Table of Contents
- What is Box?
- What features does Box offer?
- What kind of files can be shared, edited, and previewed with Box?
- What are the System Requirements for Box?
- Who is eligible for a University of Maryland Box account?
- How do I activate my University of Maryland Box account?
- How do I open a Box account for my college, department, or student group?
- How do I log into the University of Maryland Box service?
- Can I use my University passphrase for both my personal and UMD Box account?
- Can I merge my personal and UMD Box accounts?
- Do I own the content that I store in my UMD Box account?
- How do I close my University of Maryland Box account as an existing faculty/staff member or student?
- What happens to my Box account and files after leaving the University of Maryland?
- How much storage space is offered by the University's Box service?
- What are acceptable uses of the University of Maryland's Box service?
- What apps are offered through the University of Maryland's Box service?
- How can I edit Microsoft Office document from Box?
- How can multiple people edit or collaborate on a document on Box at the same time?
- Who do I contact for support with Box?
- Can Box be accessed through mobile devices?
- How long will a connection to Box remain active?
What is Box?
Box is a secure, cloud-based storage and collaboration service that allows customers to upload, download, and share multiple file types. Box is compatible with most Macintosh and Windows personal computers, smartphones, and tablets, enabling customers to collaborate anywhere and anytime.
What features does Box offer?
Box allows customers to:
- SIMPLIFY daily work with one tool for file storing, sharing, and collaboration
- SHARE content with colleagues just by sending a link
- KNOW when anyone accesses stored content
- COLLABORATE within Box to work more efficiently by assigning tasks and discussing projects without sending an email
- BE MOBILE by accessing content and sharing it from any iOS, Android, and Windows devices.
What kind of files can be shared, edited, and previewed with Box?
Most common file types can be shared, edited, and previewed with Box. To view a complete list of file types supported by the University of Maryland Box service, view What File Types are Supported by Box.
What are the System Requirements for Box?
Box requires the latest release of one of the following browsers: IE 11, Microsoft Edge, Safari 6 and above for mobile browsers, Safari (the two latest released versions on Mac OS X--not for Windows), Firefox (the two latest released versions), Chrome (the two latest released versions)
Operating Systems: Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit), Windows 10 64-bit, Android (all versions within the last three years), OS X (the two latest versions), IOS (the two latest versions), Chrome (visit the Chrome Web Store to download the application).
Box requires the latest releases of Flash and Java (The Division of Information Technology encourages caution when using the latest Java release due to noted browser functionality issues).
Who is eligible for a University of Maryland Box account?
Current students, staff, faculty, and affiliates are eligible for a University of Maryland Box account.
External collaborators working with university students, faculty, and/or staff are not eligible for a University of Maryland Box account, but may use an existing non-UMD Box account or create a Box personal account for collaboration purposes.
How do I activate my University of Maryland Box account?
University of Maryland (UMD) Box accounts will be automatically activated for all current students, faculty, and staff. To begin using a UMD Box account, go to the University of Maryland Box login webpage and log into the Central Authentication Service with your university credentials.
How do I open a Box account for my college, department, or student group?
To learn more, view Request a Box Organizational Account.
How do I log into the University of Maryland Box service?
Current students, faculty, and/or staff can log into the University of Maryland Box service. Prior to and during the drop/add period, students will only be able to access Box by visiting University of Maryland Box login.
Can I use my University passphrase for both my personal and UMD Box account?
Box Best Practices advise against customers using the same, previous, or existing passphrases for both a personal Box account and a UMD Box account. Using the same or similar passphrses for both accounts may result in a potential security risk when accessing personal and UMD Box accounts.
Can I merge my personal and UMD Box accounts?
Personal and UMD Box accounts may be merged with the assistance of Box's technical support team. For more information, log into a personal or UMD Box account and visit the Box support website.
Do I own the content that I store in my UMD Box account?
Content created by students, faculty, and staff that has been stored in a UMD Box account is the property of the content creator, unless the content has been explicitly deemed property of the University of Maryland. As such, user-owned content should be removed from the UMD Box account upon separation from the university.
How do I close my University of Maryland Box account as an existing faculty/staff member or student?
Students, faculty, and staff must visit the Service Desk in person to close their Box account. Customers must bring at least one form of legal identification to close their account.
What happens to my Box account and files after leaving the University of Maryland?
UMD Box accounts for students who are leaving the university will remain active for up to four (4) weeks after the drop/add period for the next Fall or Spring semester. If an alternate email address has been added to the UMD Box account, the account will remain active for an additional four (4) weeks beyond the drop/add period of the next Fall or Spring semester. To learn how to add an alternate email address to a Box account, view Add an Additional Email Address to UMD Box.
Students will have 30 days to transfer their account and all included files and folders to a free personal account linked to a non-University of Maryland email address. These new "lite" accounts will allow students to maintain their existing storage quota and upload files no larger than 250MB. Collaborations and user-owned content will be maintained through the new "lite" account, but group administration privileges and membership will be terminated.
Faculty and staff access to a University of Maryland Box account and files contained within will be terminated 30 days after separation. At that point the account is automatically set to "Inactive". The account will stay "Inactive" for 90 days after separation. At the end of the 90 days the account is automatically deleted.
NOTE: This also applies to students who are graduating from the university.
How much storage space is offered by the University's Box service?
Box recently adjusted their service offerings, review the UMD storage allocation for UMD Box accounts.
What are acceptable uses of the University of Maryland's Box service?
University of Maryland Box accounts are hosted by Box and managed by the University of Maryland's Division of Information Technology. As such, all rights and responsibilities established in the university's Policy on the Acceptable Use of Information Technology Resources apply to the University of Maryland Box Service.
What apps are offered through the University of Maryland's Box service?
The following fourteen Box-developed and supported apps are available to all customers of the University of Maryland Box service:
- Sync (Windows, Macintosh)
- Box for Outlook
- Box for Office
- Box for Android Devices
- Box for Android Tablet
- Box for iPad
- Box for iPhone
- Box for TouchPad
- Box for SimpleShare
- Box for E-mail
- Box for Webdocs
- Box for XML Viewer
Third Party Apps
Hundreds of third-party apps are available through Box. However, these apps are not supported by Box's technical or contractual obligations. While the University of Maryland does not plan to block any third party apps, Box users must be aware that information accessed by a third party app may not be secure.
How can I edit Microsoft Office document from Box?
You can edit a Microsoft Office document with Office Online. This option gives you a full-featured Microsoft Office application with the same interface you are familiar with. It opens the document on a separate browser window and saves all your work automatically and seamlessly back to Box. For more information on using Office Online with Box go to <insert existing links here>.
You can also edit Microsoft Office documents from Box using Box Edit. This allows you to use the version of Microsoft Office that was installed on your Windows or Macintosh computer. Box Edit is not compatible with Linux. To edit Microsoft Office documents on Linux, use the Office Online option described above.
For a more complete description review this Box and Microsoft Office support video.
How can multiple people edit or collaborate on a document on Box at the same time?
For multiple users to edit or collaborate on a document on Box at the same time you need to use one of the following options:
- Microsoft Office Online.
- Box Notes which also supports simultaneous edits from multiple users.
- Integrate Google Docs or Google Spreadsheet from Box.
Who do I contact for support with Box?
The Service Desk is the point of contact for technical concerns and inquiries related to the University of Maryland Box service. You can contact the Service Desk by phone at 301-405-1500 or via email at itsupport@umd.edu.
Can Box be accessed through mobile devices?
Box is accessible through most mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets. Box can be accessed through mobile devices by installing the Box app, available for free at iOS and Android stores, or visiting Box.com through a mobile browser. To learn how to access the University of Maryland Box service through a mobile device, view Access the UMD Box Service Through a Mobile Device.
How long will a connection to Box remain active?
An online connection to the University of Maryland Box service remains active for up to eight (8) hours without the need for additional login. After eight hours, customers will be logged out automatically and must reenter their university credentials to access Box.
When used through mobile devices, Box will not disconnect from an online connection without customers logging out. As such, customers are encouraged to log out of Box on a mobile device after completing a work session.