How can I upload a new version of a file to a SharePoint document library using the Graph SDK?

Are you tired of manually uploading new versions of files to your SharePoint document library? Do you wish there was a more efficient way to automate this process? Well, you’re in luck! With the Graph SDK, you can programmatically upload new versions of files to your SharePoint document library with ease. In this article, we’ll show you how to do just that.

Prerequisites

Before we dive into the nitty-gritty, make sure you have the following prerequisites in place:

• A SharePoint document library
• A registered Azure AD application with the necessary permissions (more on this later)
• The Graph SDK installed in your preferred programming language (we’ll be using C# as an example)
• A basic understanding of programming concepts (no worry if you’re new to Graph SDK, we’ll guide you through it)

Step 1: Register Your Azure AD Application

If you haven’t already, register a new Azure AD application to interact with the Graph API. This is crucial for authenticating and authorizing your application to access SharePoint resources. Follow these steps:

1. Go to the Azure portal (https://portal.azure.com) and sign in with your Azure AD credentials
2. Click on “Azure Active Directory” in the navigation menu and select “App registrations” from the dropdown
3. Click “New registration” and enter a name for your application (e.g., “SharePoint File Uploader”)
4. Under “Supported account types”, select “Accounts in any organizational directory (Any Azure AD directory – Multitenant)”
5. Click “Register” to create the application
6. In the “App registrations” list, find your newly created application and click on it
7. Click “API permissions” and then “Add a permission”
8. Select “Microsoft Graph” and search for “Sites.ReadWrite.All”
9. Click “Add permission” to add the permission to your application

Make a note of the client ID and client secret for your application, as you’ll need them later.

Step 2: Install the Graph SDK

Next, install the Graph SDK for your preferred programming language. For this example, we’ll use C# and the .NET SDK. Install the following NuGet packages:

Install-Package Microsoft.Graph
Install-Package Microsoft.Graph.Core

Step 3: Authenticate and Authorize Your Application

Now, let’s write some code to authenticate and authorize your application using the client ID and client secret:

using Microsoft.Graph;
using Microsoft.Identity.Client;

// Replace with your client ID and client secret
string clientId = "your_client_id";
string clientSecret = "your_client_secret";
string tenantId = "your_tenant_id";

// Create a new instance of the ConfidentialClientApplication
var app = ConfidentialClientApplicationBuilder.Create(clientId)
    .WithClientSecret(clientSecret)
    .WithTenantId(tenantId)
    .Build();

// Get an access token for the Microsoft Graph
var tokenAcquisition = app.AcquireTokenSilentAsync(scopes: new[] { "https://graph.microsoft.com/.default" });
var accessToken = tokenAcquisition.Result.AccessToken;

// Create a new instance of the GraphClient
var graphClient = new GraphServiceClient(new DelegateAuthenticationProvider(
    async (requestMessage) =>
    {
        requestMessage.Headers.Authorization = new AuthenticationHeaderValue("Bearer", accessToken);
    }));

Step 4: Get the DriveItem ID of the File

Before you can upload a new version of a file, you need to get the DriveItem ID of the existing file. You can do this by querying the Graph API:

var fileQuery = graphClient.Sites["{siteId}"].Lists["{listId}"].Drive.Root.ItemWithPath("path/to/your/file.docx").Request();
var fileResponse = await fileQuery.GetAsync();
var fileId = fileResponse.Id;

Replace “{siteId}”, “{listId}”, and “path/to/your/file.docx” with the actual values for your SharePoint site, list, and file.

Step 5: Upload a New Version of the File

Now, let’s upload a new version of the file using the DriveItem ID:

var filePath = @"C:\path\to\your\new\file.docx";
var fileStream = new FileStream(filePath, FileMode.Open);
var uploadProperties = new DriveItemUploadProperties
{
    ODataType = null,
    AdditionalData = new Dictionary()
};

var uploadResponse = await graphClient.Sites["{siteId}"].Lists["{listId}"].Drive.Items[fileId].CreateUploadSession(uploadProperties).Request().PostAsync(uploadStream);
var uploadUrl = uploadResponse.UploadUrl;

var fileContent = new StreamContent(fileStream);
fileContent.Headers.ContentType = new MediaTypeHeaderValue("application/octet-stream");

var uploadRequest = new HttpRequestMessage(HttpMethod.Put, uploadUrl)
{
    Content = fileContent
};

var uploadResponseMessage = await httpClient.SendAsync(uploadRequest);
uploadResponseMessage.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();

Replace “{siteId}”, “{listId}”, and “C:\path\to\your\new\file.docx” with the actual values for your SharePoint site, list, and new file.

Step 6: Update the File Metadata (Optional)

If you want to update the file metadata, such as the title or author, you can do so by sending a PATCH request to the Graph API:

var fileMetadata = new {
    title = "New File Title",
    author = "New File Author"
};

var fileMetadataContent = new StringContent(JsonConvert.SerializeObject(fileMetadata), Encoding.UTF8, "application/json");

var patchRequest = new HttpRequestMessage(HttpMethod.Patch, $"https://graph.microsoft.com/v1.0/sites/{siteId}/lists/{listId}/drive/items/{fileId}")
{
    Content = fileMetadataContent
};

var patchResponseMessage = await httpClient.SendAsync(patchRequest);
patchResponseMessage.EnsureSuccessStatusCode();

Replace “{siteId}”, “{listId}”, and “{fileId}” with the actual values for your SharePoint site, list, and file.

Conclusion

And that’s it! You’ve successfully uploaded a new version of a file to your SharePoint document library using the Graph SDK. By following these steps, you can automate the process of updating files in your SharePoint library, saving you time and effort.

Keyword	Description
Graph SDK	A set of libraries for interacting with the Microsoft Graph API
Azure AD application	A registered application in Azure Active Directory for authenticating and authorizing access to SharePoint resources
DriveItem ID	A unique identifier for a file or folder in a SharePoint site
Upload session	A temporary URL for uploading a file to SharePoint using the Graph API
File metadata	Information about a file, such as its title, author, and modification date

By using the Graph SDK to upload new versions of files to your SharePoint document library, you can streamline your workflow and improve collaboration with your team. Remember to follow best practices for error handling and security when implementing this solution in your production environment.

Frequently Asked Question

Uploading a new version of a file to a SharePoint document library using the Graph SDK can be a bit tricky, but don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! Here are some frequently asked questions to help you out: