Editing Files

Introduction

You may edit files that are stored in Box if you are the owner of the file or if the owner has given you permission to do so. (See the page on Sharing.) When you want to edit a file, you will be prompted to open the file in its native application (eg. Microsoft Word). For a demonstration, watch the video on Editing in Box.

Tufts students, faculty, and staff members have free access to the online versions of Microsoft Office software (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) through Office 365, as well as the ability to download the desktop versions of these applications on up to five computers and five mobile devices. For more information, see the Office 365 service page on AccessTufts.

One benefit of editing files in Office 365 is the ability to collaborate in real time. As shown below, Office 365 will indicate what others are contributing to the document and will save your changes as you go. The desktop versions of Office applications do not allow real-time collaboration.

Editing in Office 365

 

Editing Shared Files

Edits that are made to a shared file or folder will affect everyone who has access to it. Because multiple people on a shared file can potentially edit it at the same time, there is the possibility that someone's work can be accidentally overwritten. To avoid this, it is recommended that you lock a file before you edit it. This includes if you plan on downloading a copy of a file, editing it, and re-uploading a new version. You can also disable downloading while the file is locked. Only collaborators who have been invited as a Viewer Uploader or above to a file or a parent folder can unlock a file that you have locked.

The directions below explain different options for opening, locking, and editing files. If you lock a file, be sure to unlock it when you are done so that other people can access it after you.

1. Find the file that you’d like to edit on tufts.box.com.

2. Move your mouse over the file so that the option buttons appear.

3. Click on the More Options button.

4. Move your mouse over the Open with… button. A menu will appear.

5. Select an application to open the file. When editing a shared document in the desktop version of a Microsoft application (eg. Word, PowerPoint, Excel), it is recommended that you lock the document first so that multiple people can't edit at the same time! See the directions for Locking and Unlocking a File below.

6. Edit the document.

7. Save when you are done!

Opening a file from a file list

Locking and Unlocking a File

1. Click on the More Options button for the file.

2. Select Lock. A popup window will appear.

3. Lock duration – Specify how long you would like the document to stay locked. 

4. Disable download – Select this to prevent people from downloading the file while it is locked.

5. Click Lock. The file will remain locked for the amount of time that you specified.

6. To manually unlock the file, click on More Options and select Unlock.

1. Log in to tufts.box.com.

2. Click on a file to open it in preview mode.

3. In the top menu bar, click on the down arrow next to Open.

4. Select an application to open the file. When editing a shared document in the desktop version of a Microsoft application (eg. Word, PowerPoint, Excel), it is recommended that you lock the document first so that multiple people can't edit at the same time! See the directions for Locking and Unlocking a File below.

4. Edit the document.

6. Save when you are done!

Opening a file from preview window

 

Locking and Unlocking a File

1. In the file preview window, click on the More Options button.

2. Select Lock. A popup window will appear.

3. Lock duration – Specify how long you would like the document to stay locked. 

4. Disable download – Select this to prevent people from downloading the file while it is locked.

5. Click Lock. The file will remain locked for the amount of time that you specified.

6. To manually unlock the file, click on More Options and select Unlock.

1. Open your computer’s file manager (Finder on a Mac or Explorer on a Windows PC).

2. Select Box and navigate to the file you’d like to open.

3. Click OpenIf the file is shared with other people and you are going to select the desktop version of a Microsoft application (eg. Word, PowerPoint, Excel) it is recommended that you lock the document first so that multiple people aren’t editing the document at the same time! See the directions for Locking and Unlocking a File below.

4. Edit the document.

5. Save when you are done!

Open from Drive

 

Locking and Unlocking a File

1. In Box Drive, right-click on the file you want to edit.

2. Select Lock File. The file will remain locked until you unlock it. Keep this in mind if it is shared with other people!

3. To unlock the file, right-click on the file in Box Drive and select Unlock File.