How do I copy, save and return a file in a server side plugin action?

johndurso · 2024-10-25T02:52:52.443Z

My use case:
My users upload a template xlsx file and the app is meant to populate its columns with data. This template is meant to be used over and over, so instead of editing it directly I want to create a copy of the file, edit that file, save, and return it.

I’m using exceljs and I can create a copy of the file easily enough:

const newWB = new ExcelJS.Workbook();
const worksheet = newWB.addWorksheet();
worksheet.model = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(originalWorksheet.model));

However, I have no idea how to return this or save. If I use newWB.xlsx.writeFile("Schedule_Filled.xlsx") I get an error, and I wouldn’t know how to retrieve the file anyway.

I thought I found the answer in this thread but it looks like the endpoint is no longer around:

Native File Operations in Server Actions Plugin builders

Motivation When processing data in a Server Action you will inevitably want to either read or write files within the Bubble service. In this short article I will explain how to use thecontext.request function to read and write files in a Server Action. Background As noted in the documentation, within an application, files are saved to an application specific flat store on an Amazon S3 instance. Bubble’s choice in file storage architecture is affordable, and scales well. However, file operations…

I couldn’t find anything similar in the docs.

How do I save this new file and return it?

edony · 2025-03-14T11:50:09.049Z

Hi,

Check out our plugin—I think it will help in your case. It accepts XLS/XLSX files and converts them to CSV. Then, in Bubble, you can very easily upload the CSV file since it’s a native feature.

PLUGIN PAGE: Excel (XLS) to CSV Converter Plugin | Bubble

EDITOR: plugin-test-edony-dev | Bubble Editor