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docs.getSettings

This method retrieves the meta-data for existing documents.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
doc_idinteger(required) ID for the document. The current user must have uploaded this document, or will cause an access denied error.
api_keystring(required) API key assigned to your account.
api_sigstring(optional) MD5 hash of the active request and your secret key. This is an optional security measure. See the signing documentation for more info.
session_keystring(optional) A session key for a signed in user. If this parameter is provided, your application will carry out actions on behalf of the signed in user corresponding to the session key. Otherwise, your application will carry out actions on behalf of the user account associated with the API account. See the authentication documentation for more information
my_user_idstring(optional) This parameter is intended for sites with their own user authentication system. You can create phantom Scribd accounts that correspond to your users by simply passing the unique identifier you use to identify your own user accounts to my_user_id. If you pass this parameter to an API method, the API will act as if it were executed by the phantom user corresponding to my_user_id. See the authentication documentation for more information.

Sample return XML

    <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
    <rsp stat="ok">
      <doc_id>123456</doc_id>
      <isbn>1234567890123</isbn>
      <title><![CDATA[Hemoglobin Study]]></title>
      <description><![CDATA[How's you're blood?]]></description>
      <access>public</access>
      <license>pd</license>
      <tags>blood,hemoglobin</tags>
      <page_count>17</page_count>
      <category_id>23</category_id>
      <author>Joe Sample</author>
      <publisher>Joe's Publishing Shack</publisher>
      <when_published>2012-06-19</when_published>
      <edition>1st ed.</edition>
    </rsp>

Result explanation

NameTypeDescription
doc_idinteger doc_id of the specified document.
isbnstring ISBN of the specified document, if available.
titlestring
descriptionstring
access["public", "private"]
tagscsv
license["by", "by-nc", "by-nc-nd", "by-nc-sa", "by-nd", "by-sa", "c", "pd"] See Wikipedia:Creative_Commons_License. "c" is traditional copyright. "pd" is public domain.
access_keystring Every document on Scribd has a unique, secure access key. You must know the access key of a document to embed it.
secret_passwordstring Private documents on Scribd have a secret password. You use the secret password of a private document to link to the private page of the document on Scribd. This parameter will only be present if the document is private.
thumbnail_urlURL Link to a JPG that contains a thumbnail of the document. Do not cache thumbnail URLs - they are subject to change.
link_back_urlURL (string) Scribd Qualified Publishers have the option to add links on public Scribd documents back to their own website. The link appears in an Action Badge to the right of the document. This API parameter allows you to control that link. For the parameter to be effective, you must signup and be approved for a qualified publisher account.
link_back_textstring Text displayed in the Action Badge for the link_back_url. Maximum 40 characters.
page_countinteger The number of pages in the document
download_formats["pdf", "text", "original"] Download formats available. May include zero or more of the listed values.
category_idinteger The category ID of the document. See docs.getCategories for a list of categories.
authorstring
publisherstring
when_publisheddate The date the document was originally published
editionstring

Document store

page_restriction_type["automatic" (default), "max_pages", "max_percentage", "page_range"] This parameter lets you add additional restrictions to the preview pages that Scribd shows. Scribd will do this automatically, but if you wish, you can set a maximum number of pages to show (max_pages), a maximum percentage of the pages to show (max_percentage), or an explicit page_range such as 1-3,5,8. See the parameters "max_pages", "max_percentage", and "page_range" to actually set the data.
max_pagesinteger Corresponds to the "max_pages" page_restriction_type. This is the maximum number of pages that will ever be shown in one document preview.
max_percentageinteger Corresponds to the "max_percentage" page_restriction_type. This is the maximum percentage of the document that will ever be shown in one document preview.
page_rangestring, e.g., 1-3,5,7 Corresponds to the "page_range" page_restriction_type. Any document preview will show at most a subset of these pages.
allow_search_targeting["true", "false"] Allow Scribd to vary the preview pages it shows to target users' search queries. Note that you can still control the pages Scribd shows with the page_restriction_type parameter, which overrides Scribd's search targeting algorithm. Default: "true". Setting this to "false" is NOT recommended.
obfuscate_numbers["false", "true"] Obsolete
allow_search_indexing["true", "false"] If true, major search engines will index the full text of the document which will drive targeted traffic to the document and increase sales. Note that even when true, search engines never receive a human-readable version of the text. Default: true.
pricefloat (9.99) The price at which the document will be sold.
list_pricefloat (9.99) Shown in the price box to let purchasers know how much they are saving. A value of 0.00 indicates no list price.

Error codes

401Unauthorized
500Internal Server Error. Scribd has been notified about this problem.
601Required parameter missing
611Insufficient permissions to access this document

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