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Box for Android Preview

End User , Mobile , Mobile - Android

Learn how to use preview in Box mobile app.

Table of contents

  1. Copying, moving, and deleting items
  2. Making file available offline
  3. Displaying file and folder details
  4. Image preview
  5. Viewing options
    1. View Only
    2. Hide collaborators
    3. Description
    4. Collaborators
  6. Editing files
  7. Printing files
  8. Previewing password protected files and folders
  9. Selecting preview's display mode
    1. Display modes
      1. Fit to Width - default
      2. Fit to Screen
    2. Selecting display mode
  10. Informational and error messages
    1. Informational messages
    2. Error messages
      1. Actions from the More Options menu
      2. Connection issues Preview unavailable
      3. Permission error
      4. Unable to load the previous version

Copying, moving, and deleting items

To copy or move an item, tap the ellipsis on the preview screen and select Copy/Move.

To delete an item, tap the ellipsis on the preview screen and select Delete.

Making file available offline

You can make a single file or folder available offline from preview. See Managing Content with Box for Android for more information.

Displaying file and folder details

To check the file or folder details:

  1. Navigate to the item you want to check.
  2. Open the item or use the preview mode.
  3. Tap the ellipsis (...) next to the name of the item to open the More Options menu.
  4. Select File Information.

A new screen opens, where you can see the following properties of the file or folder:

  • Name
  • Description
  • Collaborators - who has access to the file or folder
  • File extension
  • Size
  • Owner
  • Created - date and time when the file or folder was created
  • Modified - name of the person who last updated the file or folder, date and time of the last update

You can edit fields Name, Description, and Collaborators by tapping the field you want to change. After each edit, save your changes by tapping the tick on the edit screen.

Important
You can edit the Collaborators field only on iOS. This option is not available for Android users at this time.

The maximum number of symbols in the Description field is 255. If you exceed it, the following error message appears: Please reduce the number of characters. Exceeds by [x] (255 limit).

When you tap on the back arrow on an editing screen, a pop-up with a warning message appears: Are you sure you want to discard your changes? Cancel - Discard

Select one of the options to continue.

Note
You can’t save a file without a title. If you delete the name and tap the tick icon, an error message Please provide a title for the file is displayed.

Image preview

When you open an image, you can see:

  • Image name,
  • Name of the folder containing the image,
  • Number of items in the folder - 1 of [x],
  • Options - tap the image to show or hide them:
    • Share,
    • Add link,
    • Annotate,
    • Comment,
    • Add to favorites,
  • Context menu.

The menu options are:

  • Folder Gallery View
  • Make Available Offline
  • File Information
  • Rename this File
  • Move or Copy
  • Open with…
  • View Containing Folder
  • Print
  • Delete

Depending on your permissions level and Admin Settings some options can be unavailable.

Note
If the image is in an unknown folder and you accessed it from a shared link, you can only see the image name. There is also no Folder Gallery View option in the context menu.

When you swipe through the images in preview, it can take a few seconds to load, especially if the image is high quality. If the image can’t load, an error message appears: Preview unavailable. Something went wrong while loading the file. Please refresh this page and try again.

You can keep swiping to the previous or next image.

Viewing options

Your view of the file details screen can differ depending on your permissions level.

View Only

If your permissions are set to View Only, you can’t edit the Name and Description fields, you can’t see the list of collaborators, and you can’t apply any changes to the file or folder.

Hide collaborators

If you chose to hide collaborators, you can’t see with whom the file or folder is shared, who is the owner, and who was the last modifier of the file or folder.

Description

If there is no description and you don’t have the edit rights, you can’t see the description field.

If there is no description, but you have the edit rights, you see an empty description field and you can edit it.

Collaborators

If you are the owner of the file or folder and no collaborators are added, you can’t see the Collaborators field.

If you are the owner of the file or folder and one or more collaborators are added, you can see the Collaborators field and edit it.

Editing files

You can open and edit files with the appropriate application on your mobile device, provided you have that application installed (for example, to edit a PowerPoint file, you must have the Microsoft Office mobile app installed on your device).

Note
Box for Android app allows editing Office files in external mobile Office apps. All changes are automatically saved to Box. This applies only to Office files - Box for Android does not support the editing of Google Docs, Google Sheets, or Google Slides files.

To edit files:

  • Tap the file to preview it in Box.
  • Tap the Open with… icon in the top bar.

The file opens in the default application installed on your device. The default application used to open a given file type can be modified in your device's settings.

Printing files

To print a file:

  1. Locate the file you'd like to print.
  2. Preview the file.
  3. Tap the ellipsis (...) to open the More Options menu.
  4. Tap Print.
  5. Select your printer and choose the printing options.

Previewing password protected files and folders

When you want to preview a password protected file or folder, the following pop-up message appears: This [file/folder] is password protected. Enter password to preview.

Selecting preview's display mode

Note
This feature is available only for documents.

When you open a document on your mobile device, Box displays a preview of the document's contents, one page at a time.  Using your Settings tab, you can select how Box fits the displayed page to your device's screen.

Display modes

When displaying the preview of a page, Box uses one of two display modes: Fit to Width or Fit to Screen.

Fit to Width - default

When you open a document on your mobile device, Box fits the page to the width of your device's screen, enabling you to scroll up and down through the page, and scroll to the previous or next page.

 

Fit to Screen

When you open a document on your mobile device, Box fits the full page onto your device's screen, enabling you to see the entire page without scrolling, and scroll to the previous or next page.

Selecting display mode

Follow these steps to select how Box Preview fits the displayed page to the screen of your mobile device.

  1. Go to your Box account.
  2. Tap your avatar to go to the Settings page.
  3. Tap Files & Folders and then Page Display.
  4. Tap:
    • Fit to Width (default) to fit the page to the width of the screen.  Afterwards, depending on the aspect ratio of your mobile device's screen, you may need to scroll through the displayed page to see its entire contents.
    • Fit to Screen to fit the entire page onto the screen. Afterwards, you'll be able to see the entire page without scrolling.

After you select a display mode, Box uses that mode to display all previews of documents on your device until you change the mode.

Note
There are three more paging mode settings for Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Adobe PDF files.
  • Horizontal - scroll left and right, page by page.
  • Vertical by Page - scroll up and down page by page.
  • Vertical Continuous - scroll up and down continuously.

Informational and error messages

You can receive various informational and error messages while you’re previewing an item.

 

Informational messages

  • New file version: if a change to the file occurs while you’re previewing it, a pop up appears: A new version of this page is available with a clickable View option.
Note
Accessing multiple file versions is available in the Personal Pro plan and higher. Users with a Personal Free account have access only to one file version, but they still can see this message. See Accessing Version History for more information.
  • Password protected file: if a file is password protected, a prompt to provide the password is displayed: This file is password protected. Enter password to preview. [password input field]. Cancel – OK.
  • Microsoft files: 
    • Open in Microsoft Word. Start editing this document with others in real time.
    • Open in Microsoft Excel. Start editing this spreadsheet with others in real time.
    • Open in Microsoft PowerPoint. Start editing this presentation with others in real time.
    • Edit: Edit files from Box using Microsoft 365 (Office)? No, thanks – Install now.
    • Open and edit: Open and edit this file in Microsoft 365 (Office)? No – Yes.

Error messages

Actions from the More Options menu

  • Connection: 
    • Network error. Please check your connection and try again with a clickable Retry option. 
    • For image preview: No Internet connection. Please double-check your internet connection and try refreshing the page.
  • Comments not loading: Unable to load new comments. Please refresh to try again.
  • Fetching: Unable to fetch file information data. Please try again with a clickable Retry option.
  • Rename file
    • No title: Please provide a title for the file.
    • Duplicate name: File with the same name already exists. Try again.
    • Invalid characters: Filename can’t contain the characters: \ / : * ? “ < > |
  • Move/copy: Unable to [copy or move] the file(s). Please try again, with a clickable Retry option.
  • Folder: Unable to fetch the folder content. Please try again, with a clickable Retry option.
  • Print: Unable to generate a printable file. Please try again with a clickable Retry option.
  • Delete
    • Admin permission required to perform this action.
    • Unable to delete this file. Please try again with a clickable Retry option. 

Connection issues

No Internet: No Internet connection. Please double check your internet connection and try refreshing the page.

Preview unavailable

  • Unsupported format: Preview unavailable. You can try opening the file in its source app. Or, access the file by making it available offline. Additionally, there is the following pop-up message: Open in <Application name>. Open this file on your device to edit in real time with others.
  • Download error on preview, file inconsistency: Something went wrong while loading the file. Please refresh this page and try again.
  • Bad or corrupted file: There’s an issue with this file and it can’t be previewed. Try opening it with the source app or access the file (by making it available offline). Additionally, there is the following pop-up message: Open in <Application name>. Open this file on your device to edit in real time with others.
  • File encrypted by Microsoft: This file cannot be previewed, because it’s encrypted by Microsoft. You still can try opening the file in its source app. Additionally, there is the following pop-up message: Open in <Application name>. Open this file on your device to edit in real time with others.

 

Permission error

If you don’t have sufficient permissions to a file or folder, you receive an error message. When you don’t have the permissions, you can’t see the file name and details. Contact the file or folder owner to request access. 

 

Unable to load the previous version

If the preview of a previous file version doesn’t load, you receive the following message: Preview unavailable. Something went wrong when trying to load a previous version of the file. Please try again with a Retry button.

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