DropBox Odoo Integration v.14
The tool to automatically synchronize Odoo attachments with DropBox files in both ways
This is the tool to integrate DropBox features into your Odoo business work flow. The app automatically stores Odoo attachments in DropBox, and it provides an instant access to them via web links. In such a way users work with files comfortably in the cloud storage, while the results are fully available in Odoo.
- the technical core which provides basic mechanics of auto synchronization. This is a required module for integration. Its price is 245€.
- the connector itself which introduces links between Odoo and DropBox. Its price is 149€.
- an optional add-on to sync Odoo documents (introduced by the enterprise app 'Documents') with clouds. The features assumed by this add-on are marked by the icon . Its price is 44€.
Automatic regular sync
Synchronization between Odoo and DropBox is based on scheduled jobs. No manual interaction is required
Bilateral DropBox sync
Odoo sends attachments to DropBox and retrieves files from there. Binary content is kept in clouds, while Odoo provides direct access to synced items
Any Odoo document types for sync
Decide which Odoo document types should be synced. Customers, opportunities, sale or purchase orders, tasks or issues, employees or users, etc. Custom models are also supported
Instant access for DropBox
The tool redefines Odoo attachments boxes to make work comfortable: download files locally without login, open files and folders in DropBox, use standard Odoo previewers
Compatible with Odoo Enterprise documents
Reflect Odoo Enterprise Documents' structure and items in DropBox. All features (including sharing, downloading, and signing) would anyway work
All DropBox tariffs
Synchronization works for any DropBox tariff, including Personal DropBox (Basic, Plus, Family) and business DropBox (Professional, Standard, Advanced)
DropBox sync history
Sync activities might be logged. Control over files and folders creations, moves, name changes and removals. Just turn on the option 'Log sync activities', and you would be able to observe the history through the button 'Sync logs'
Default folders
The tool let generate default directories' structure for this document type during the very first sync of a related object. For example, for all employees you may have pre-defined folders 'Scans', 'Scans/Official', 'Photos', etc.
Sync any documents you like
Configuring models to sync
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To sync a specific document type, you should add it as a model to sync. Any Odoo model might be chosen
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The app let split models into a few folders based on selected filters. Use any document storable field to distinguish a directory. Have a separate folder for individuals and companies, for European and American opportunities, for quotations and confirmed orders, for each project, etc.
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Limit also documents by relative periods through using date fields of linked documents. For example, leads registered in the last 3 months or invoices updated the last week
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Define name expressions to specify titles of documents' DropBox folders. For instance, to include project name to a task directory
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Prepare hierarchy of default folders to be created when a document directory is synced to DropBox for the first time
Typical use cases
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Projects: have an own DropBox folder for each customer project
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Customers: add all partner files in a single directory available both from Odoo and from DropBox. Modify those using default cloud editors and access them when working in Odoo
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Employees: gather all files by this employee in a single cloud folder: photos, document scans, contracts. Access and upload those from Odoo and DropBox alternatively
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Opportunities: carefully store all specifications, requirements, any files which would let you make a good offer
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Orders: keep all printings and contracts in DropBox with instant availability from Odoo
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Picking operations: save warehouse docs to DropBox.
How synchronization works
Direct Sync
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Direct synchronization is based on the scheduled job 'Synchronize attachments with cloud'
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Direct sync make all synced Odoo attachments change their type to a link (URL), while binary content is removed with a next Odoo cleaner. So, no actual files would be stored on your Odoo server
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Direct sync checks whether attachments are added or deleted for synced documents. If so, they would be created or removed in DropBox
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Direct sync checks whether a new document type (e.g. sale orders) is added / renamed / replaced in the to-sync-models configurations. If so, this should be reflected in DropBox
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Direct sync checks whether a new document (e.g. quotation SO-001) related to a synced document type is generated / updated / unlinked. If so, the connector would make the same changes in DropBox
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The final goal of direct DropBox integration is to have the structure 'Odoo / Document Types / Documents / Files. For example, 'Odoo / Quotations / SO019 / commercial offer.pdf'
Backward Sync
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Backward synchronization is based on the scheduled job 'Synchronize attachments from cloud'
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Backward sync checks whether any items are added to a DropBox document folder. If so, the app would create URL attachments for that items in a linked Odoo object
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Backward sync checks whether any items are deleted / moved in a cloud document folder. If so, a linked Odoo attachment would be also unlinked or moved
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Backward sync checks whether any item is renamed in DropBox. If so, a chained Odoo attachment should be also renamed
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In DropBox folders you can put not only files but also child folders. In that case a link for this folder (not its content) would be kept in Odoo attachments
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If you deleted a folder related to this document type or this document, their child files would be deleted as well. Thus, Odoo would remove related attachments. The folders, however, will be recovered with a next direct sync
DropBox URLs
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DropBox has a specific way to generate links for existing files and folders. In particular, there are no concepts of internal or private URLs. Instead, each DropBox item might get so-called shared URLs. Such shared links are either public or team-only. Moreover, the latter feature is available only for DropBox business account
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This tool relies upon share links' mechanics. It means, that each attachment link is either public (all personal DropBox accounts) or team-only (all business DropBox accounts)
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Sometimes it is considered to be not fully safe. Although website URLs will be hardly known by external users, there is a slight chance that they become available as a result of some user actions. Besides, sharing links generation is not super fast and might make a sync process slower. That is why the feature to switch off sharing urls is introduced
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If checked, all DropBox urls in Odoo will be of type https://www.dropbox.com/home/Odoo/[PATH]. Such links will not work in quite a many cases. Thus, if you need to open DropBox files / folders from Odoo, be careful with the setting 'No links to DropBox from Odoo'
Misc notes
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The connector works on a queue (first in - first out) principle: it tries to firstly reflect the oldest changes
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Each sync, especially the very first one, might take quite a long. It is not recommended to make sync too frequent: once an hour seems reasonable frequency
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File names and content should be managed in DropBox: each backward sync would recover DropBox names, Odoo is here less important
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Try to avoid the following symbols in folders' and files' names: *, ?, ", ', :, <, >, /, +, %, !, @, \, /,. Direct sync will replace such symbols with '-'. It is done to avoid conflicts with file systems.
Odoo Enterprise Documents
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The special add-on 'Cloud Sync for Enterprise documents' is introduced to synchronize DropBox with the Odoo app 'Documents' (the latter is distributed under the Odoo Enterprise license)
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Based on that add-on the Odoo documents' hierarchy would be reflected within the folder 'Odoo / Odoo Docs'
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Each Odoo folder would have a linked DropBox folder. Take into account that folders created in the cloud storage will be synced as Odoo attachments. The key principle is: folders are managed by Odoo, files are managed by the cloud client
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All files are synced with the same logic as usual attachments. Files created in Odoo will be added to the cloud storage and will be replaced with links in Odoo. Files created in cloud storage will generate URL attachments within a paired documents directory
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Standard DropBox sync and integration with Enterprise Documents are done within the same jobs. Avoid the scenarios when a single file is synced as a simple Odoo attachment and as an Odoo document simultaneously
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Odoo spread sheet files are not synced by the connector: so, they are still manageable in Odoo
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Please do not name synced models as 'Odoo Docs'. This is the reserved name for Odoo Enterprise Documents.
Configuration and Installation Tips for DropBox Odoo Integration Odoo v.14
Python dependency
The tool depends on external libraries 'dropbox'. Install this library for your Odoo server through the command:
pip3 install dropboxConfiguration and log in
- Follow the url https://www.dropbox.com/developers/apps/create
- Choose an API as 'Scoped access'
- Choose the type of access as 'Full Dropbox'
- Select any suitable name for the app and push the button 'Create app'
- Add the redirect URI as [YOURODOOSITENAME]/dropbox_token (e.g. https://faotools.com/dropbox_token). A valid SSL certificate (https) is required
- Grant permissions to the app: 'Account Info (Read)', 'Files and folders Metadata (Write)', 'Files Content (Write)', 'Collaboration (Write)'. For team DropBox assign also 'Team Data Members', 'Members (Read)'. Make sure no other permissions are assigned.
- Submit App
- Go to Odoo general settings - DropBox
- Copy App Key, App secret, and redirect URI to the Odoo configuration page
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For team DropBoxes only
- Check the box 'DropBox Team'
- Set an email of DropBox user. Inside this user folder all Odoo related items would be created and only after that they are shared to all other users. Under this user all files and folders are created, changed, moved, and deleted
- Choose a suitable name for the root Odoo folder, e.g. 'Odoo' or 'ERP'
- Press Save
- Press 'Login and Confirm'
Create a DropBox app
Set up DropBox App: redirection URL
DropBox permissions for personal accounts
DropBox permissions for business accounts
Set up Odoo for DropBox integration
Odoo server configuration and cron job configuration
To make sure the synchronization works correctly apply proper timeouts to the Odoo configuration file: LIMIT_TIME_CPU, LIMIT_TIME_REAL, LIMIT_TIME_REAL_CRON should be more than 900 seconds.
For Odoo.sh this should not be done, since timeouts are predefined and are not configurable.
Then, timeout should be entered to your Odoo. To that goal find the section 'Settings' on the app configuration page and copy the number there.
Afterwards, it is needed to make the cron jobs suit the applied timeouts. In the debug mode go to the Settings > Technical > Automation > Scheduled Jobs:
- Set up the job 'Synchronize attachments with cloud' as (a) frequency - 2*timeout; (b) the next execution as the next hour +timeout. For example, for 900seconds timeout: frequency - as 30minutes; the next execution - at 08:15
- Set up the job 'Synchronize attachments from cloud' as (a) frequency - 2*timeout; (b) the next execution as the next hour + timeout*2. For example, for 900seconds timeout: frequency - as 30minutes; the next execution- at 08:30.
Reconnection
Reconnection might be required for the case a refresh token is expired and when you migrate the app from previous versions. In such a case:
- Press the button 'Reconnect'
- Press the button 'Login and confirm'
Bug reporting
In case you have faced any bugs or inconsistent behavior, do not hesitate to contact us. We guarantee to provide fixes within 60 days after the purchase, while even after this period we are strongly interested to improve our tools.
No phone number or credit card is required to contact us: only a short email sign up which does not take more than 30 seconds.
Please include in your request as many details as possible: screenshots, Odoo server logs, a full description of how to reproduce your problem, and so on. Usually, it takes a few business days to prepare a working plan for an issue (if a bug is confirmed) or provide you with guidelines on what should be done (otherwise).
Public features requests and module ideas (free development)
We are strongly motivated to improve our tools and would be grateful for any sort of feedback. In case your requirements are of public use and might be efficiently implemented, the team would include those in our to-do list.
Such a to-do list is processed on a regular basis and does not assume extra fees. Although we cannot promise deadlines and final design, it might be a good way to get desired features without investments and risks.
No phone number or credit card is required to contact us: only a short email sign up which does not take more than 30 seconds.
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