Python integration with Google Docs API: Creating and managing documents in folders

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1

I’m new to Python and trying to work with the Google Docs API. My goal is to create a folder, add documents to it, and then list those documents with their links. Here’s what I want to do:

  1. Make a new folder if it doesn’t exist already
  2. Add a document to this folder
  3. Get a list of all documents in the folder with their links

I’m using the gdata library version 2.0.16 and Google Docs API 3.0. Here’s my code so far:

import gdata.docs.data
import gdata.docs.client

class ConfigSetup:
    APP_NAME = 'MyGDocsApp-v1'
    DEBUG = False

my_client = gdata.docs.client.DocsClient()
my_client.ClientLogin('[email protected]', 'mypassword', source=ConfigSetup.APP_NAME)

new_folder = gdata.docs.data.Resource(type='folder', title='My New Folder')
created_folder = my_client.CreateResource(new_folder)

new_doc = gdata.docs.data.Resource(type='document', title='Test Document')
created_doc = my_client.CreateResource(new_doc, collection=created_folder)

I’m stuck on these points:

  1. How can I check if a folder already exists?
  2. What’s the best way to get only the contents of a specific folder?
  3. How do I get the full URLs for the documents I create?

Any help or tips would be really appreciated. Thanks!

2

I’ve worked extensively with the Google Docs API in Python, and I can share some insights from my experience.

For checking if a folder exists, you can use the GetResourceById method. If it returns a resource, the folder exists. If it raises an exception, it doesn’t.

To get the contents of a specific folder, use the GetResources method with the folder’s resource ID as a parameter. This will return all resources within that folder.

For full URLs, you can access the ‘alternate’ link in the resource’s link collection. Here’s a quick example:

doc_url = created_doc.GetAlternateLink().href

One tip: consider using the newer google-auth and google-auth-oauthlib libraries for authentication instead of ClientLogin, which is deprecated.

Also, error handling is crucial when working with APIs. Always wrap your API calls in try-except blocks to gracefully handle any issues that might arise during execution.

3

hey bob, i’ve used the google docs api before. here’s a tip: try using the google-api-python-client library instead. it’s easier to work with.

for checking if a folder exists, you can use the files().list() method with a query parameter. something like:

q="mimeType=‘application/vnd.google-apps.folder’ and name=‘My New Folder’"

hope this helps!

4

Based on my experience with the Google Docs API, I’d recommend transitioning to the newer google-api-python-client library. It’s more up-to-date and better supported.

For folder creation, you can use the files().create() method with mimeType set to ‘application/vnd.google-apps.folder’. To check if a folder exists, query for files with the same name and folder mimeType.

To list documents in a folder, use files().list() with the folder’s ID in the ‘parents’ parameter of the query string.

For document URLs, you can construct them using the file ID: f’https://docs.google.com/document/d/{file_id}/edit’

Remember to use OAuth 2.0 for authentication instead of ClientLogin. It’s more secure and flexible.

Lastly, consider implementing pagination when listing files to handle large folders efficiently.