# Uploading Files in Actions
## General
In order to upload files through an action, either a public URL or a URL that is available in a Flow (e.g. the output of the [CSV Helper](/connectors/helpers/csv-helper.md#writing-a-csv-file)) needs to be referenced to in a field with the key `request_binary_url`, which can be configured like this in the [UI Form Schema Renderer](/connectors/building-connectors/building-connector-actions.md#ui-form-schema-rendering):
```json
{
"request_binary_url": {
"title": "File URL where the file is fetched from",
"type": "text",
"required": false,
"info": "The file can come from a previous step of a Locoia flow or from a static location on the web"
}
}
```
{% hint style="info" %}
Only the key (`request_binary_url`) needs to be exactly as in the example, all other parameters can be set according to the action.
{% endhint %}
If that key is set and a valid URL is passed to it, the file will be converted to binary format and sent with the header value `"Content-Type": "multipart/form-data"`.
The body consists of
* `name` which is by default `file`,
* `filename` which is based on the file name in the URL or if that cannot be retrieved `file`,
* `Content-Type` which is based on the file itself, and
* the file itself in binary format
and looks like this (without the file):
```http
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="file"; filename="example-image.png".
Content-Type: image/png.
```
If the endpoint expects the file to be uploaded in that way, both the Request Body and Header Template need to be configured with `{}` only.
### Body parameters
In addition to the automatically set body key-value pair, additional ones can be sent (which is e.g. required by [HubSpot](https://developers.hubspot.com/docs/api/files/files)), by adding the parameters to the body like regular parameters. These will then be sent as `form-data` as well.
These parameters will then have the `filename` parameter, equal to the name of the Parameter. In case that is not desired or accepted by the API, the header should be set to:
```json
{
"Content-Type": "multipart/form-data"
}
```
### File meta data
The following file meta data can be used in the body or header by referencing to `binary_file.`
* `name`
* `content`
* `mime_type`
For an example usage, [see the Gmail action](#upload).
### Alternative `Content-Type` header
To use a different `Content-Type` than the standard `multipart/form-data`, the Request Body Template needs to be left empty and the Content-Type that should be used needs to be set in the Request Header Template.
If the Request Header Template is left empty, no `Content-Type` header will be sent.\
This is e.g. needed for [SharePoint file upload](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/graph/api/driveitem-put-content?view=graph-rest-1.0\&tabs=http#http-request-to-upload-a-new-file) (and other Microsoft file upload endpoints.
## Additional parameters
### `form_item_name`
Some APIs, such as [this one](https://docs.pricehubble.com/apis/exclusive/comparables/images/) require that the `name` in the body is set to something else than the default `file`, in that case `image`. This can be configured directly in the UI Form Schema, by specifying the parameter `form_item_name` with the `name` that should be sent, e.g.:
```json
{
"request_binary_url": {
...,
"form_item_name": "image"
}
}
```
### `upload`
This parameter can be set to `false` if the file should not actually be uploaded, but only be converted to binary format and then uploaded in another format. This is for example needed to [send emails with attachments with Gmail](https://developers.google.com/gmail/api/reference/rest/v1/users.messages/send), where the request body needs to be built in the request body template and then base64 encoded:
```django
{% set boundary = str(uuid(4)) %}
{% set raw = [
'Content-Type: multipart/mixed; boundary="' + boundary + '"\n',
'To: <' + to_email + '>\n',
...,
'--' + boundary + '\n',
'Content-Type: text/' + body_type + '; charset="UTF-8"\n\n',
body,
] %}
{% if binary_file != None %}
{% set raw = raw + [
'\n\n--' + boundary + '\n',
'Content-Type: ' + binary_file.mime_type + '; name="' + binary_file.name + '"\n',
'Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="' + binary_file.name + '"\n',
'Content-Transfer-Encoding: base64\n\n',
binary_file.content | base64_encode
] %}
{% endif %}
{% set raw = raw + ['\n\n--' + boundary + '--'] %}
{
"raw": "{{ raw | join | base64_encode("urlsafe") }}"
}
```
## Upload as base64 string
Some Connectors expect files as base64 strings. In order to upload files like this, the [#upload](#upload "mention") parameter needs to be used.
So the Action setup would look something like this:
{% code title="UI Form Schema" %}
```json
{
"request_binary_url": {
"title": "File URL where the file is fetched from",
"type": "text",
"required": false,
"upload": false,
"info": "The file can come from a previous step of a Locoia flow or from a static location on the web"
}
}
```
{% endcode %}
{% code title="Request Body Template" %}
```django
{
"some_field_name": "{{ binary_file.content | base64_encode }}"
}
```
{% endcode %}
## Uploading files using REST Helper
You can also upload a file using REST Helper.
1. **Specify the API URL:**
* Determine the appropriate API endpoint you want to interact with.
2. **Set Authorization Header:**
* Optional, if required by the API
* [More details](https://docs.locoia.com/connectors/building-connectors/pages/-Mg6fYnEj2YFVTXckIY_#2.-add-your-connector-auth)
3. **Select Content Type:**
* If you want to upload a file, you should select
`multipart/form-data`
4. **Set empty Body**
`{}`
5. **File to Upload**
`{{ some_pdf }}`
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