Box to SharePoint

In July 2019, we determined that Box would not support our needs and made the decision to migrate the content. For non-online content to which we need to link from our doc sites, the content is now in the Production Server. For now, Pubs Editors has to continue uploading new or revised non-online content to the Production Server.

For all other content, that customers do not need to access, we’ll be using SharePoint. Kate and I are in the process of reviewing the content in Box to see what can be eliminated and perhaps develop a better organization. I know many of you have placed content in Box for storage or to share with others in our team. To that end, in SharePoint > Global IX (a private site for IX), I created an IX Shares folder in Global IX. Inside that folder, you can create a folder with your name and then organize your content as you see fit

Here are some instructions on how to use Box. Feel free to add other instructions or update these as you come discover them.

Accessing Box

All Tech Pubs people have been provided with Box accounts. However, other groups within R&D do not have Box accounts. If you need to share files with your PCTs, see the Share files/folder section on this page.

Here's a link to the top-level of Box.

Permissions

Here are some links to Box documents that describe permissions:

• Understanding collaborator permission levels
• Understanding folder permissions

Understanding the organization of our files in Box

Files and folders were migrated from Alfresco to Box using the same folder/subfolder organization with a two exceptions:

• Most of our internal folders are within the Technical Publications folder.
• If you created a personal Alfresco site, that site is within the Alfresco Personal Folders bolder in Box.

Navigating Box

• Navigate through Box as you would Alfresco. Unlike Alfresco, you can't click the folder icon to the left of a folder name to open the folder. You have to click the folder name.
• You can configure the number of files you see on your page via your Account Settings. Go to the top right of your screen, and to the right of your initial select the drop down arrow. Then select Account Settings. On that page, you can specify the number of files to display in your page view.
• Box parlance presumes that a Collaborator is someone with a Box account.

Here is link Box documents about using favorites (to mark favorite files and folders).

Configuring some account settings

At the top right of your page, you should see your initials in a green circle. To the right of that, click the down arrow and then Account Settings. The Account Settings page includes a number of tabs. Two in particular include:

• Account:
  • Home Page: Select the page that displays as your Home page.
  • Files and Folders Per Page: Select the number of files and folders to display per page.
  • Time Zone: Change the time zone if necessary.
  • Account Details: Specifies the maximum file size to upload.
• Sharing Tab:
  • Shared Links: Specify who can view the shared links. Note that this only works for people with Box accounts. Note: People in your company are those with a Box account.
  • Emails Notifications: Configure whether to email notifications on folders you own or that you’ve joined. For example, you can specify whether to receive emails when files are uploaded or deleted from a folder.

Uploading or working with files

• Upload new files and new versions of existing files by dragging and dropping the file into the desired Box folder. You can also use the Upload button.

Important

If you are uploading a new version of an existing file, the file name must match the existing file in Box. Otherwise, it reads it as a new file.

• Like Alfresco, clicking a document link opens the most recent version of the file.
• If you added a description to your file in Alfresco, it should have been carried over to Box as the file description. If the file has a description, you will see a blue "i" enclosed a blue circle to the right of the file name.
• If your file doesn't include a description, you can add it by clicking the document name, and to the right, along the same line as Name, Updated… click Details.
  • If the Details isn't displaying, click the "Details" button (to the left of your initials on the top right) to display that section, and the Details section appears.

    

  • Under the Description field, type a description. The Description automatically saves. There is no Save button. Note that there's a 255 character limit.
• The maximum file size is 15 GB, per your Account Settings.
• Box supports tagging but we're not going to use it. At this point, Joe is unable to determine whether you can control what tags are used.

Here are some Box topics:

• Adding comments to a file
• Accessing version history and older versions
• Moving and copying files: However, DO NOT move any files from any subfolders within Genesys Public, Customer Documentation - Limited Availability, and End of Support - Customer Documentation folders. Contact Pubs Editor if you have any questions.
• Stay Organized on the Box site contains a few other training topics.

Removing a file

Right-click the file name, select More Actions and then select Trash.

Notes:

• As a result of the migration, some files were duplicated and given an slightly different name. Please compare those files and remove the file that is the duplicate.
• Once we've confirmed everything is migrated and all the folders are correct, if you are working in Genesys Public, please be careful removing a file, since there will be links to it from our docs.genesys.com site.

Creating/working with folders

• Create a folder by clicking the New drop-down to the right of the folder path towards the top of your screen and click Folder. Note that the maximum folder name length is 100 characters.
• If you have a folder and contents located on your desktop, you can drag and drop the entire thing in Box.
• Like files, you can add a description by adding to the Description field under Details. When you open a folder with a description, the description appears at the top of the page.

Here are some links to Box topics about folders:

• Folder and subfolder setting inheritance
• Understanding folder icons and colors

Sharing files/folders

You can share files or folders with anyone both within Genesys and outside Genesys using email. However, only those people with Box accounts can access a file of folder from within Box itself. Here are some links to related Box topics:

• Collaborating with Box
• Creating shared links

To share a file or folder via email with those without Box licenses

The only way for someone without a Box license to view files or folders in Box is for you to share a link to it via an email. You cannot invite them view a Box folder. The only people within R&D who have licenses are those in Tech Pubs. So, no one on your PCT other than you has licenses. As such, if you need your PCT to review a file, do the following:

1. To the right of the file or folder name name, click Share. A dialog box opens.
2. Select the type of sharing. Keep the option, "People with the link" selected.
   • If you want to protect the file with a password, at the top right, click the gear icon, click the Require Password check box, specify a password, and click Save. You will notice that you have other options here. See the Box topic Shared link settings.
3. Enter the email addresses of those with whom you want to share the file or folder, then click Send. Note: If you want to share a file/folder with a group, you can't specify an email alias name (for example, Pubs Editors), but you can enter the email address of an alias (for example pubseditors@genesys.com). Those to whom you share the link will receive an email with the link.
4. When the recipient receives the email, he or she does the following:
   • If you shared a file, the recipient clicks the View File button in the email and the document opens. The recipient can view or download the file.
   • If you shared a folder, the recipient clicks the View Folder button in the email and the files and subfolders in that folder display. The recipient can then view or download any of the files listed.

People accessing content through a shared link only have read-only access. If you need to collaborate with someone without a Box account, use the Sharepoint account that your Project Manager created for your project.

To share a file or folder via email with those with Box licenses

1. To the right of the file or folder name name, click Share. A dialog box opens.
2. Select the type of sharing, People in your company. (Note: This is misleading. It should say People in your company with Box licenses.)
   • If you want to protect the file with a password, at the top right, click the gear icon, click the Require Password check box, specify a password, and click Save. You will notice that you have other options here. See the Box topic Shared link settings.
3. In the field, enter the name of the Tech Pubs employee with whom you want to share the file or folder. If you want to share with a group using an email alias, you have to enter the actual email address (for example pubseditors@genesys.com). Those to whom you share the link will receive an email with the link.
4. When the recipient receives the email, he or she does the following:
   • If you shared a file, the recipient clicks the View File button in the email and the document opens. The recipient can view or download the file.
   • If you shared a folder, the recipient clicks the View Folder button in the email and the files and subfolders in that folder display. The recipient can then view or download any of the files liste

People accessing content through a shared link only have read-only access. If you need to collaborate with someone without a Box account, use the Sharepoint account that your Project Manager created for your project.

Adding links to the docs site for Box files

Important

As of 9/04/18, Ed is still working out the kinks about the Box mapping. So, Kate or Joe have to add the file to the Production Server and update the URL. So, writers cannot use the following steps to post a document to the docs site. Pubs Editors will let you know when you can do so and use this procedure.

Adding Box to your desktop

Box has a tool called Box Sync that enables you to work from your desktop rather than launching Box. Here are the Box topics about this:

• Installing Box Sync Box Sync
• Using Box Sync
• Marking content for Box Sync

Some basic instructions

1. Install the tool and launch it. You have the option of leveraging the SSO login.
2. Click the Settings tab and click Open Folder. You won't see any folders there until you actually sync a folder to your desktop.
3. Open Box, and go to a folder you want to sync to your desktop.
4. Right-click the folder name > select More Actions > Sync. That should sync it to your desktop. You may have to "refresh" Box Sync to see it.

Notes

• When you sync to a subfolder in Box, in Box Sync it displays the higher level folder rather than the name of the subfolder. Per Box: "If you mark a subfolder for sync, its parent folder will be marked for sync as well, meaning that the individual files in that parent folder will be synced to your desktop in addition to the marked subfolder. No unmarked subfolders contained by the parent folder will be synced."
• As of April 2018, Box released a new product called Box Drive. Installing it results in the entire Box folder tree displaying on your desktop. This is in contrast to Box Sync which only displays those folders you select. If you prefer working with Box from your desktop rather than your browser, given that most writers only work in a few folders, it makes better sense to use Box Sync. Box folks warned us that you should only have one of them on your desktop. because trying to have or use both will likely cause problems.

FAQs

• Box does not support HTML authoring and collaboration (WYSIWYG and native). You can only download an HTML file, make changes locally, and upload the updated version.
• Box does not support a preview of an HTML file.
• Box supports bookmarking folders.
• Box folder/file count:
  • For the file count, Box does not count the folders/subfolders, unlike Alfresco which did.
  • The Box folder indicator that identifies the number of files in a Box folder takes a little time to register if you add or remove files from a folder. You may have to refresh your browser for it to register the change.