Uploading and overwriting files in specific Google Docs folders with .NET API

Other Questions Google docs
1

Hey everyone,

I’m working on a project where I need to upload files to Google Docs using the .NET API. I’ve got the basic upload working, but I’m stuck on two things:

  1. How do I specify which folder to upload to? I tried using a path like “\My Folder\file.txt” but it didn’t work.

  2. Is there a way to overwrite existing files instead of creating duplicates?

Here’s what I’ve got so far:

var docService = new DocsManager("MyAppName");
var uploadedDoc = docService.UploadFile(myFile, null);

This uploads the file, but I can’t control where it goes or if it replaces an existing file.

I’m using the v2 .NET client API. Is there a newer version that might have these features?

Any help would be awesome! Thanks in advance.

  • Sam
2

hey sam, try using drive api for folders. example:
var service = new DriveService(/* auth */);
var file = new File(){ Name=“yourfile.txt”, Parents=new List{“folder_id”} };
service.Files.Create(file, stream, “mime/type”).Upload;
to overwrite, find file then use Files.Update.

3

I’ve encountered similar issues with the Google Docs API. For folder specificity, you’ll need to use the DriveService instead of DocsManager. Here’s a snippet that might help:

var service = new DriveService(new BaseClientService.Initializer { /* your auth setup */ });
var fileMetadata = new Google.Apis.Drive.v3.Data.File()
{
    Name = "Your file name",
    Parents = new List<string> { "folder_id_here" }
};

using (var stream = new System.IO.FileStream("path_to_file", System.IO.FileMode.Open))
{
    var request = service.Files.Create(fileMetadata, stream, "application/octet-stream");
    request.Fields = "id";
    var file = request.Upload();
}

For overwriting, you can use the Update method with the file ID. First, find the file by name, then update it. This approach is more efficient than delete-then-upload.
4

Hey Sam, I’ve dealt with similar challenges in my projects. For specifying folders, you’ll want to use the Files.insert method and set the parent folder ID. Something like:

var body = new File();
body.Title = "Your file name";
body.Parents = new List<ParentReference> { new ParentReference() { Id = "folder_id_here" } };

var request = service.Files.Insert(body, stream, "application/octet-stream");
request.Upload();

For overwriting, there’s no direct method, but you can search for existing files with the same name, delete them, then upload the new version. It’s a bit clunky, but it works.

The v3 API might offer more streamlined methods, so it’s worth checking out if you haven’t already. Hope this helps point you in the right direction!