U of I Box is a user-friendly way to collaborate without compromising on security.
Upload and share documents in the cloud with anyone.
This service is available at no cost to current students, staff, and faculty.
Please review the approved data types and acceptable use agreements.
Signing up and choosing access methods
You should use your Illinois.edu email address to sign up through box.illinois.edu in order to receive the unlimited storage access available to the University.
After you have an account, there are five primary ways to access content in Box:
- Box Web at https://uofi.app.box.com, which you can use from any device.
- Box Drive, which lets you interact with cloud-stored files through a folder on your computer.
- Box Mobile is available on iOS and Android devices.
- The Box API, which lets programmers interact with content stored on Box through software.
- Box Tools lets you open files directly from the web interface in your desktop software and saves changes back to Box.
Get Help with Box on Your Campus
Please contact your campus help desk to get in touch with the U of I Box support team.
Access and Organize Data in Box
Box Team Folders are shared spaces where teams can easily store their files. Files in a Team Folder belong to the team instead of an individual. Even if members leave, the files stay exactly where they are so your team can continue to share information and get work done.
Favorite Files and Folders
Want quick and easy access to the files or folders you use most? Mark these files and folders as Favorites. Items you mark as Favorites display in the Favorites section of the left sidebar, and also on the full Favorites page.
Box Drive for Windows and MacOS
Access your files stored in Box from your Windows Explorer or MacOS Finder and changes are automatically saved to the cloud. You can select files that should be saved for offline access.
Box Notes is an easy-to-use document creation tool that functions natively in Box and also as a separate, downloadable application for your desktop.
With Box Notes, you can quickly take notes, share ideas and collaborate in real-time with your team – all without leaving Box.
Box and FERPA
Information stored on the Box servers is considered FERPA compliant. (If you synchronize any FERPA-sensitive material to other computers, that assessment could change based on that computer's security. See the Illini Secure Institutional Data Standard for more information.)
Deciding How to Share in Box
Shared Links let others view content stored in Box from a web browser, whether the recipient has a Box account or not. Shared links include the Box framework around the file, to allow permission-appropriate navigation.
Direct links: If you want to embed images or files from Box into web pages, you'll want to use a direct link. For an example of how to do this with a campus web hosting system, see:
Collaboration Invitations let registered Box users have long-term access to folders in Box via the web or Box applications on Windows, MacOS, and mobile.
Review the collaboration permissions levels and pick the right combination of access, edit, and delete permissions for each invited collaborator. We recommend Viewer Uploader for inviting users to upload and edit files, but restricting them from deleting anything.
Learn More Box Best Practices
Review the Best Practices category of the Box Service Blog to learn more about how to organize and secure your data stored in Box.
