Getting Started
Box cloud storage is available to all active SMU faculty, staff, and students.
Logging In
- Click the Login button above.
- At the welcome screen, click the “CONTINUE” button to log in using Single Sign-On.
- If you are currently logged into another system using Single Sign-On, you will be directed to your online storage space in Box.
- If you are not logged in to a system using Single Sign-On, login with your SMU ID and your SMU Password. You will then be directed to your online storage space in Box.
Access Your Content
You can upload content easily to Box using your web browser. Share your content with your colleagues or outside of SMU using Box's two ways of sharing. You can even access your files with your mobile device with the Box app.
Please review the File Storage guidelines for departmental files.
Resource Management
When you login to Box, you may see different icons depending on the content to which you have access. Here is a guide to identify different types of data:
- Yellow folders are owned by you, and no collaborators have been added.
- Blue folders are owned by an SMU user (you or someone else) and has been shared with collaborators. If the name of the folder begins with “SMU_”, it is likely a departmental folder.
- Grey folders are owned by users external to SMU, and have been shared with you.
- Folders with a “sync” icon have been enabled to sync with your desktop.
It’s important to note that Box uses “waterfall” permissions; this means that users can be added to subfolders without impacting the top-level permissions, but permissions granted at the top level cannot be revoked from subfolders! Please keep this in mind when sharing a folder, or requesting a departmental resource, and add only the minimum required users to your top-level folder.
You can always add additional users to your subfolders later, or create/request a new folder for your department if different permissions are needed.
Getting Help & Support
There are many ways to get help with Box. For most basic "how to" questions, we encourage all of our users to contact IT Help Desk. For additional information about Box support, please visit the Box Help pages. We also have several upcoming opportunities for Box webinars on our IT Training page.
Video Tutorial
The help you get familiar with using Box, they have created this video, "Box - 5 Skills to Get Started Fast".
Documentation and Training
Box Guides
Video Tutorials
Training
OIT accepts requests for departmental storage using Box. With Box, departments will have unlimited storage on the cloud system to collaborate and share files. These departmental folders will show up in your Box space and will be designated by a blue folder icon.
To request a departmental folder in Box, please contact the OIT Help Desk at help@smu.edu. We will need to know your department or school, the preferred name for your folder, and those individuals who will require access.
Here are some recommendations for managing your departmental folders:
- To share content, create a subfolder to your departmental directory and invite collaborators. Remember that permissions assigned to a top level folder cannot be revoked from a subfolder! So creating multiple subfolders makes it easier to protect your data.
- Inviting collaborators to your folders makes it easier to keep track of permissions, instead of sharing links to files. If you decide to share a link to a file, be very careful when using “People with the link!” This allows anyone with the link to access your content.
- If possible, use “Viewer Uploader” for the highest level permissions you assign to collaborators. This has the same rights as an Editor, with the exceptions of sync, download, and delete.
- Use “SMU_” as a prefix for your departmental folder names. This helps your team members differentiate between departmental folders, and folders shared to them by other users.
If you are a co-owner of your department's Box directory, click here for additional guidance.