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Deploying the Slack Integration in your Enterprise

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How Box Integrates with Slack

Box integrates with Slack in three discrete ways:

  1. Box for Slack enables you to interact with your Box content from within Slack
  2. Box File Picker allows you to import Box files into Slack from within Slack
  3. Share with Slack enables you to send a Box shared link via Slack entirely from within Box.

 

1) Box for Slack

The Box for Slack integration gives you greater visibility and granular control into how Slack accesses and manages Box content and metadata. Essentially it enables you to access Box content from directly within the Slack clients. This integration:

  • displays file thumbnails and the file title for Box links shared in Slack
  • enables instant permissions – that is, prompts people to grant expanded permissions if not everyone in a Slack channel or group has permission in Box to view/access content.
  • enables slash commands (/box recents, /box favorites, /box search)
  • provides granular control settings for Box admins

 

2) Box File Picker

This is the Box integration within the Slack app. It enables you to use Slack to import a file from Box via the Box Content Picker. (This integration is owned by Slack, not Box.)

 

3) Share with Slack

The Share with Slack integration enables your people to send a shared link to a file or folder in Box directly to a Slack channel, group, or individual. Essentially, they can access Slack from directly within the Box Web app preview. They can do this either through: 1. selecting more options on an individual file > selecting Integrations > then Share with Slack or 2. when in the Box Web app preview of a file, directly tapping the Share with Slack icon in the sidebar. This becomes available to them after you install the integration.

 

Important

The default end-user experience only sends to Slack basic file metadata and thumbnails. As an admin you can choose to opt out of these. Generally, any content sent and viewable within the Slack interface is saved on Slack servers and follows Slack's channel permission model – not Box's file/folder permission model. You can control what content the Box for Slack app shares via Slack in your Admin Console (see below).

 

Note

To require people to store in Box all content shared via Slack, turn off native file uploads and sharing. To do this, please contact feedback@slack.com.

 

Installing the "Box for Slack" integration

You must enable this integration in two places:

  1. the Box Admin Console
  2. the Slack App directory

 

Note

This integration is only available to Box enterprise customers and users.

 

Part I: Enabling Box for Slack in the Box admin console

  1. From your Admin console, navigate to the Apps tab. Scroll down to the Individual Application Controls section and search for Slack.
  2. When the entry for Box for Slack displays, change the status to Available. 

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  1. To change additional configuration settings, hover your mouse over the Box for Slack App and click Configure.  For the best user experience, follow steps 4-6. 

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  1. To see when a file is shared in a Slack channel, in File Preview in Box, click the slider to toggle on Enable Box Activity Stream.
  2. To display a content card (file preview) of the first page of a Box file when shared, click the slider toggle on Enable File Thumbnails.
    • If you leave this toggle off, Slack displays the generic file type icon in place of a thumbnail image of the first page of the file. 
Note

Participants that join or are added to Slack channels can view that channel's previously added Box File Thumbnails as part of a Slack channel's history.

  1. To enable Slack to index and store text content from shared Box files, click the slider to toggle on Enable context indexing for Slack search. This improves search accuracy when you search within Slack.
    • If you leave this toggle off, Slack only indexes and stores the file name. 
  2. For more robust security settings, enable steps 8-9 (if applicable).

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  1. To add an additional layer of security before displaying a content card (file preview) of a Box file when shared, click the slider to toggle on Enforce additional permissions check before file display. The file preview will be available only if:
    • everyone in the channel or group are authenticated into Box; AND
    • everyone in the channel can view/access the shared file
  2. Optionally, restrict the integration to work only with specific Slack workspaces (that is, placing certain domains on an allow list). 
    1. To restrict the integration to a specific Slack organization, in the Restrict to specific Slack Enterprise Grid Org ID allowlist box, type in your organization’s Slack Enterprise Grid Org ID.  (This option is only available for Slack Enterprise Grid customers.)
    2. To restrict the integration to specific Slack workspace domains (such as acme.slack.com, acme-marketing.slack.com, and so on), in the Restrict to specific Slack workspaces allowlist box, type in the specific Slack domains.
    3. To allow any Box for Slack integration to connect to your Box enterprise, leave clear both options a) and b), above.
      • In effect. if you complete this option you connect one Box EID to one Slack enterprise organization.
      • Only people from this Slack enterprise can access your Box enterprise.
      • Only people from these Slack domains can access your Box enterprise.
      • Separate multiple domains with commas.
  3. When you’re done, click Save.

 

Part II: Enabling Box for Slack in the Slack App directory

  1. Follow Slack’s standard instructions for enabling a third-party app in Slack for your workspace
  2. Navigate to the Slack app store and search for “Box.” Then enable the integration.
  3. When you’re done, the option to add Slack becomes available to everyone for whom you’ve enabled the integration.  When just one person installs the integration in their workspace, the integration becomes available to everyone else in that workspace.
  4. Review Slack’s instructions for individual account holders to add Slack to their respective workspaces.

 

Turning on the “Share with Slack” Integration

To enable your people to send shared links to Box content via Slack without leaving their Box interface, you must turn on the Slack integration for your enterprise. To do this:

  1. From your Admin console, navigate to the Apps tab. Scroll down to the Individual Application Controls section and search for Slack.
  2. When the entry for Share with Slack displays, click Available or Added by Default.
  3. Individuals must then navigate to the Box App store and install this integration on their individual accounts.

 

Turning on “Box File Picker” in Slack

To activate this feature you should activate “Share with Slack” and also enable “Box File Picker” app from the Slack app directory.

 

 

 

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