U of I Box - Sharing files - custom links, non-UofI people, restrictions, etc.

You can share files in Box with people inside and outside the university. You can also use Box to share files that are larger than the campus or email list size limit. Follow the steps below to set up a shared link that anyone can open, even if they don't have a Box account.


1. Sign in to box.illinois.edu

2. Upload or locate the file you want to share

3. Hover the mouse over that file and click the "Share" button

Box share button


4. Toggle the "Share Link" option

Image of Box share window with Share Link toggle turned off. An arrow points to the toggle, which is highlighted in yellow.


5. To set a link to work for anyone inside and outside the university, with or without a Box account, change the link type to "People with the link." Technically, that's all you need to do to make a public, shared link. However, we recommend that you customize the link to be more user-friendly and set at least one privacy option.

6. To customize the link, click the blue "Link Settings" option.

Image of Link Settings with arrow


7. There are several customization options here. The first is to change the link itself to be more user-friendly and readable.

NOTE: Only letters, numbers and hyphens are allowed, and there is a character limit.

8. For privacy, you can set a password and/or you can set the link to expire automatically after a certain amount of time. You can also disallow downloading of that file, so they'll only see it in their browser.

Box shared link custom settings


9. Click "Save" to finalize your settings.

10. Now you can copy the user-friendly share link and paste it into an email!

Box custom user-friendly link


KeywordsBox, share, link, sharing, email, custom, non-university, "send file", "large file"   Doc ID75616
OwnerJoshua H.GroupAnswers @ ACES
Created2017-08-16 16:23:49Updated2023-01-12 11:02:29
SitesUI Gies College of Business, University of Illinois - College of ACES
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