Using Box Drive Basics

 

 

Working in Finder

If you use a Mac, you can access Box Drive by opening Finder.  Refer to Modes of operation in Mac to determine whether Box Drive is operating in kernel-based or FPE mode.

To open Finder in kernel-based mode: In the sidebar, navigate to Devices > Favorites > Box.

To open Finder in File Provider Extension mode: In the sidebar, navigate to Devices > Location > Box.

Open this folder to display all of the contents of your All Files page on Box.com. You can navigate through any folder and open every file you see just as if it were a local file.  Box Drive icons tell you at a glance the status of your files and folders. 

For each file in the Box folder, Box Drive displays these standard properties:

• File name
• File size
• File type
• Date created (more information on Box timestamps)
• Date modified (more information on Box timestamps)

Box Drive icons tell you at a glance the status of your files and folders.

Tip

If you don't see the Box folder in Finder, Box Drive may not be running. In this case, if you're using Launchpad click the Box icon; if you're using Spotlight search for 'Box Drive'.

You can also right-click a file or folder to display additional Box functionality to copy or email shared links and to view the item on Box.com. In addition, you can lock or unlock files, create Box Notes, search inside a folder, refresh files or a folder to update your Box content, and mark files to be made available offline.

 

Working in Explorer

If you use Windows, you can access Box Drive by opening Explorer and navigating to the folder named Box. Open this folder to display all of the contents of your All Files page on Box.com. You can navigate through any folder and open every file you see just as if it were a local file.

For each file in the Box folder, Box Drive displays these standard properties:

• File name
• File size
• File type
• Date created (more information on Box timestamps)
• Date modified (more information on Box timestamps)

Box Drive icons tell you at a glance the status of your files and folders.

 

For supported document, video, audio and image file types, when you view files in Box Drive as Extra large icons, Large icons, Medium icons, Tiles, or Content, you will see thumbnails of file content, rather than generic file type icons. The supported file types are listed in this topic of the Box developer documentation.

Tips

If you don't see the Box folder in Finder or File Explorer, Box Drive may not be running. In this case, from your Start menu click the Box icon or search for 'Box Drive'.

You can also right-click a file or folder to display additional Box functionality to copy or email shared links and to view the item on Box.com. In addition, you can lock and unlock files, create Box Notes on folders, refresh files or a folder to update your Box content, and mark select content to make it available offline.

 

Note

If you are currently using Box Sync, it's important to uninstall Box Sync before you install Box Drive.

 

Working with Other Applications

Working with Box files in other applications such as Word or Excel is seamless. Open the file from Box Drive and work with it as you usually would. When you're done, save the file. The file automatically syncs back to Box. You can also use Save As to save the file to a new location, save the file with a new name, or create new folders to store your file. All of those changes save automatically in Box.

You can also use Save As to easily save new local files into Box Drive. To do this, select the Box location and browse to find the folder you want contain your file. 

 

Box Drive Icons and File or Folder Status

Box Drive icons tell you at a glance the status of your files and folders.  Refer to Modes of operation in Mac to determine whether Box Drive is operating in kernel-based or FPE mode.

 

Icons in Windows and Mac kernel-based mode

	Item is up-to-date in Box.
	Item is a problem item. More information on problem items and how to resolve them,
	Item is in the process of being saved to Box.
	Item has been locked.
	Item is marked for offline access.

 

Note

Any icons not included in this list are unrelated to Box Drive, and are provided by the file's parent application, not by Box Drive. An example of an icon unrelated to Box Drive is Excel Spreadsheet's macros icon.

 

Icons in Mac File Provider Extension mode

No icon	Item is up-to-date in Box.
	Item is not downloaded to the device's hard drive.  Clicking this icon downloads the item.
	Item is not saved to Box.
	Item is being downloaded to the device's hard-drive, or is being saved to Box.
	Download is in progress.
	Item is a problem item. More information on problem items and how to resolve them,
	Item is being saved to Box.
	Item is locked.
	Item is marked for offline access.

 

Modes of operation in Mac

Box Drive operates in one of two modes in macOS: kernel-based mode, or File Provider Extension mode.  Box Drive icons tell you at a glance the status of your files and folders. 

Kernel-based mode

In kernel-based mode, Box Drive is built on kernel extensions. This mode is supported on macOS 11.5 and lower.

To visually determine whether Box Drive is operating in kernel-based mode, look in the Finder sidebar.  In the Finder sidebar, the Box folder in kernel-based mode appears under both Favorites and Locations with a disk eject symbol next to the folder.

 

File Provider Extension mode

In File Provider Extension (FPE) mode, Box Drive is built on Apple's File Provider Extensions (FPE) to provide seamless access and support on M1 and Intel-based Mac devices. This mode is supported on macOS 11.5 and above.

To visually determine whether Box Drive is operating in File Provide Extension mode, look in the Finder sidebar.  In the Finder sidebar, the Box folder in FPE mode appears only under Locations.

For more information about the Box Drive File Provider Extension and how to configure it in macOS 11.5, see Using Box Drive on macOS File Provider Extension (FPE) mode.

 

 

Marking Content for Offline Use

You can also mark content in Box Drive to make it available offline. Drive downloads this content to your device's hard drive so you can work when you're not connected to the Internet. When you get back online, Drive automatically uploads the revised content, so you are always working with the most up-to-date versions of your files. More information about making content available offline.

 

Note

You cannot make G Suite files (Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides) and Box Notes available to work offline. These are all online-only formats.

 

Searching Box Drive

As with the Web, searching is the fastest way to locate your content.  You can search either through Box Drive entirely, or through a specific Box Drive folder. Searching through a specific folder can be a more efficient way to find the content you're seeking. It also gives you more granular search capabilities. 

Searching on a Mac

To begin searching on a Mac, in your menu bar, click the Box icon to open the Box Drive search interface.

• Alternatively, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Option + Cmd + Space.

Now do one of the following:

• To search throughout Box Drive, type in your search term(s). Results display as you type.
  • To display a result, double-click on it.
  • To get more information about a result, right-click on it.
• To search within a specific Box Drive folder:
  1. At the bottom left, click the Search inside a Folder icon ().  The Browse for Folder window opens.
  2. Click the folder you want.  Then click OK.
  3. Type in your search terms.  Results display as you type.

You can also search through a specific folder via Finder.  To do this, in Finder right-click on the folder you want and then click Search in this Folder.

The Box search interface opens with the folder pre-selected.  At the top of this window, in the Search Box area, type in your search term.

 

Searching on Windows

To begin searching on Windows, in your menu bar, click the Box icon to open the Box Drive search interface.

• Alternatively, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + Alt + B.

Now do one of the following:

• Search throughout Box Drive.  To do this, type in your search term(s). Results display as you type.
  • • • To display a result, double-click on it.
      • To get more information about a result, right-click on it.
• Search within a specific Box Drive folder.  To do this:
  1. 1. At the top right, click the Search inside a Folder icon ().  The Browse for Folder window opens.
     2. Click the folder you want.  Then click OK. 
     3. Type in your search terms.  Results display as you type.

You can also search through a specific folder via Windows Explorer.  To do this, in File Explorer right-click on the folder you want and then click Search in this Folder.

The Box search interface opens with the folder pre-selected.  At the top of this window, in the Search Box area, type in your search term.

 

Note

For both Windows and Mac machines, if you recently added a new file or folder to Box, it may take a few minutes to see the item in your results after the upload finishes.

 

Logging Out of Box Drive

Logging out completely removes all traces of your Drive usage from your machine and enables you to log in again as a new user. Also, when you log out, your Box Drive session ends and the login screen displays. In addition, logging out of Box Drive deletes all of the downloaded content you had marked for offline availability. This of course clears up hard disk space on your device. It also returns to an online-only state all of the content you have marked for offline availability. You will have to repeat the process of marking folders for offline availability.

To log out on a Mac:

1. Navigate to the search menu by going to the menu bar and clicking the Box icon.
   • • Alternatively, you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Option + Cmd + space.
2. Click the gear icon, and from the list that displays click Log Out.  

Box Drive prompts you with an alert about the following types of files:

• Open Files - You can save and close these files to prevent the loss of any work.
• Items Uploading - You can wait for these to upload to Box. Box Drive cancels any uploads that do not complete before you log out.
• Problem Items - These are local files or folders that cannot be synced back to Box. Logging out deletes these items. To view these items, navigate to the Search Menu, click the gear icon, and from the list that displays click Error Updating an Item....

 

To log out on Windows

1. Navigate to the search menu by going to the system tray and clicking the Box icon.
   • • Alternatively you can use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Alt + Shift + B.
2. Click the gear icon, and from the list that displays click Log Out.

Box Drive prompts you with an alert about the following types of files:

• Open Files - You can save and close these files to prevent the loss of any work.
• Items Uploading - You can wait for these to upload to Box. Box Drive cancels any uploads that do not complete before you log out.
• Problem Items - These are local files or folders that cannot be synced back to Box. Logging out deletes these items. To view these items, navigate to the Search Menu, click the gear icon, and from the list that displays click Error Updating an Item....

 

Manually Resetting Box Drive

In rare instances Box Drive fails to launch. Manually resetting Box Drive can often resolve this.

To reset Box Drive on Windows

1. Exit Box Drive (if it is running). If necessary, use Task Manager to end the Box.exe process.
2. Ascertain whether any files exist in C:\users\[USERNAME]\AppData\Local\Box\Box\unsyncedFiles. These are files that have not been uploaded to Box. If these files do exist, and if you want to keep them, copy them to any location outside of C:\users\[USERNAME]\AppData\Local\Box\Box\ (such as your desktop). Proceeding with the steps below deletes these files.

• You may need to show hidden folders to see \AppData.

Delete this folder: C:\users\[USERNAME]\AppData\Local\Box\Box.

From RegEdit, delete the registry entries under HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Box/Box to clear Box preferences.

Restart the Box Drive and follow the prompt to log back in.

If you are still having trouble, please open a support ticket.

To manually reset Box Drive on a Mac (File Provider Extension mode)

1. Quit Box Drive if it is running.
2. Open a Terminal window and run the appropriate command based on your macOS version and Box Drive version:
   macOS 11.x  and macOS 14.x with any version of Box Drive
   

   fileproviderctl domain remove -A com.box.desktop.boxfileprovider; defaults delete com.box.desktop; rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Box/Box

   
   macOS 12.x and macOS 13.x with Box Drive version 2.35 and earlier
   

   /Applications/Box.app/Contents/MacOS/fpe/streem --remove-fpe-domain-and-archive-unsynced-content Box ; defaults delete com.box.desktop; rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Box/Box

   
   macOS 12.x and macOS 13.x with Box Drive 2.36 and newer
   

   /Applications/Box.app/Contents/MacOS/fpe/streem --remove-fpe-domain-and-preserve-unsynced-content Box ; defaults delete com.box.desktop; rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Box/Box

   This command will:

   • Archive all files that are not synced (not uploaded to Box) from ~/Library/CloudStorage/Box-Box and move it to a new folder at:
     • ~/Box-Box (Archive) (macOS 11.x)

       Note

       If you already have a "~/Box-Box (Archive)" folder from a previous manual reset, the folder will be named "~/Box-Box (Archive) 2", or if that name is already taken, "~/Box-Box (Archive) 3", and so on.

     • ~/Library/CloudStorage/Box-Box (<current day and time>) (macOS 12.x and newer)
   • Exclude from the above archive files that are “up-to-date” or synced on Box
   • Re-create the parent hierarchy of the archived files
3. Restart Box Drive and follow the prompt to log back in.

To manually reset Box Drive on a Mac (kernel-based mode)

1. Quit Box Drive if it's currently running.
2. Navigate to your ~/Library folder: In Finder, click the Go menu, press and hold the Alt (Option) key, and then click Library.
3. See if any files exist in ~/Library/Application Support/Box/Box/unsyncedFiles. These are files that have not been synced (not uploaded to Box). If these files do exist, and if you want to keep them, copy them to any location outside of ~/Library/Application Support/Box/Box/unsyncedFiles (such as your desktop) before proceeding with the steps below, which will delete these files.
4. Open a Terminal window and run the following command:

   defaults delete com.box.desktop; rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Box/Box

   This command will delete Box Drive preferences and application data

5. Restart Box Drive and follow the prompt to log back in.

Once you restart Box Drive, you can review any archived unsynced files (File Provider Extension mode) or unsynced files you moved elsewhere (kernel-based mode) and either upload them manually or delete them to free up hard drive space.

If you are still having trouble, please open a support ticket.

  

Quitting Box Drive

Exiting Box Drive does not remove any locally stored Box Files from your computer and it does not log you out. If when you exit there are changes in the midst of being saved, the next time you open Box Drive it picks up right where it left off and finishes saving these changes.

To Quit Box Drive on a Mac

1. Navigate to the search menu by going to the menu bar and clicking the Box icon.

• Alternatively, you could use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Option + Cmd + space.

Click the gear icon, and from the list that displays click Quit.

Follow the prompts to close any open files and confirm that you are quitting.

To Quit Box Drive on Windows

1. Navigate to the search menu by going to your system tray and clicking the Box icon.

• Alternatively, you could use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Alt + Shift + B.

Click the gear icon, and from the list that displays click Exit.

Follow the prompts to close any open files and confirm your exit.