Using File Request to get Content from Anyone

Box File Request gives you a fast and secure way to request and obtain files, plus associated metadata, from anyone.  Using an easy, drag-and-drop graphic interface, you create a Web form that enables you to:

• Securely request files from people without adding collaborators on a folder
• Gather additional information with metadata attribute fields, which you can set as required/optional
• Enable extra security and email validation with link settings
• Kick off automated workflows using Box Relay

This article explains how to use File Request to quickly build a Web form anyone can use to upload content, provide additional file information, and even start an automated workflow. 

 

 

Creating your File Request Form

It takes only moments to create a simple File Request form.  It takes a little longer if you wish also to gather a range of file details or multiple types of files (more on that later).  But even then, the process is generally simple and straightforward:

1. Identify the Box folder you wish to contain the content you collect. (You can only use folders in which you are an owner, a co-owner, or an editor.)
2. Title your form and the default “upload zone” (the area in your form into which people can drag and drop the files you want them to upload).
3. Optionally, add pre-configured fields to get more information such as an additional upload zone and file metadata (size, date created, or any other metadata attributes you wish to collect).
4. Optionally, rearrange the fields on your form to your liking.
5. Save the form.
6. Set any link security settings, including a link expiration date or whether to require that the content uploader be logged in to their Box account, and then send out the link to begin gathering content.

When people click the link, they go to a Web page displaying your form and can begin uploading content.  Box hosts this page.  

To create a basic File Request form

1. In your Box account, navigate to the folder that you want to contain the uploaded files.
2. Do one of the following:
   • In the Sharing pane on the right, under File Request, click Create Link.

   

   • Click the ellipsis (…) to display the More Options menu, and then click File Request.

 

3. The File Request window opens, displaying a link you will send to people to request their content.  If the link is not already enabled, click to move the Link is Enabled slider to the right.

4. Click Edit. The Submit Files window opens, displaying a default title and upload zone.  This is where you begin building your Web form.
5. At the top of the form, enter your title.
   • Make the title clear and unique, to help the people submitting content quickly understand what you’re asking them to provide.
   • The default title is "Submit Files,” which you can keep if you like
6. Optionally, add a sentence or two describing the content you are soliciting, and perhaps any instructions you wish to provide.

 

Notes

• The size limit on file uploads depends on the limit set by your organization, with a maximum of 32 GB for this upload method.
• People can upload up to 500 files at a time.
• You can only have one File Request per folder.
• People cannot upload folders via File Request -- only files.

 

You’ve now labeled the form and have a link, and if you wish you can send out the link now and start to receive content.  However, you can get more value from your file request by adding a range of fields your submitters can use to provide additional information both with and about the content they upload.  The information you request depends in part on how you anticipate using the content you’re collecting (for example, as part of an automated workflow, to store completed documents such as contracts for auditing purposes, and so on).

You can:

• Capture the sender’s email address (if this option is not already enabled).
• Include a description of the file or files being uploaded.
• Simplify and clarify your request by adding one or more upload zones.
• Extend the form and enhance the business value of your request by adding file metadata.

Further, you can determine whether the fields you add are required or optional, and you can re-order fields, change their names, and add descriptions. 

 

Capture the sender’s email address.

To have a record of who sent what, require your sender to log in to Box.  Box displays the email address of the sender in the Box Web app interface in lieu of the Uploader Name.   

 

Note

If this option is already enabled it means your Box Administrator already requires that all content uploaders log in to their Box accounts before submitting their files.  In this case File Request automatically captures and validates the email address of the uploader.

 

 

Include a description of the file or files being uploaded.

Box displays any description of an uploaded file in your Box interface, under the Details section of that file, in the Description field.  The people submitting content may find this useful, for example, to identify versions, original authors, provide unstructured context or background, and so on.

 

Simplify and clarify your request by adding one or more additional upload zones.

This can be very useful.  It enables you to prompt people to upload documents in separate, loosely-related batches, which you can define in the description field for each upload zone.  For example, you can create and specify one upload zone for required documents and another upload zone for optional documents.  Multiple upload zones create a clearer, friendlier experience for whoever is completing your form and submitting documents, so they can more quickly understand and provide what you want.  In turn this significantly reduces any wasteful “back-and-forth” communication you might otherwise engage in because people are uncertain or confused as to what to do, or because they ultimately do not send you all of the information you are seeking.

 

Extend the form and enhance the business value of your request by adding file metadata.

Adding metadata makes the content you receive easier to search and organize and more valuable and useful in a broader range of business processes.  It helps you gain a measure of control over all of the unstructured data you may need from external collaborators (clients, agents, customers, and so on) as well as internal collaborators (groups and teams).  Configure your form to accept a range of metadata, required or optional.  Then process the uploaded files based on pre-configured attributes such as amount, client, status, industry, and so on. 

 

Important

Metadata must already be turned on for your enterprise for you to request it.  For more information on creating and working with metadata templates, please see the Related Links section at the bottom of this article.

 

To specify the additional information and file attributes you want people to submit:

1. Create the basic form as you did, above.
2. At the bottom of the File Request window, click Add a Field. At the bottom of the screen additional boxes display.  Click any or all of these boxes to display fields people will use to enter additional information.

3. To solicit an email address, click Email address. Box displays an email address field on the form
   • You can only add this field once.
4. To prompt people to describe the file they’re sending to you, click File Description. Box displays a text entry field on the form.  People can enter descriptions up to 255 characters in length.
5. To enable people to upload their files in discrete groups, click Upload Zone. Box displays an additional upload zone into which people can drag and drop their files. 
   • Create as many upload zones as you need, though too many upload zones may be confusing.
6. To be able to organize and process on a granular basis the content you receive, or to be able to use the content you receive to kick off a range of automated workflows, click Metadata. The Select Metadata window opens, displaying a list of your organization’s pre-existing metadata templates. 

1. In the left half of the window, click the template you want. That template’s fields (that is, file attributes) display in the right half of the window.
2. Check the attributes you want.  Then click Add Fields. Box displays fields for the checked attributes on the form.
• By default, all metadata fields are required. To make any field optional, click to highlight the field you want.  Then click the ellipsis (…) to display the More Options menu, and then clear the Make a required field.
• (Optional) Add descriptions to your fields.  To do this, click to highlight the field you want.  Then click the ellipsis (…) to display the More Options menu, and then check Add a description.  Box displays a description field along with the metadata field.
• If you save this form and wish subsequently to add more fields, click the Add a Field > Metadata again to display metadata attributes you initially left off.  This enables you, for example, to clearly describe the information you're requesting, and why you want it.  You can also make the description field optional or required.

 

7. When you’re done with the form, at the top right of the screen, click Save.

 

Note

You can only use one metadata template per file request.

 

Now it’s time to preview your form, to make sure it’s true to your intentions.  You can also rearrange it and make changes, if you wish.  When you’re satisfied, configure the link security settings and then send the File Request link to whomever you want.

To preview your form

1. At the top right of the screen, click Preview. Box displays a preview of your File Request form in a new tab, just as the form will display to the people using it to send their files.
2. If the form looks good, return to the File Request window to copy the link.
3. If you wish to make changes, see below.

To rearrange your form

1. Re-display the File Request form.
2. To change the order of the form – that is, to move any field up or down – next to the field you want to move, click and hold the up/down icon (), and drag the field to the position in the form you want.

3. To add another field, at the bottom of the screen click Add a Field, as you did when you first built the form.
4. To remove a field from the form, click the ellipsis (…) to display the More Options menu, and then click Remove.

 

Note

Clicking Remove removes the field immediately.  However, if you do remove a field accidentally, it is a simple matter to re-add it.

 

You can also modify your form after it is live and in use.  To do this, navigate to the folder that includes your file request, click the ellipsis (…) to display the More Options menu, and then click File Request.  When the File Request window opens, click Edit.  Then make the changes you want and then click Save.  The link continues to work; the only difference is that from this point forward people who click the link view your revised form.

Configuring the link settings and capturing the sender’s email address

The final thing to do before sending out the form is to verify the link security settings.  To do this:

1. Toward the top right of the screen click Share.  When the File Request window displays, toward the bottom click Settings. The Settings window displays.
2. To require managed users to log into Box before submitting files, click the Require uploaders to log in to Box slider to move it to the right.
• If this box is not available, it means your Box Administrator is requiring that all content uploaders log in to their Box accounts before submitting their files. In this case File Request automatically captures and validates the email of the uploader.  Box displays their identity when you preview the file in the Box Web app, in the More Details section, under Uploader.
3. To set an expiration date for the link to you File Request form, click to move the Set a link expiration date slider to the right, and then set the date you want.
4. When you’re done, click Save.

Copy the link and send it out as you desire.

 

Important

You are not notified when someone uploads content unless you specifically request it.  To do this, go to the folder settings and check Notify me when file uploads occur in this folder.

 

Enabling and disabling a File Request link

If you want a file request to be available periodically, or for a finite amount of time, you can in essence turn it off (and back on, so you don’t have to recreate it each time you want to use it again).  This is useful, for example, if you have a deadline for people to submit bids, or if you only want to receive reports the first week of the month.  You can do this by disabling the link to your File Request form.

To disable a File Request link

1. Navigate to the folder that has the File Request link.
2. Click the ellipsis (…) to display the More Options menu,
3. Click File Request.
4. Click to move the Link is Enabled slider to the left.  
5. Close the window.

 

Embedding File Request into an existing Web page

There may be times when you prefer to embed your File Request form within a larger Web page, rather than essentially creating a new and discrete page dedicated just to gathering content.  For example, this may be because you need to place your form within a company intranet page.  In this case, you can create an embed widget out of your File Request.

To create an embed widget from your File Request

1. Navigate to the folder that has the File Request link.
2. Click the ellipsis (…) to display the More Options menu.
3. Click File Request.  The File Request window opens, displaying a link.
4. To the right of the link, click the code box (). This copies to your clipboard a snippet of HTML code.

Box creates the iFrame; you can use the copied code wherever you wish. 

More information on using Box embed widgets.

Finally, you can delete a request entirely.

To delete a File Request form

1. Navigate to the folder that has the File Request link.
2. Click the ellipsis (…) to display the More Options menu,
3. Click File Request. The File Request window opens.
4. Click Edit.  The File Request form displays.
5. At the top of the form, click the ellipsis (...).

6. From the menu that displays, click Delete.

 

Note

You can also disable and then delete the link to your File Request form.

 

File Request and Security

While there are safeguards in place to reduce the risk of malicious content, your organization may require an additional security layer that forbids “anonymous” uploads.  For these situations, either you or your Box administrator can require a Box account login for anyone submitting files through File Request.  If your administrator implements it organization-wide, then every file request form you create includes a link the file submitter must use to log in to their Box account (or sign up if they don’t already have one).  You cannot turn it off.  If your administrator does not implement this requirement, you can do so manually, each time you create a new file request.

 

In either case, File Request captures the email address associated with the submitter’s Box account and associates it with the content they upload, so you always know the identity of the person sending you files.  In this way, you can:

• Guarantee that uploads came from the right person
• Confirm that the email address entered is correct

When you delete a File Request form you cannot recover it.  If you change your mind you must rebuild it.

 

Note

If the person uploading files already has an active Box session, they do not need to re- authenticate.

 

Related Links

Introducing Box File Request

How Content Submitters View and Use File Request

Administering Box File Request

Box File Request FAQ

Introducing Box Relay

Understanding Collaborator Permission Levels

Using Metadata

Customizing Metadata Templates