GridTips: How to Monitor Download Count in Dropbox

segunda-feira, 11 de agosto de 2014

How to Monitor Download Count in Dropbox

Dropbox has done it easy for us to share files publicly. We can put a record out there to be publicly downloaded via a open link. Users can download or save files into their possess Dropbox account. However, as a owners of that file, we don’t get to see how many times a common record has been downloaded by a masses.

Dropbox is not dictated for storing downloadable files. It competence cancel a open couple once a bandwidth threshold is surpassed. Still, if we wish to guard your common files download count, here are dual viable workarounds we can use.

Recommended Reading: How To (Automatically) Backup Your Website Into Dropbox.

Method 1: Using Short URL

Short URL services like Bitly and Goo.gl will lane how many times a links are clicked, arrangement we a count of how many times your file has been clicked on.

Bitly stays my favorite URL cutting use to date. Bitly’s statistics news of a link’s opening is some-more extensive compared to other identical services that I’ve tried. Bitly lets us see a click count in a specific operation of time: hourly, 7 days, and 30 days. Bitly also shows us geographical reports, recording a places where a links are clicked.

method 2: Using Dropbox Plugin

Although Dropbox doesn’t have a downloaded couple count, it does have a Dropbox API that allows developers to build plugins to assistance we do that. One outcome of that is OrangeDox.

To get started with Orange Dox, bond OrangeDox to your Dropbox account.

Once you’ve authorised OrangeDox to have entrance to your Dropbox account, OrangeDox will collect a list of files stored within. Through OrangeDox, name a record we would like to share.

Then emanate a open URL and mention a name to news a URL.

Hit a “chain” idol as shown next to see and get your URL residence to share to anyone.

OrangeDox’s statistical news is utterly extensive as well. We can arrange a news by Today, Yesterday, or in a specific date range. To perspective it, navigate to a record that we have shared, and click a couple title. It will cocktail adult a new dialog and arrangement a stats utterly nicely, like below. That’s it.

Limitation

Both methods have some shortcomings. These methods merely route a users to a Dropbox page where they have to strike a download symbol in that page to download a file. This competence not paint an accurate depiction of a tangible series of downloads as a numbers shown in Bitly as good as in a OrangeDox statistic page usually depends how many times a URL page has been clicked. At best, this gives us a ballpark figure of how renouned a record is.

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