop down list	Select the common worksheet

View the schema diagram with the Schema Diagram Viewer

Here are the steps to view the schema diagram using the Schema Diagram Viewer:

Sign in to the Incorta Direct Data Platform™.
In the Navigation bar, select Schema.
In the list of schemas, select the Dropbox schema.
In the Schema Designer, in the Action bar, select Diagram.

Load the schema

Here are the steps to perform a Full Load of the Dropbox schema using the Schema Designer:

Sign in to the Incorta Direct Data Platform™.
In the Navigation bar, select Schema.
In the list of schemas, select the Dropbox schema.
In the Schema Designer, in the Action bar, select Load → Full Load.
To review the load status, in Last Load Status, select the date.

Explore the schema

With the full load of the Dropbox schema complete, you can use the Analyzer to explore the schema, create your first insight, and save the insight to a new dashboard.

To open the Analyzer from the schema, follow these steps: