What can I do with a Collection?
Collections enables you to create and name private groupings of content in your Box account, where you can organize files and folders that you own or share. Although the content may be shared, your collections are not shared and are visible only to you.
Using Box Collections you can:
- intuitively organize your Box content into logical groupings of your choice,
- name these groupings to provide clear and meaningful context, and
- quickly find the content you need right now.
How do I use Collections?
To get started, navigate to your left sidebar in the Box Web App, click My Collections, and launch "Take the Tour". You can also check out the article on our community site.
How many Collections can I create?
You can create a maximum of up to 100 collections.
How many items can I add to a Collection?
You can add up to 100 items, both files and folders.
I have more than 100 items in my Favorites. What happens now that it is a Collection?
You are still able to access all the items in your Favorites. However, you cannot continue to add to Favorites if you exceed the maximum limit of 100. As a best practice, create additional Collections and move items from your Favorites into new groupings of content. After your Favorites contain fewer than 100 items, you can continue to add to Favorites.
How can I reorganize my Favorites into a personal Collection?
Here are some quick tips to get you started on reorganizing existing Favorites:
OPTION 1: Move via Drag & Drop
- Navigate to your My Collections page.
- In the upper right corner, click Create Collection. Use this feature to create an "empty state" collection that you can add content to.
The empty state collection will appear in your left sidebar and from all collection menus. - Navigate to your Favorites collection.
- Select the item row (or rows, we support multi-select) you want to move to a different collection.
- Drag and drop the row(s) over to the collection you want to move them into in the left sidebar.
You have just moved the item(s) to a new collection and removed it from Favorites!
Box displays a message confirming the move is successful.
OPTION 2: Copy or Move using the Collections Menu
- Navigate to your My Collections page.
- In the upper right corner, click Create Collection. Use this feature to create an "empty state" collection that you can add content to.
The empty state collection will appear in your left sidebar and from all collection menus. - Navigate to your Favorites collection.
- Select the item row (or rows, we support multi-select) you want to move to a different collection.
- Right-click to access the collection menu. From here, first, check the collection name you want to add this item to; this copies the item to the collection. Second, if you want to remove the item from Favorites, clear the Favorites collection. If you don't clear the Favorites collection, the item belongs to both collections.
You have just added this item to a new collection.
Box displays a message confirming the action is successful.
Can you upload items to a collection?
No, not at this time. We will consider it as a future enhancement
Can I add files and folders to a collection?
Yes, you can add files and folders to a collection. For more information on how to manage content in your Collection, see Using Collections.
Can I add shared files and folders to a collection?
Yes, you can add files and folders that have been shared with you and that you have been added to as a collaborator. You cannot yet add a file or folder that you are not collaborated into, and can only access via a shared link; this is on our road map as a future enhancement.
Can you share a collection with others?
No, collections are personal and unique to a single end user. Although the content may be shared, your collections are not shared and are visible only to you.
Can I perform folder and file actions that I normally would directly from a Collection?
Yes, you can perform actions that would not impact item location or another person's access to the item. You can open to preview or edit as well as share an item, but you cannot move the item's source location or put it in the trash from a Collection.
Can I nest items in a Collection?
No, collections are a flat structure and are meant to serve as an easy access point to a specific set of content you wish to group and organize.
Can I create a new file or folder within a collection?
No, collections are not the same as a folder. Collections serve as a centralized gateway to content that has been created and stored in multiple locations.
How do I know where the file or folder came from? What is its source location?
When viewing a Collection, the item rows indicate the source location under the item name.
When I add an item to a Collection, how do I know if it already belongs to a Collection when I am navigating through Box?
After you add files and folders to a collection, the name of the collection appears next to the names of these files and folders on affected item rows throughout your Box account.
Can I access Collections on Web, Mobile, and Desktop?
At this time, you can access Collections only on Web and Mobile.
Are Box notes supported in Collections?
Yes, you can add Box Notes directly to a Collection from the Notes App or the Web App. Additionally, if needed, you can create new Collections directly within the Notes App
Are Bookmarks supported in a Collection?
Yes, Bookmarks are supported in a Collection. Navigate to the source folder where your Bookmark URL is stored and add it to the Collection. In the future, we will add the ability to add bookmarks directly to the Collection without needing to store them in a folder.
Can I rename a Collection?
Yes, you can rename a Collection via the ellipsis button, " ... ", that you access on a Collection tile in the My Collections page, or from the Collection detail page when you navigate to the Collection.
Can I delete a Collection?
Yes, you can delete a Collection via the ellipsis button, " ... ", that you access on a Collection tile in the My Collections page, or from the Collection detail page when you navigate to the Collection. Note that when you delete the Collection, you are not deleting the source file, and other users are still able to access the content.
How are my Collections sorted?
Collections are sorted by 1) Favorites and 2) personal Collections in alphabetical order. We will consider supporting additional sort options as a future enhancement.
How are items sorted within my Collections?
In the left sidebar, Box sorts an expanded Collection alphabetically. In the details list in the right sidebar, you can either sort by Name or Last Updated, and that sort order remains after you refresh the page.
Will Collections be available on Drive?
Box is currently in the customer validation stage with this concept.
How do I learn more about using Collections on Web or Mobile?
For additional details, see
Using Collections
Using Collections for Android
Using Collections for iOS