The Box for iOS mobile applications give you the power and simplicity of Box on your iPhone or iPad. Create, view, edit, and share content on the go, all from your mobile device.
Note: Box for iOS does not support the editing of Google Docs, Google Sheets, or Google Slides files.
This article contains the following sections:
- Adding Files and Folders
- Copy, Move, or Delete Files and Folders
- Recents
- Saving Files for Offline Access
- Box Notes
- Classification labels
Adding files and folders
To add files from your iOS device to Box:
- Open the Box iOS app
- Navigate to the folder to which you'd like to add your files. If you'd like to create a new folder or add files to the root level of your account, remain on the All Files screen.
- Tap the + icon in the bottom-right corner.
Choose how you'd like to add files:
- Create New Folder: Create a new folder within the folder you're currently viewing.
- Take Photo or Video: Use your device's camera to take a photo or take a video of up to 30 minutes of duration, and upload it directly to Box. To take videos of unlimited duration, use Capture mode.
- Scan Document: Take a photo of a document, convert it to the PDF format and add to Box.
- Record Audio: Create audio recordings and upload them to Box.
- Choose from Library: Upload a photo or video from your device's media library. Selecting this option opens your media library within the Box app. You may have to grant Box permission to access your media library.
- Create New Box Note: Create a new Box Note in the folder you are viewing.
Copying, moving, or deleting files and folders
To copy, move, or delete multiple items from your Box account using the Box for iPhone or Box for iPad app on your device:
- Navigate to the files/folders on which you want to perform the action.
- Select the items you want to move, copy, or delete by long pressing (pressing and holding) on a file/folder. Once you are in Selection Mode (after long pressing at least one file), tap other files to select them as well.
- Tap:
- Trash Items to delete the selected items
- Move or Copy to move or copy the selected items, and then select a destination folder.
Recents
The Recents section provides quick access to your recently-viewed files. This includes files recently accessed on other devices or in the Box Web application. The following files display in this section:
- Previewed files
- Files opened from a shared link
- The last 100 files that you viewed
To access the Recently Opened section, tap Recents:
Tap to filter the Recents list by:
- All Files
- Box Notes
- Files Shared With [You]
Saving files for offline access
You can save files and folders from Box to your iOS device so you can access them when your phone is not connected to a network (data or WiFi). Once you save files for offline access, when viewing them in the Offline tab, you can sort the list view by:
- Name
- Size
- Date (default)
To make a file available offline:
- Tap the ellipsis (...) next to a file/folder's name in list view or at the bottom-left when previewing a file to open the More Options menu.
- Tap Make Available Offline.
The file downloads for offline access. The job manager displays at the top of the screen as a file downloads, revealing the progress of each download. To get more details about a specific job, tap Job Manager.
There are several icons that indicate the offline status of a file or folder:
A yellow circle with curved arrows on a file icon means the file is being downloaded.
A red circle with curved arrow means that the file is being synchronized.
A green circle with a check mark on a file icon means the file has been downloaded and is available for offline access.
See Using the Status-and-Transfers Icon for additional details.
Exceptions:
- If you do not have sufficient storage space on your device, you will not be able to save the content for offline use.
- Box Notes cannot be saved for offline use.
- When offline, you cannot edit files in third-party applications that need internet access in order to run.
Note: Moving a file into a marked-for-offline folder
When you make a folder available offline and then move a file into that folder, the file downloads when you next launch the app. To see the file listed as being available offline, go to the offline tab and tap to update the marked-for-offline folder.
Box Notes
Create and edit Box Notes directly from the app. See Box Notes in Box for iOS for more information and details.
Classification labels
If your enterprise uses Box Shield and you view or preview a file or folder, Box displays a label showing the content's security classification.
Finally, you can view files that have been annotated, and also view comments and notifications associated with those annotations. This accelerates the review and decision-making process by unifying feedback across desktop, Web, and mobile Box apps.