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Guide to Enabling Co-Authoring in Box for Microsoft Office

End User , Overview , Article , New , Instruction , Integration , Microsoft - Office , P2

Box for Microsoft Office Co-Authoring enables real-time co-authoring on Office desktop, web, and mobile. You can simultaneously edit and collaborate on Microsoft Excel, Word, and PowerPoint files on desktop in real-time, with all changes automatically saved to your Box account. 

This complements our existing integration with Office Online, enabling you and your team to co-author Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents in Box whether they are working in Office on desktop or web — with all edits automatically saved back to Box.

Co-authoring is available for the following:

Platforms:

  • Desktop app (Box Drive and Office desktop apps)
  • Web app (Box.com and Office for the web)
  • Mobile apps (Box iOS and Android apps and Office mobile apps for iOS and Android) - coming soon

Operating Systems:

  • macOS (v11.5 and above)
  • Windows operating system (10 and above)
  • iOS & Android (coming soon)

Note:
Box’s general support policy for operating systems and browsers apply for this feature.

Office subscriptions:

  • Office 365 Enterprise K1
  • Office 365 Enterprise E1
  • Office 365 Enterprise E3
  • Office 365 Enterprise E5
  • Office 365 Government G3
  • Office 365 Government G5
  • Microsoft 365 Business Standard
  • Microsoft 365 Business Premium
  • Microsoft 365 Apps for Business
  • Microsoft 365 Apps for Enterprise

Not all Office subscriptions are compatible with the Microsoft desktop app. For details, refer to your Microsoft license.

Box supports GCC, GCC High, and DoD Government Cloud environments.

  • Windows
  • Mac
    • Current channel minimum version: 16.60.410.0
    • Monthly channel minimum version: n/a
    • Semi-Annual channel minimum version: n/a

Perpetual licenses (e.g., Office 2016, 2019 etc.) not supported.

Applications:

  • Microsoft Word
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
Note:
If you plan to use Intune, check also Box as a Managed Place in Microsoft Intune, MDM, and MAM.

Technical Prerequisites:

  • Supported Office update channel(s)
    • Microsoft’s Current Channel, Monthly Enterprise Channel, and Semi-Annual for Office 365 updates (latest releases)
  • If using Box Drive (not required), v2.26 or above
  • If using Mac devices and Box Drive, Mac OS 11.5 or above

Feature Enablement

For Box admins:

On Windows

To enable your Box account holders to add Box as a Place in Microsoft:

  1. Send the URL ms-office-storage-host:asp|d|TP_BOX_2|o|0|a|Web to your Box account holders. This URL works only on Microsoft Windows.
  2. Instruct recipients who use Microsoft Windows to cut and paste the URL into their browsers.

For Box users:

To start coauthoring, add Box as an online storage location from within the Microsoft Office desktop app. Follow these steps for your specific operating system.

On Windows

  1. From Microsoft Word / Excel / PowerPoint, click on File menu option.
  2. On the left navigation pane, click Open
  3. Click on Add a Place
  4. Select Box

Windows Office Word Open Box.png

  1. Select Single Sign-On (SSO)

Windows Gif - CoAuth Enablement-122 (dragged).png

  1. Sign in with your Box credentials

On Mac

  1. From Microsoft Word / Excel / PowerPoint, click File -> New from Template
  2. On the left navigation pane, click Open
  3. Click Manage Storage Accounts
  4. Select Box

Mac Gif - CoAuth Enablement 3-113 (dragged).png

  1. Select Single Sign-On (SSO)

Mac Gif - CoAuth Enablement 3-133 (dragged).png

  1. Sign in with your Box credentials

 

Support

For additional help or support related questions, visit the following support page: Support for Box for Microsoft Office Coauthoring – Box Support

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