How to Use Google Drive Hosted Files with StageNow - updated for new Gdrive link format

Ian Hatton - August 14, 2022

This blog details a method to convert a Google Drive link so that it can be used in a StageNow profile for downloading files to a Zebra device. The main advantage of this approach is that Google Drive offers 15GB of free storage which can be used to create internet-hosted staging profiles .GDrive also creates links which do not expire ( https://oit.williams.edu/announcements/you-can-put-a-time-limit-on-shar… ) unless you specify an expiry date unlike other file storage providers such as Microsoft OneDrive (which only offers 5GB free storage without a subscription)

Zip the file(s) to be staged to the device before uploading to Gdrive

In Gdrive, create a link to the file via GetLink , select ‘Anyone with the link’ and copy link

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The format for exported link is similar to this (fileID is highlighted in yellow):

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jbuDBd2t6S2PvbzE2igB4fG87yEfnEqR/view?usp=sharing

Create a Google Drive API key using the method 1 detailed here: https://bytesbin.com/skip-google-drive-virus-scan-warning-large-files/
The generic URL format for a direct file download from GDrive is as follows:

https://www.googleapis.com/drive/v3/files/FileID?alt=media&key=APIKey

where FileID= the unique file ID (varies for each file) highlighted in yellow above

APIKey= your GDrive API key obtained in previous step

6. Create a modified URL using the format above – this will allow direct download of the file linked to this fileID e.g.

Original share link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jbuDBd2t6S2PvbzE2igB4fG87yEfnEqR/view?usp=sharing

Modified share link:

https://www.googleapis.com/drive/v3/files/1jbuDBd2t6S2PvbzE2igB4fG87yEfnEqR?alt=media&key=MyOwnAPIKey

If using a StageNow profile , the modified link can be used directly in the FileMgr Source File URI field to access the file :

If using XML , the link has to be shortened in order to embed it in XML . Copy the link and paste in a URL shortener e.g. https://free-url-shortener.rb.gy/ to create a short URL e.g.

https://rb.gy/1h0kno

Copy the short URL for use as the source file in the XML as shown in the examples below:

To unzip the contents of the ZIP file e.g. for APK files, data files etc ( note that zip file contents will be unzipped to the destination folder specified in ArchiveTargetPathAndFolderName )

</characteristic>

When profile is processed the zip file will be downloaded and extracted with status message similar to the following :

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To transfer the ZIP file ‘as is’ e.g. for OS update files:

</characteristic>

For a full OSUpgrade example please refer to the associated blog post which covers this topic specifically: https://developer.zebra.com/blog/zebra-os-upgradedowngrade-gdrive-hosted-files

Ian Hatton

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11 Replies

E Emmanuel Beucher 1 year 8 months ago

Would this also work for OS upgrade or do we need to have the zip file name in the URL ?

I Ian Hatton 1 year 8 months ago

Yes - will work for OS upgrade and downgrade - the filename is not required in the URL as the Gdrive link refers to the specific file which has been shared.

L Luiz Santos 1 year 6 months ago

Thanks Ian!! Your article helped me a lot...

T Tran The Cong 10 months ago

hello, i don't know how to download files from sharepoint, my company blocks google driver

I Ian Hatton 10 months ago

This method only works with Gdrive - I have not found an equivalent method which works with Sharepoint links unfortunately

T Tran TheCong 10 months ago

Hello
Hello.

I get the error message "Query Error, Reason-FMC Download Failed!!! No Redirection supported"

Even though I used only the link in the tutorial article, the network is not blocked from accessing the Google driver link
I am using MC33 android 7

S Simone Torrisi 9 months 4 weeks ago

Hi, for a few days I have no longer been able to use gdrive with StageNow. It has always worked correctly. I attach the image of the message.

I Ian Hatton 9 months 3 weeks ago

The error being reported is due to a change Google made in the format of the direct file download link which now requires the addition of a Gdrive API key. Please refer to the related article here ( https://developer.zebra.com/blog/zebra-os-upgradedowngrade-gdrive-hosted-files ) which has the new link format and I will also update this blog in the next week or so.

S Simone Torrisi 9 months 2 weeks ago

Thanks Ian for the quick fix; we really appreciated it.

M Michael Engl 9 months 1 week ago

Since today I get the below error for downloading files which worked fine yesterday.

FileMgr

Exception, FileAction-Downnload Failed With HTTP Error Code 403

I Ian Hatton 9 months 1 week ago

I see the same thing and via a browser I get the message below. Looks like a Gdrive issue so it could be worth opening a support ticket with Google if it does not clear by itself sometime today ?

{
  "error": {
    "code": 403,
    "message": "The download quota for this file has been exceeded.",
    "errors": [
      {
        "message": "The download quota for this file has been exceeded.",
        "domain": "usageLimits",
        "reason": "downloadQuotaExceeded"
      }
    ]
  }
}