ARCHIVED: Ways to use an IU Box account

An IU Box account allows you to store, share, and collaborate on files. While not an exhaustive list, the examples below illustrate what you might do with Box.

• Collaborate on a project with a group
• Save photos or videos taken from your mobile device
• Save class notes taken on a tablet
• Print to IU printers while on the go
• Send someone a file too large to email
• Coordinate an event
• Distribute files to students and student groups
• Gather feedback on a project proposal
• Share files and collaborate with people outside IU
• Manage a hiring committee
• Coordinate departmental communication with students

Collaborate on a project with a group

Bring the group together by creating a collaboration folder to store the project files centrally with access via multiple devices, platforms, and applications. Use Box's commenting feature to discuss files. Comments can be directed to specific group members by typing @group member's name. Group members will always have access to the most up-to-date files in Box, and older versions can be retrieved with version control. Group members can also be assigned tasks on files to help simplify the workflow of the group.

Save photos or videos taken from your mobile device

The Box mobile application allows you to shoot and upload photos and videos directly to a designated folder. iOS users can also use Box Capture to take and save photos to their Box accounts. Once you've uploaded a file, use the Box app to share it with collaborators and add comments for discussion.

Save class notes taken on a tablet

Use Box in conjunction with note-taking apps, such as Notability, and save notes directly to Box. Notes can then be accessed and reviewed later from any device with Box access.

Print to IU printers while on the go

Open a file from Box in IUanyWare (see Set up and use IUanyWare), and print it from a mobile device. Make sure to select the appropriate printer for your campus (IUB, IUPUI, or Regional) before sending the document to print. After the document has been sent to print, you have four hours to release it from a print station before it will no longer be in the print queue.

Send someone a file too large to email

Send a Box link to the file with downloading permissions enabled. Files up to 15 GB can be stored in Box. As a best practice, when uploading to Box a file, set of files, or folders that exceed 1 GB, use the "Upload Folder" feature to streamline the upload.

Coordinate an event

Use Box's file sharing and collaboration features, such as commenting, collaborator permissions, and version control, to coordinate an event. You can distribute event materials by embedding a folder with open access on the event's website. Attendees can download the materials from the embedded folder, while staff continue to collaborate in Box to keep the materials up to date.

Distribute files to students and student groups

To distribute files to students, you can add them as collaborators to a folder, give them a link to access the folder and download files, or use the Broadcast tool in Canvas. For example, to share files that you want students to view but not download or share, add the students as Previewer collaborators or send them a preview-only link. If you want students to just be able to download a file, you can send them a download-only link. There are multiple permission levels to meet a variety of specific needs.

Gather feedback on a project proposal

Send a collaboration invite link to colleagues that allows them to invite themselves into a folder if they wish to give feedback. Set the folder properties to hide all collaborators within the folder so that the source of the feedback is visible only to the folder owner. Collaborators can then comment on files and share their thoughts more openly.

Share files and collaborate with people outside IU

You can share a Box file with people outside the IU community by sending them a link to the file. When generating the link through Box, you can set the viewers' downloading and previewing privileges. Set the access level to "People with the link", so that people who do not have an IU Box account can still preview and/or download the file. You can set a password for the link if it must remain secured.

With the proper collaborator permissions, you can also invite those outside IU to collaborate more extensively, such as editing or uploading files. They can be Box users at other institutions or create their own free accounts at box.com.

For more about both methods of sharing, see ARCHIVED: Share and collaborate on files with Box.

Manage a hiring committee

Set up a Box folder to hold all of your applicants' resumes and cover letters, and create a ranking spreadsheet. Invite hiring committee members as collaborators with editor rights and start evaluating candidates. Put your list of questions in a Box Note. Create a copy of the list for each candidate you interview, and all committee members can add their impressions of the responses in real time during the interview. After the interviews, committee members can add their rankings to the shared spreadsheet. When the hiring is complete, remove the collaborators and use the folder as an archive.

Departments should use their school's Box Organizational Account or a Box Group Account rather than using personal accounts. For more, see ARCHIVED: Types of Box accounts at IU. Send questions to boxinfo@iu.edu.

Coordinate departmental communication with students

Departments often provide forms, brochures, and similar information to students on their departmental website. Using Box Embed, departmental staff can keep those documents up to date via Box, without having to access the website directly.

Many offices maintain a direct relationship with individual students during their time at IU. For instance, a graduate student may share a number of forms or files with a department or advisor. Using Box, an office can create a space to maintain the documents of this relationship while a student is at IU, and even after the student has left the university.

Departments should use their school's Box Organizational Account or a Box Group Account rather than using personal accounts. For more, see ARCHIVED: Types of Box accounts at IU. Send questions to boxinfo@iu.edu.