There are three common ways to share your Box Notes with collaborators:
- Generate a View-only Shared Link if you would like to give someone quick read-only access to the document.
- Generate an Edit Shared Link if you would like to give someone the ability to edit the Box Note.
- If you would like others to be able to edit your Box Note, you can add them as collaborators to an individual Box Note, without inviting them to the Box Note's containing folder.
To share your Box Note
Click the Share button in the upper-right. Three options will be displayed:
- Click the first option (Get Link) to see a shared link to your file. You can choose whether the recipient of the link:
- Can View (Viewer permissions)
- Can Edit (Editor permissions). Be aware that marking the link Can Edit will allow recipients to view the version history of the note.
- Use the second option (Invite people to edit) to invite collaborators to edit a single Box Note specifically. Simply enter a name or email address and click Send Invites. Invited collaborators will receive an email invitation to collaborate, just like when invited to collaborate on a folder. They will be added to the file with the access level Editor, and will only have access to the Box Note, not its containing folder. The shared Box Note will appear in the collaborator's All Files page. It can be renamed, but not moved or deleted.
- Click the third option (Manage people) to view a list of all of the collaborators in a particular Box Note. This list will include any collaborators in the containing folder as well. From here, you can add and remove collaborators, as well as manage their access levels.
Note: Box Notes will continue to inherit all folder settings regarding collaboration as well. Inviting collaborators to edit a single Box Note will not prevent collaborators at the folder level from being able to edit the Box Note as well.
Different types of Box users have the following abilities:
- Users can disable Edit Shared links in the Sharing tab of their Account Settings using the Link Viewers Can setting in the Shared Links. Choose the option "Preview the shared item only" to disable Edit Shared Links.
- Administrators can choose the default access level for shared links or disable Edit Shared Links option in the Content and Sharing tab of their Enterprise Settings. If your Admin has disabled Edit Shared Links, you will not see the Can View/Can Edit drop down.
- Anonymous Box users will not be able to edit Box Notes, even using an Edit Shared Link. Users must log into Box to edit.
- Shared links to Box Notes that have the "Require Password" option set or that are in folders that have the "Require Password" option set are not supported at this time. In this case, the Box Note will not load.
Multiple collaborators can make changes to Box Notes, simultaneously, without worrying about version control or overwritten content. Identifier icons follow each collaborator as they make changes or select text to annotate throughout the document. Identifier icons are usually a user’s profile picture, but, in the absence of profile pictures, a user’s initials are represented graphically.
Modifying Shared Links
You can also modify the view or edit options after a shared link has been sent. Simply open the Shared Link options and change the setting to Can Edit. But beware that all users who can access this link will also be able to edit. If you want to adjust permissions for different users of the same link, use Collaborator permission levels at the folder level instead.