Box Class

Properties Methods Events Configuration Settings Errors

The Box component provide an easy way to upload, download, and manage files and folders with Box.com.

Syntax

Box

Remarks

The Box class provides a simple interface to working with Box.com. Capabilities include uploading and downloading files, strong encryption support, creating folders, moving and copying resource, and more.

To begin, first create an account and register your application with Box.com. Consult the Box.com documentation for instructions on this process.

Authentication

Authentication is performed via OAuth 2.0. Use the OAuth class included in the toolkit, or any other OAuth implementation to perform authentication and retrieve an authorization string. Once you've obtained an authorization string like:

Bearer ya29.AHES6ZSZEJzATdZYjeihDn5W-VrXSsxEZu5p0pclxGdKKQ

Assign this value to the Authorization property before attempting any operations. Consult the Box.com documentation for this particular service for more information about supported scope values and more details on OAuth authentication.

Listing Resources

ListResources lists resources within the account at the specified path.

ListResources lists resources in the folder specified by ResourceParentId. If ResourceParentId is unspecified the root folder contents will be listed.

After calling this method set ResourceIndex to a value from 0 to ResourceCount - 1. Setting ResourceIndex populates other Resource properties to provide information about the resource.

After calling this method the following resource properties are populated:

ResourceDeleted
ResourceETag
ResourceHash (not applicable to folders)
ResourceId
ResourceMarker
ResourceName
ResourceRevision
ResourceType

If the results are paged, the ResourceMarker property will be populated. Call this method again to retrieve the next page of results. When the last page of results is returned ResourceMarker will be empty.

Note: To define a specific list of fields which are returned in the response for each resource set the "fields" parameter via AddQueryParam. Refer to the Box documentation for a full list of available fields.

box.ResourceParentId = "123456";
box.ListResources();
for (int i = 0; i < box.ResourceCount; i++)
{
  box.ResourceIndex = i;
  Console.WriteLine(box.ResourceName);
}

Downloading Files

The DownloadFile method downloads a specific file.

DownloadFile downloads the file specified by ResourceId. Set ResourceId to the Id of the file to download before calling this method. If LocalFile is set the file will be saved to the specified location. If LocalFile is not set the file data will be held by ResourceData.

To decrypt an encrypted file set EncryptionAlgorithm and EncryptionPassword before calling this method.

box.ResourceId = "50619395801"
box.LocalFile = "../MyFile.zip";
box.DownloadFile();

Resuming Downloads

The class also supports resuming failed downloads by using the StartByte property. If the download was interrupted, set StartByte to the appropriate offset before calling this method to resume the download.

box.ResourceId = myId;
box.LocalFile = downloadFile;
box.DownloadFile();

//The transfer is interrupted and DownloadFile() above fails. Later, resume the download:

//Get the size of the partially download file
box.StartByte = new FileInfo(downloadFile).Length; 
box.ResourceId = myId;
box.LocalFile = downloadFile;
box.DownloadFile();

Resuming Encrypted File Downloads

Resuming encrypted file downloads is only supported when LocalFile was set in the initial download attempt. When beginning an encrypted download if LocalFile is set the class will create a temporary file in TempPath to hold the encrypted data until it is complete.

If the download is interrupted DownloadTempFile will be populated with the temporary file holding the partial data. When resuming, DownloadTempFile must be populated along with StartByte to allow the remainder of the encrypted data to be downloaded. Once the encrypted data is downloaded it will be decrypted and written to LocalFile.

box.ResourceId = myId;
box.LocalFile = downloadFile;
box.EncryptionPassword = "password";
box.DownloadFile();

//The transfer is interrupted and DownloadFile() above fails. Later, resume the download:

//Get the size of the partially download temp file
box.StartByte = new FileInfo(box.Config("DownloadTempFile")).Length; 
box.ResourceId = myId;
box.LocalFile = downloadFile;
box.EncryptionPassword = "password";
box.DownloadFile();

Uploading Files

UploadFile uploads a file to the folder specified by ResourceParentId. If ResourceParentId is not specified the file will be uploaded to the root directory. This method returned the Id of the uploaded file. If the file already exists the server will return an error.

The FileName parameter specifies the name of the file. Naming restrictions:

Names must be 255 characters or less.
Names with non-printable ASCII are not supported.
Names with the characters "/", "\", or trailing whitespace are not supported.
The special names "." and ".." are not supported.

LocalFile specifies the file to upload. The data to upload may also be set in ResourceData or set by SetUploadStream. To encrypt a file set EncryptionAlgorithm and EncryptionPassword.

The following properties are applicable when calling UploadFile:

box.LocalFile = "../MyFile.zip";
box.UploadFile("MyFile.zip");

After uploading a file the Resource* properties are populated with information about the uploaded file.

Additional Functionality

The Box class offers advanced functionality beyond simple uploads and downloads. For instance:

Encrypt and decrypt files using EncryptionAlgorithm and EncryptionPassword.
CreateMetadata, UpdateMetadata, and DeleteMetadata allow creation and management of resource metadata.
ShareResource creates shareable links to content.
Search can be used to search for matching content.
Revisions are supported through ListRevisions and PromoteRevision.
Undelete files with ListDeletedResources, and RestoreResource.
GetAccountInfo provides usage and account information.
GetPreviewLink and GetThumbnail retrieve preview information for files.
And more!

Property List

The following is the full list of the properties of the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.


AccountAddress	The user's physical address.
AccountCreatedDate	The time at which the user was created.
AccountEmail	The Email address of the user.
AccountId	The unique identifier for this user.
AccountMaxFileSize	The maximum individual file size the user can have in bytes.
AccountModifiedDate	The date which the user was last modified.
AccountMyTags	A comma separated list of tags used in all files ands folders owned by the user.
AccountName	The name of the user.
AccountPhone	The user's phone number.
AccountRole	The role of the user.
AccountStatus	The status of the user.
Authorization	OAuth 2.0 Authorization Token.
EncryptionAlgorithm	The encryption algorithm.
EncryptionPassword	The encryption password.
FirewallAutoDetect	This property tells the component whether or not to automatically detect and use firewall system settings, if available.
FirewallType	This property determines the type of firewall to connect through.
FirewallHost	This property contains the name or IP address of firewall (optional).
FirewallPassword	This property contains a password if authentication is to be used when connecting through the firewall.
FirewallPort	This property contains the TCP port for the firewall Host .
FirewallUser	This property contains a user name if authentication is to be used connecting through a firewall.
LocalFile	The location of the local file.
LocalHost	The name of the local host or user-assigned IP interface through which connections are initiated or accepted.
MetadataFieldCount	The number of records in the MetadataField arrays.
MetadataFieldName	The name of the property.
MetadataFieldUpdateOp	The update operation to perform.
MetadataFieldValue	The value of the property.
Overwrite	Whether to overwrite the local or remote file.
ProxyAuthScheme	This property is used to tell the component which type of authorization to perform when connecting to the proxy.
ProxyAutoDetect	This property tells the component whether or not to automatically detect and use proxy system settings, if available.
ProxyPassword	This property contains a password if authentication is to be used for the proxy.
ProxyPort	This property contains the TCP port for the proxy Server (default 80).
ProxyServer	If a proxy Server is given, then the HTTP request is sent to the proxy instead of the server otherwise specified.
ProxySSL	This property determines when to use SSL for the connection to the proxy.
ProxyUser	This property contains a user name, if authentication is to be used for the proxy.
QueryParamsCount	The number of records in the QueryParams arrays.
QueryParamsName	This property contains the name of the parameter to be used in a Query request.
QueryParamsValue	This property contains the value of the parameter to be used in a Query request.
ResourceCount	The number of files and folders.
ResourceCreatedBy	The email of the creator of the resource.
ResourceCreatedDate	The date on which the resource was created.
ResourceData	Holds the file data after downloading or sets the file data before uploading or updating.
ResourceDeleted	Whether the resource is deleted.
ResourceDeletedDate	The date on which the resource was deleted.
ResourceDescription	A short description of the file or folder.
ResourceETag	The ETag of the resource.
ResourceHash	The SHA1 hash of the file.
ResourceId	The unique identifier of the resource.
ResourceIndex	Selects the file or folder.
ResourceMarker	A marker when list results are paged.
ResourceModifiedBy	The email of the user who last modified the resource.
ResourceModifiedDate	The date on which the resource was modified.
ResourceName	The name of the resource.
ResourceOwner	The email of the resource owner.
ResourceParentId	The Id of the parent resource.
ResourcePurgedDate	The date on which the resource will be permanently deleted.
ResourceRevision	The revision of the file.
ResourceSize	The size of the resource in bytes.
ResourceSyncState	The sync state of the folder.
ResourceTags	A comma separate list of tags.
ResourceType	Indicates whether the current entry is a folder or a file.
SearchMarker	A marker when searches are paged.
SharedResourceAccess	This property specifies the type of access granted to a shared link.
SharedResourceCanDownload	Whether downloads are allowed.
SharedResourceCanPreview	Whether the resource can be previewed.
SharedResourceDownloadURL	A direct download link.
SharedResourcePassword	The password to protect the resource.
SharedResourcePasswordRequired	Whether the link is protected by a password.
SharedResourceUnsharedDate	The date at which the resource will no longer be shared.
SharedResourceURL	The URL of the link.
SSLAcceptServerCertEncoded	The certificate (PEM/base64 encoded).
SSLCertEncoded	The certificate (PEM/base64 encoded).
SSLCertStore	The name of the certificate store for the client certificate.
SSLCertStorePassword	If the certificate store is of a type that requires a password, this property is used to specify that password in order to open the certificate store.
SSLCertStoreType	The type of certificate store for this certificate.
SSLCertSubject	The subject of the certificate used for client authentication.
SSLServerCertEncoded	The certificate (PEM/base64 encoded).
StartByte	The byte offset from which to start the upload or download.
ThumbnailFormat	The thumbnail format.
ThumbnailSize	The size of the thumbnail in pixels.
Timeout	A timeout for the component.
TotalSpace	The total allowed space in bytes.
UsedSpace	The amount of space used in bytes.

Method List

The following is the full list of the methods of the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.


AddQueryParam	Adds a query parameter to the QueryParams properties.
Config	Sets or retrieves a configuration setting .
CopyResource	Copies the specified resource to a new location.
CreateFolder	Creates a folder with the specified name.
CreateMetadata	Creates metadata for a file.
DeleteMetadata	Deletes all metadata for a file.
DeleteResource	Deletes the specified resource.
DownloadFile	Downloads a file.
GetAccountInfo	Retrieves information about the current user account.
GetMetadata	Retrieves metadata for the file.
GetPreviewLink	Gets a link that may be used to preview the resource.
GetResourceInfo	Retrieves information about the specified resource.
GetSharedResourceInfo	Gets information about a shared resource.
GetThumbnail	Retrieves a thumbnail image of the current resource.
Interrupt	Interrupt the current method.
ListDeletedResources	Lists deleted resources.
ListResources	Lists the resources in the specified folder.
ListRevisions	Lists revisions for a file.
LockFile	Locks the specified file.
PromoteRevision	Promotes a specific revision of a file to the current version.
RestoreResource	Restores a deleted resource.
Search	This method searches resources for the specified query.
ShareResource	Shares the specified file or folder.
UnlockFile	Unlocks the specified file.
UnshareResource	Stops sharing a resource.
UpdateMetadata	Updates metadata fields for a file.
UpdateResource	Updates the file or folder.
UploadFile	Uploads a file.

Event List

The following is the full list of the events fired by the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.


EndTransfer	Fired when a document finishes transferring.
Error	Information about errors during data delivery.
ResourceList	Fired for each resource listed.
SSLServerAuthentication	Fired after the server presents its certificate to the client.
SSLStatus	Shows the progress of the secure connection.
StartTransfer	Fired when a document starts transferring (after the headers).
Transfer	Fired while a document transfers (delivers document).

Configuration Settings

The following is a list of configuration settings for the class with short descriptions. Click on the links for further details.


DownloadTempFile	The temporary file used when downloading encrypted data.
IncludeFileHash	Whether to include the SHA1 hash when uploading a file.
MaxResults	The maximum number of results to return when searching or listing resources.
ResourceClientCreatedDate	A client assigned creation date.
ResourceClientModifiedDate	A client assigned modified date.
RetryAfter	The number of seconds after which to retry the request.
TempPath	The path to the directory where temporary files are created.
EncryptionIV	The initialization vector to be used for encryption/decryption.
EncryptionKey	The key to use during encryption/decryption.
XPath	Provides a way to point to a specific element in the returned XML response.
XElement	The name of the current element.
XParent	The parent of the current element.
XSubTree	A snapshot of the current element in the document.
XText	The text of the current element.
XChildCount	The number of child elements of the current element.
XChildName[x]	The name of the child element.
XChildXText[x]	The inner text of the child element.
AcceptEncoding	Used to tell the server which types of content encodings the client supports.
AllowHTTPCompression	This property enables HTTP compression for receiving data.
AllowIdenticalRedirectURL	Allow redirects to the same URL.
Append	Whether to append data to LocalFile.
Authorization	The Authorization string to be sent to the server.
BytesTransferred	Contains the number of bytes transferred in the response data.
EncodeURL	If set to true the URL will be encoded by the component.
FollowRedirects	Determines what happens when the server issues a redirect.
GetOn302Redirect	If set to true the component will perform a GET on the new location.
HTTPVersion	The version of HTTP used by the component.
IfModifiedSince	A date determining the maximum age of the desired document.
KeepAlive	Determines whether the HTTP connection is closed after completion of the request.
MaxRedirectAttempts	Limits the number of redirects that are followed in a request.
OtherHeaders	Other headers as determined by the user (optional).
ProxyAuthorization	The authorization string to be sent to the proxy server.
ProxyAuthScheme	The authorization scheme to be used for the proxy.
ProxyPassword	A password if authentication is to be used for the proxy.
ProxyPort	Port for the proxy server (default 80).
ProxyServer	Name or IP address of a proxy server (optional).
ProxyUser	A user name if authentication is to be used for the proxy.
TransferredDataLimit	The maximum number of incoming bytes to be stored by the component.
TransferredHeaders	The full set of headers as received from the server.
UseChunkedEncoding	Enables or Disables HTTP chunked encoding for transfers.
ChunkSize	Specifies the chunk size in bytes when using chunked encoding.
UserAgent	Information about the user agent (browser).
KerberosSPN	The Service Principal Name for the Kerberos Domain Controller.
ConnectionTimeout	Sets a separate timeout value for establishing a connection.
FirewallAutoDetect	Tells the component whether or not to automatically detect and use firewall system settings, if available.
FirewallHost	Name or IP address of firewall (optional).
FirewallPassword	Password to be used if authentication is to be used when connecting through the firewall.
FirewallPort	The TCP port for the FirewallHost;.
FirewallType	Determines the type of firewall to connect through.
FirewallUser	A user name if authentication is to be used connecting through a firewall.
KeepAliveTime	The inactivity time in milliseconds before a TCP keep-alive packet is sent.
KeepAliveInterval	The retry interval, in milliseconds, to be used when a TCP keep-alive packet is sent and no response is received.
Linger	When set to True, connections are terminated gracefully.
LingerTime	Time in seconds to have the connection linger.
LocalHost	The name of the local host through which connections are initiated or accepted.
LocalPort	The TCP port in the local host where the component binds.
MaxLineLength	The maximum amount of data to accumulate when no EOL is found.
MaxTransferRate	The transfer rate limit in bytes per second.
RecordLength	The length of received data records.
TCPKeepAlive	Determines whether or not the keep alive socket option is enabled.
UseIPv6	Whether to use IPv6.
TcpNoDelay	Whether or not to delay when sending packets.
ReuseSSLSession	Determines if the SSL session is reused.
SSLCipherStrength	The minimum cipher strength used for bulk encryption.
SSLEnabledProtocols	Used to enable/disable the supported security protocols.
SSLProvider	The name of the security provider to use.
SSLSecurityFlags	Flags that control certificate verification.
OpenSSLCADir	The path to a directory containing CA certificates.
OpenSSLCAFile	Name of the file containing the list of CA's trusted by your application.
OpenSSLCipherList	A string that controls the ciphers to be used by SSL.
OpenSSLPrngSeedData	The data to seed the pseudo random number generator (PRNG).
AbsoluteTimeout	Determines whether timeouts are inactivity timeouts or absolute timeouts.
FirewallData	Used to send extra data to the firewall.
InBufferSize	The size in bytes of the incoming queue of the socket.
OutBufferSize	The size in bytes of the outgoing queue of the socket.
CodePage	The system code page used for Unicode to Multibyte translations.