Question

Check a specific folder on BOX and get a link the newest Excel file in there?

  • 1 September 2022
  • 6 replies
  • 145 views

Userlevel 1

Hi,

We have a CRM which creates a new Excel spreadsheet on the 1st day of every month into a specific directory on BOX. It’s just a list of internal company contacts on a single sheet, but the CRM doesn’t delete the previous version, it simply adds a long random string to the end of the filename, so we end up with a growing collection:

Adviser_List_vlkrcjhvgnshrnl.xlsx
Adviser_List_fgvbnhjdsmmh.xlsx
Adviser_List_gjfngjfgybdvgd.xlsx
…. and so on

My question is, how can I get Zapier to identify the newest Excel file in there, and grab a link to that file, so I can send it out to our member list on Mailchimp? I would trigger the zap to do this once a month.

I have no trouble creating the email part, and I can get Zapier to read the folder, I just don’t know how to target the newest excel file?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Mike


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6 replies

Userlevel 7
Badge +8

Hi @mikenco , 

 

If you have a folder specifically for this excel file, I would then use a Trigger > Box > New File then you can specify the Folder where those files are created. This way Zapier will trigger once the file is sent to Box. 

 

Let me know if this works for you. 

 

Userlevel 1

Hi,

Thanks for the input, but that is too simplistic, I just noticed that I failed to mention that the CRM automation also adds three logos to the folder with the Excel file for some bizarre reason. I added a filter to find “any new file with a size above 60kB” which then ignores the .png files, but it feels a bit like a hack, because if the CRM one day uploads a new larger logo, it will trigger the email campaign.

It’s frustrating that there doesn’t seem to be a way to specify “file type” in the filter. BOX only sees everything as either a “file” or a “folder”. 

M.

Userlevel 7
Badge +8

Can you please show me the test results of the trigger? 

Userlevel 1

Can you please show me the test results of the trigger? 

Can you be more specific?

Userlevel 7
Badge +8

I mean when you create the trigger and you click on the Test Trigger button it gets a bunch of data. What is the current trigger? New File in Box? I wanna see if for example one of the fields it retrieves is the file type, or if the file name has the extension. If so, you can then create a filter to include/exclude certain file types

Userlevel 7
Badge +8

Hi @mikenco 

 

Any updates on your issue? Please keep us posted :)