Question

new outlook email file/attachment saved to dropbox in specific folder

  • 28 December 2020
  • 13 replies
  • 55 views
G

i have set up a second zap. when a new email/attachment from outlook comes in from a particular person/subject i wanted the attachment to be saved to dropbox. However, when i run a test it only saves a text file?  am i missing something?

13 replies

nicksimard
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +10

Hi @gurdev!

This may not work if there are multiple files attached, because what happens is they get added into a zipped folder, but this would be the type of field you’d be looking for:

When it’s a file object you’ll see (Exists but not shown) as shown above.

AndrewJDavison_Luhhu
Rank
Userlevel 7
Badge +10

@gurdev 
Just checking in to see if you still need help with this? 

We're Zapier Certified Experts - we help businesses do cool stuff with automation | www.luhhu.com
Ennes
Userlevel 5
Badge +5

Hey @gurdev,

I think it is by default like this. Can you show the text message you receive? And is the test successful?

G
see snips of what went into dropbox folder

 

Troy Tessalone
Userlevel 7
Badge +10

Please provide screenshots of how your Zap steps are configured.

It’s likely that you may need to specify a different data point from the trigger step.

 

Uploading a file creates a text file instead of what I expect

The Dropbox app requires file objects to be passed along during a Zap, and will not download files from a URL.
One may consider using a Gmail 'Send Email' action as you can provide a public URL and create a file object that Dropbox can use.

- Troy Tessalone | AutomationAce.com
G

https://zapier.com/shared/92dce9896772013b8ed0aa1d25769332c572d98c

hope this is the right way of sharing it?

 

Troy Tessalone
Userlevel 7
Badge +10

Please provide screenshots of how your Zap steps are configured.

 

- Troy Tessalone | AutomationAce.com
G

just thinking. surely I’m not the first person to automate this. is there a template I can follow?

G

 

 

 

Troy Tessalone
Userlevel 7
Badge +10

This is the issue, you’re using the Subject for the File, but it expects a file object.

Article: https://zapier.com/help/create/basics/different-field-types-in-zaps#step-4

 

- Troy Tessalone | AutomationAce.com
G
i can’t see an option for attachement in outlook apart from the above

 

Troy Tessalone
Userlevel 7
Badge +10

File fields - Data in the form of an actual file object or URL

 


When we reference files on Zapier, we mean the actual file object, and not a text field describing the file.
For example, a file would be a photo itself, a field describing that file might be the Name, or the URL for that photo.
If you put a string of text in a file field, we'll convert it to a .txt file for you.
If you give us a URL, we'll inspect the URL and try to load in the data there and name it properly.
And, if the item is a file from the trigger side, we'll bring it along.

Gmail file attachment

Note: inserting multiple file fields into a single file field is unsupported.

Quick reference:

  • File: passes file to action app
  • URL: passes data from URL in the form of a single file to action app
  • Text: creates a .txt file containing the field contents and uploads to action app
- Troy Tessalone | AutomationAce.com
Troy Tessalone
Userlevel 7
Badge +10

This won’t work because the value for the “Has Attachments” data point is “true”, not a file object.

 

- Troy Tessalone | AutomationAce.com

Reply