This article lists the messages you can see when you click an Extensions Downloader link, such as a View File field, grouped by what they're about. For each message you get the cause and what to do. Messages are quoted as they appear on screen, so you can search this page for the text you see. Text in angle brackets, such as <app ID>, stands for a value that changes.
How messages appear
When a link can't get the file, the window that opens shows a small box with the message in red text instead of downloading the file.
Some messages run over two or three lines. Authorization messages can end with a support note that's set on your Quickbase Extensions account.
When an authorization check fails, we also send an email about it to the error notification address on your Quickbase Extensions account.
If the window is blank, or shows a general error page or a long technical message, see Unexpected errors.
Limits to know
Limit | Details |
|---|---|
Files per link | One. To download several files from a record at once, use Document Portal. |
File size | There's no set limit, but the whole file is prepared on our side before your browser receives it. Very large files (several hundred MB or more) can take long enough that the download stops, and files over 2 GB can't be downloaded this way. Download very large files directly from Amazon S3, Dropbox, or Egnyte. |
Opening in the browser | Only links in the plain form with forcedownload=false open files in the browser, and only for file types the browser can show, such as PDFs and images. See forcedownload. |
File names | Names with commas or other special characters may not download correctly in some browsers. Use letters, numbers, spaces, hyphens, underscores, and periods. |
Who can open a link, and expiry | Anyone who has the link can open the file, inside or outside Quickbase, and links don't expire. See Who can open a link. |
Link parameters
These messages mean the link itself is incomplete. Compare the field's formula with Extensions Downloader parameters.
Message | Cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
ERROR: Invalid Parameters passed clientid / appid / cloud / cloudkey must be included and must have a valid value! | One of the four required parameters is missing or blank. The most common reason is a key field with no value on this record, in a formula that doesn't check for it first. An encoded (request=) link that couldn't be read also shows this message. | Check that the record's key field (for example S3 Key) has a value. In your own formulas, show the link only when the key field has a value, as the wizard's View File fields do. For an encoded link, check that everything after request= is inside Base64Encode(). |
ERROR: Invalid Cloud Parameter: Valid values are S3, DB, GD, or EG: This is what was passed in: cloud=<value> | The cloud parameter isn't a storage code the Extensions Downloader knows. | Use S3 for Amazon S3, DB for Dropbox, or EG for Egnyte. |
Authorization
These messages come from the check that your app is authorized. In them, <extension name> is the name of the tool being checked.
Message | Cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
Quickbase Application - <app ID> is not authorized to use <extension name>. There is no valid authorization record for client id: <Client ID> application id: <app ID> for <extension name> Please contact your Quickbase support representative for more information. | For this Client ID, the app named in the link isn't authorized for any Quickbase Extension that works with the Extensions Downloader. Common reasons: the clientid is wrong, the appid is typed in instead of AppID(), or the app was copied, so it has a new app ID that was never authorized. | Check clientid (see Find your Client ID, table IDs, and field IDs) and that appid uses AppID(). For a copied app, authorize it with the installation wizard (see Authorization). If it still appears, submit a technical support case. |
A message about your subscription, for example Your trial for <extension name> expired on <date>. Your application is no longer authorized to use <extension name>. | The extension's trial has ended, or the subscription was cancelled or turned off. Links stop working, but your files stay in your storage. | To keep using the extension and its links, submit a technical support case or contact your Quickbase account team. In the meantime, you can still get the files directly from Amazon S3, Dropbox, or Egnyte. |
A user token is required to execute <extension name>. We currently do not have a user token on file for your account. Please provide a valid Quickbase USER TOKEN to execute this add-on. | Your Quickbase Extensions account has no usable Quickbase user token saved. | Save a user token in the installation wizard. See Authorization. |
Quickbase Application - <app ID> is not authorized to use <extension name>. User token ending with <last 5 characters> on the client profile is invalid. Please provide the valid user token. | Quickbase rejected the user token saved on your account, for example because it was deleted or its user was deactivated. | Save a new user token in the installation wizard (see Authorization), then try the link again. If the message continues with a valid token, submit a technical support case. |
We do not have sufficient permission to execute this add-on with the user token that we have on file ending with <last 5 characters> - <details> | The user token saved on your account doesn't have enough access. | Save a user token for a user who has access to the app, in the installation wizard. If it continues, submit a technical support case. |
Unable to get authorization details. Quickbase Rate Limit Error Code : 429 | Too many requests reached Quickbase at the same time. | Wait a minute and click the link again. |
Unable to get authorization details. Quickbase Unknown Error code : 500 | Quickbase returned an error while the authorization was checked. | Try again in a few minutes. If it continues, submit a technical support case. |
A message that starts Unable to get authorization details. Quickbase Application - <app ID> is not authorized to use <extension name>. followed by details A message that starts Error occured while retrieving credentials to execute this add-on - or Error occured while retrieving user tokens - | The authorization check couldn't finish. | Try again. If it continues, submit a technical support case and include the full message. |
Amazon S3
Amazon S3 messages start with Error Code : followed by the code Amazon S3 returned, then Error Message : and Amazon's description.
Message | Cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
Error Code : NoSuchKey Error Message : The specified key does not exist. | No file with that key is in the bucket. The file was moved, renamed, or deleted, the key is wrong, or the link reads a different bucket (clouddir) than the one the file is in. Another common cause: your app keeps the folder and the file name in separate fields, and the link passes only the file name field as cloudkey. The file's key in Amazon S3 is the folder and the file name together, so a file name on its own doesn't match. | Compare the key field with the file's key in Amazon S3. Keys are case-sensitive and include any folder path. If the link has clouddir, check that it names the right bucket. If your app keeps the folder and the file name in separate fields, build cloudkey from both: the folder, then /, then the file name. For example: |
Error Code : NoSuchBucket followed by Error Message : and a description | The bucket named in clouddir, or saved on your account, doesn't exist. | Check the bucket name in clouddir. To change the bucket saved on your account, see Manage saved credentials. |
Error Code : AccessDenied followed by Error Message : and a description | The Amazon S3 credentials saved on your account aren't allowed to read the file. Amazon S3 also returns this, instead of NoSuchKey, when the key doesn't exist and the credentials can't list the bucket. | Check the key first. Then check that the IAM user's policy allows reading objects in the bucket. See Amazon S3 setup. |
Another Error Code : message, for example InvalidAccessKeyId or SignatureDoesNotMatch | The access key or secret key saved on your account is wrong, or was changed or deleted in AWS. | Save the current keys. See Manage saved credentials. |
Dropbox
Message | Cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
Unable to download file <key> from Dropbox folder - <folder> | We couldn't connect to your Dropbox account. The connection saved on your account is missing, or access was removed in Dropbox. | Connect Dropbox again in the installation wizard with Generate Refresh Token. See Dropbox setup. |
A short technical message, or a long one with technical details | Dropbox couldn't return the file. Most often the file isn't at the path in the key: it was moved, renamed, or deleted, or the link reads a different folder than the one the file is in. | Check that the key matches the file's path inside the Dropbox folder (from clouddir, or the folder saved on your account). A Dropbox file ID key (id:...) avoids problems with moved or renamed files. If the file is where the key says, see Unexpected errors. |
Egnyte
Message | Cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
The file was found but could not be downloaded. | Egnyte didn't return the file. Despite the wording, this appears whenever Egnyte refuses the request: the key doesn't match a file (wrong path or ID, or the file was moved or deleted), the Egnyte user connected to your account can't read it, or the connection has expired. | Check the key. An entry_id: key must be exactly as the extension saved it. A path key is read inside the Egnyte folder (from clouddir, or the folder saved on your account). If the key is right, connect Egnyte again in the installation wizard. See Egnyte setup. |
A short technical message about the address or host name | Egnyte isn't set up on your Quickbase Extensions account, so there's no Egnyte domain to connect to. | Connect Egnyte in the installation wizard, or use the storage your files are actually in. |
Unexpected errors
Message | Cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
A blank window, or a box with no message and no file | The file couldn't be read from storage, and no specific reason was returned. | Check the key and try again. If it continues, submit a technical support case. |
An unexpected error: a general server error page, a short technical message, or a long message with technical details | Something unexpected happened on our side or at your storage provider. With Dropbox, a file that isn't at the key's path often shows this way. | Check the key and the bucket or folder, then try again. If it continues, submit a technical support case. Say which field you clicked, on which record, and when. If you include the link, remember that it opens the file. |
Error occurred while Inserting Error Message into Error logs table : followed by details, above another message | We couldn't record the error on our side. | Look up the other message on this page; that's the actual problem. |
The browser's own download error, for example ERR_RESPONSE_HEADERS_MULTIPLE_CONTENT_DISPOSITION in Chrome | The file name contains a comma or another special character the browser can't handle. | Rename the file in your storage, or save new files with simple names (letters, numbers, spaces, hyphens, underscores, and periods). Update the key field to match. |
Frequently asked questions
Why does my link download the file instead of opening it?
Links download by default, and the wizard's View File links use the encoded form, which always downloads. To open files in the browser, build the link in the plain form with forcedownload=false (see this example). Only types the browser can show, such as PDFs and images, open; Dropbox files may still download.
Why does the link say the file can't be found?
The key doesn't match a file in the bucket or folder the link reads. Check that the key field has the file's exact key, including folder path and capitals, and that clouddir, if the link has it, names the right bucket or folder. If your app keeps the folder and the file name in separate fields, the link needs both in cloudkey: the folder, then /, then the file name. In encoded links, a key that contains & can't be read; use the plain form with URLEncode() for those keys. See Amazon S3, Dropbox, or Egnyte.
Why does the downloaded file have the wrong name?
For Amazon S3, the file name comes from the name saved with the file when an extension uploaded it. Files uploaded to S3 another way download with the key as their name, which can include the folder path. Names with commas or other special characters may also be cut short or rejected by the browser. See The downloaded file's name.
Who can open my link?
Anyone who has the link. They don't need to sign in to Quickbase or have access to the app or the record. Treat a link like the file itself, and don't put it in fields, reports, or emails that people who shouldn't get the file can see. See Who can open a link.
Does the link expire?
No. A link keeps working until the app is no longer authorized, the file or its key changes, or the storage credentials on your account change or lose access.
Why do I get an error with Dropbox?
If the message is Unable to download file <key> from Dropbox folder - <folder>, connect Dropbox again in the installation wizard. Any other Dropbox message, including short or long technical ones, usually means the file isn't at the path in the key, or the link reads a different folder. See Dropbox.
Does the link work outside Quickbase?
Yes. You can paste it into an email or open it in another browser, and it opens the file without signing in to Quickbase. Share it only with people who should get the file.
Where do I find my Client ID?
It's the Q followed by a number after clientid= in any link the installation wizard created. See Find your Client ID, table IDs, and field IDs.
Why do my links show an authorization message after my trial ended?
The links work only while your app is authorized for a Quickbase Extension that works with the Extensions Downloader. When the trial ends, the links show the subscription message instead. Your files stay in your storage. To keep using the links, submit a technical support case or contact your Quickbase account team.
Can I download large files, and why does a large file time out?
There's no set size limit, but the whole file is prepared on our side before your browser gets it, so very large files (several hundred MB or more) can take long enough that the download stops, and files over 2 GB can't be downloaded this way. Download very large files directly from Amazon S3, Dropbox, or Egnyte.
Why is the View File field empty on some records?
The wizard's View File fields for XL Docs, Exact Forms Plus, and PDF Stamper show a link only when the key field has a value. If the field is empty, no file has been saved to cloud storage for that record yet.