Develop Reference

How to upload files using the Google Drive API?

I'm trying to upload a file using the Google Drive api on Android
https://github.com/googlesamples/google-services/tree/master/android/signin/app/src/main/java/com/google/samples/quickstart/signin
I signed up to SignInActivityWithDrive.java in the link above.
But there is no example of uploading a file, downloading a file
I want to know how to upload and download files
Thank you

You can find basic examples of uploading and downloading in the docs.
Uploading
You can send upload requests in any of the following ways:
Simple upload: uploadType=media. For quick transfer of a small file (5 MB or less). To perform a simple upload, refer to
Performing a Simple Upload.
Multipart upload: uploadType=multipart. For quick transfer of a small file (5 MB or less) and metadata describing the file, all in
a single request. To perform a multipart upload, refer to
Performing a Multipart Upload.
Resumable upload: uploadType=resumable. For more reliable transfer, especially important with large files. Resumable uploads
are a good choice for most applications, since they also work for
small files at the cost of one additional HTTP request per upload.
To perform a resumable upload, refer to Performing a Resumable
Upload.
The following example shows how to upload an image using the client libraries:
File fileMetadata = new File();
fileMetadata.setName("photo.jpg");
java.io.File filePath = new java.io.File("files/photo.jpg");
FileContent mediaContent = new FileContent("image/jpeg", filePath);
File file = driveService.files().create(fileMetadata, mediaContent)
.setFields("id")
.execute();
System.out.println("File ID: " + file.getId());
Downloading
Depending on the type of download you'd like to perform — a file, a
Google Document, or a content link — you'll use one of the following
URLs:
Download a file — files.get with alt=media file resource
Download and export a Google Doc — files.export
Link a user to a file — webContentLink from the file resource
An example of a basic download is:
String fileId = "0BwwA4oUTeiV1UVNwOHItT0xfa2M";
OutputStream outputStream = new ByteArrayOutputStream();
driveService.files().get(fileId)
.executeMediaAndDownloadTo(outputStream);

It is 2022 now, and how the Google Drive API works might have changed significantly. I needed to upload a number of large files from a remote server where I have terminal access. This is how I got it working for me:
Use the steps detailed in this link to create a Google Services API (on your local computer) and get the API credentials. An extra step was required before step 3, go to the 'OAuth consent screen' tab on the panel to the left and complete necessary steps required. You have to do this only once. For free google accounts, you'll have to select External as the API type (but you can always keep the api in testing mode to not allow others to use it). Also add the gmail address you wish to use as a test user in this panel. Continue the rest of the steps from the aforementioned link.
From Step 1 you should get a client_secret_XXXXX.json file. Copy it to your remote computer working directory using SCP. Rename the file to client_secrets.json.
pip install pydrive
Import and run the following inside the remote working directory.
from pydrive.auth import GoogleAuth
gauth = GoogleAuth()
gauth.CommandLineAuth()
It will provide you a link that you can use to log into your google account from your local computer. You will get a login key that you will have paste into your remote terminal.
Upload a list of filenames
from pydrive.drive import GoogleDrive
drive = GoogleDrive(gauth)
for filename in filename_list:
## Enter folder ID here.
## You can get the folder Id from your drive link e.g.,
## https://drive.google.com/drive/u/2/folders/1pzschX3uMbxU0lB5WZ6IlEEeAUE8MZ-t
gfile = drive.CreateFile({'parents': [{'id': '1pzschX3uMbxU0lB5WZ6IlEEeAUE8MZ-t'}]})
gfile.SetContentFile(filename)
gfile.Upload() # Upload the file.

Trouble with google drive

I want to create an application for browsing all files in google drive that are located in root folder. The problem is I can set up permissions only for creating and browsing files. But I have to browse the files which I upload in google drive via browser.
#Override
protected void onResume() {
super.onResume();
if (mGoogleApiClient == null) {
mGoogleApiClient = new GoogleApiClient.Builder(this)
.addApi(Drive.API)
.addScope(Drive.SCOPE_FILE)
.addScope(Drive.SCOPE_APPFOLDER) // required for App Folder sample
.addConnectionCallbacks(this)
.addOnConnectionFailedListener(this)
.build();
}
mGoogleApiClient.connect();
}

To retrieve files from the root folder use Drive.getRootFolder method.
The getRootFolder will returns a DriveFolder and it can be used to interact with the root folder. This method will return synchronously, and is safe to invoke from the UI thread.
DriveFolder folder = Drive.DriveApi.getFolder(getGoogleApiClient(), result.getDriveId());
folder.listChildren(getGoogleApiClient())
.setResultCallback(metadataResult);
public static final Scope SCOPE_FILE a Scope that gives 'drive.file' access to a user's drive. This scope give per-file access to files that have been created by, or specifically opened with the app.
The Scope implements SafeParcelable which describes an OAuth 2.0 scope to request. This has security implications for the user, and requesting additional scopes will result in authorization dialogs.
Here's a sample demo app, demo app illustrates all possible ways to talk to Drive service with the use of interfaces available in Google Play Services: https://github.com/googledrive/android-demos/

Cannot access Google Drive file

I am making a notepad app using Google Drive. Whenever user creates a file in the app, it also creates a file in the Google Drive. And user can enter the text and save the file, the unsaved text will get committed whenever the internet is available. I am managing the update and create processes within the app using the DriveId.
If the user wants to use the files with the alternative device using my app, for that I also have the option called DriveId import. By clicking the option DriveId import user will be prompted with the input box for entering the existing DriveId. Using the DriveId I thought of opening the files, But it was giving an error.
Then I saw an answer given in this SO which clearly says DriveId can be used only inside the app and device which created the file.
I also found a similar question like mine in here SO But I can’t get my problem solved. I have taken ResourceId using result.getDriveFolder().getDriveId().getResourceId()
How to read the data’s programmatically using the ResourceID? As said in the above answer here I don’t want to change the track and go into Drive REST API. Is there a way that I can read the data using Google Drive Android API ? I have done all the development process, but in the ending when I try to access from other device it is giving the error. Totally struck.
If I can only read the data using REST API any simple code will be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Finally Solved the DriveId Issue without REST API.
To get DriveId on the alternative device. You will need resourceId. You can use following code:-
String resourseId = "xxxxxxxxxxxxx"
Drive.DriveApi.fetchDriveId(mGoogleApiClient,resourseId).setResultCallback(idCallBack);
private ResultCallBack<DriveApi.DriveResult> idCallBack = new ResultCallback<DriveApi.DriveIdResult>() {
#Override
public void onResult(DriveApi.DriveIdResult driveIdResult) {
msg.Log("onResult");
DriveId id = driveIdResult.getDriveId(); //Here you go :)
}
}

Uploading a CSV file as Google Sheet using Android SDK

I have an Android app that allows users to export a .csv file to Google Drive so that they can edit it and then reimport the file into Android.
This used to work perfectly with the old Google Docs api's. I upgraded from that old API to an early version of Google Drive last year and was able to get it working well enough. Now, when I upgraded to the latest version, this feature of my app is effectively broken. I think it's a combination of the SDK permissions and breaking out Google Sheets from Google Drive.
What happens is I upload a file with this meta data:
MetadataChangeSet changeSet = new MetadataChangeSet.Builder()
.setTitle(fileName)
.setMimeType("text/csv")
.setStarred(true)
.build();
The uploaded file then has a blue Google Docs icon. When a user access Google Drive to edit it they can only "preview" the document. While they are previewing it they can "Open" the document using Google Sheets which then creates a new document (this new document has the Green Google Sheets icon) and since Google SDK has this new "Feature" (quoted from: https://developers.google.com/drive/android/queries ):
Note: The Android Drive API only works with the
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/drive.file scope. This means that only
files which a user has opened or created with your application can be
matched by a query.
The new file has can not be seen by my, so the user's edits can't be retrieved.
Is there someway I can upload it directly as a Google Sheets file? Or maybe another solution I've missed entirely?
Edits
Here is an example on how I am uploading my code using the Google Drive SDK:
In the constructor of my AsyncTask I create the google client:
mGoogleApiClient = new GoogleApiClient.Builder(activity)
.addApi(Drive.API)
.addScope(Drive.SCOPE_FILE)
.addConnectionCallbacks(this)
.addOnConnectionFailedListener(this)
.build();
mGoogleApiClient.connect();
Then in the doInBackground method I do something like this:
DriveApi.DriveContentsResult cResult = Drive.DriveApi.newDriveContents(mGoogleApiClient).await();
OutputStream os = cResult.getDriveContents().getOutputStream();
InputStream is = new FileInputStream(f);
//write the input stream to the output stream
....
DriveFileResult exportResult = Drive.DriveApi.getRootFolder(mGoogleApiClient)
.createFile(mGoogleApiClient, changeSet, cResult.getDriveContents())
.await();
It's pretty simple (once you figure it out) there just doesn't seem to be away to tell the SDK that I want this document to be a "Google Sheet" instead of a "Google Doc"
Thanks!
-Aaron

You should convert the original explicitly into a Spreadsheet, otherwise it will end up as a straight upload into your Drive account. Try the following code:
java.io.File fileContent = new java.io.File(csvfilepath);
FileContent mediaContent = new FileContent("text/csv", fileContent);
// File's metadata.
File body = new File();
body.setTitle(fileContent.getName());
body.setMimeType("text/csv");
Insert request = service.files().insert(body, mediaContent);
request.setConvert(true);
File file = request.execute();

Google Drive Android API - Access app-created files and folders across devices

Using the new GDAA, as I understand it, in order to access a folder and its contents you have to have the folder's DriveId - because this insures that an app can only access the content it has created itself.
Now, my app uploads files to the user's Google Drive account (pictures) in a custom folder. When this folder is first created I save the DriveId of the folder to Shared Preferences so I can access the folder later for more uploads. My problem is that I would like the user to be able to access the pictures from multiple devices (so he/she e.g. can look at pictures uploaded from his/her phone while being on a tablet and vice versa), but this I cannot do without having the folder's DriveId on both devices. The only solution I can think of is sharing the DriveId between user's devices via some cloud service, but this seems awfully inconvenient for the purpose.
Any thoughts?

Shamelessly promoting myself to Cheryl's sidekick, I can give you some specific points, since I've run through this gauntlet before. This is what I did:
Create a unique 'root' for my app in the system root - "MyStupidAppRoot'. Here you'll hit the main challenge since you are creating it by name and if you base the creation on it's non-existence, you may not reliably be able to check it. But it is getting better, see SO 22382099 and SO 22515028.
Once you have a reliable anchor 'MyStupidAppRoot', you can create AppFolder mentioned by Cheryl (not available yet) or create you own visible file (again, the unique creation challenge) that can keep anything you want. Like for instance all your PREFERENCE strings. I even got so brave as to store full SQLite DB file there. It is possible since you write a byte[] buffer to a file.
Than, any other device with you app can find 'MyStupidAppRoot', get the resource file from there and read it.
It should be noted that the main difference between you own folder/file and the AppFolder is, that user's can't read the contents of an AppFolder, but can still delete it.
Here's how you can write byte[] buffer to a file. It is the 'await' version to make it simple, but there is an async version 'createFileAsync()' here.
public DriveFile createFileWait(DriveFolder fldr, String name, String mime, byte[] buff) {
DriveFile drvFile = null;
if (isConnected()) try {
ContentsResult rslt = Drive.DriveApi.newContents(_gac).await();
if (rslt.getStatus().isSuccess()) {
Contents cont = rslt.getContents();
cont.getOutputStream().write(buff);
MetadataChangeSet meta = (mime == null) ?
new MetadataChangeSet.Builder().setTitle(name).build() :
new MetadataChangeSet.Builder().setTitle(name).setMimeType(mime).build();
drvFile = fldr.createFile(_gac, meta, cont).await().getDriveFile();
}
} catch (Exception e) {}
return drvFile;
}
About the IDs:
The DriveId you mention above is an object, that can be turned into 2 different strings as discussed in SO 21800257. It is up to you which one you choose. The long one from 'encodeToString()' is easier to turn back into DriveId by 'decodeFromString()', the shorter one can be easily recognized in the http address, but takes async / await method to get back the DriveId - fetchDriveId().

You don't necessarily have to have the DriveId, its just the most sure-fire way to do it since it uniquely identifies the folder. You can also query based on the title to try to find the same folder. Assuming that the web and Android app share an app id, both should be able to access the same files.
One easy option for sharing state between apps is to make use of the newly launched App Folders (called App Data Folders on the web.) This is a hidden folder where you can store files specific to your app. Its not yet in the Android docs, but it should show up there as soon as the rollout of Google Play Services 4.3 is released. See http://android-developers.blogspot.com/2014/03/google-play-services-43.html