Box is a secure, cloud-based storage and collaboration service that allows customers to upload, download, and share multiple file types. Box is compatible with most Macintosh and Windows personal computers, smartphones, and tablets, enabling customers to collaborate anywhere and anytime.
Box allows customers to:
Most common file types can be shared, edited, and previewed with Box.
Box requires the latest release of one of the following browsers: IE 11, Microsoft Edge, Safari 6 and above for mobile browsers, Safari (the two latest released versions on Mac OS X--not for Windows), Firefox (the two latest released versions), Chrome (the two latest released versions)
Operating Systems: Windows 7 (32- and 64-bit), Windows 10 64-bit, Android (all versions within the last three years), OS X (the two latest versions), IOS (the two latest versions), Chrome (visit the Chrome Web Store to download the application).
Box requires the latest releases of Flash and Java (The Division of Information Technology encourages caution when using the latest Java release due to noted browser functionality issues).
Current students, staff, faculty, and affiliates are eligible for a University of Maryland Box account.
External collaborators working with university students, faculty, and/or staff are not eligible for a University of Maryland Box account, but may use an existing non-UMD Box account or create a Box personal account for collaboration purposes.
University of Maryland (UMD) Box accounts will be automatically activated for all current students, faculty, and staff. To begin using a UMD Box account, go to the University of Maryland Box login webpage and log into the Central Authentication Service with your university credentials.
To learn more, view Request a Box Organizational Account.
Current students, faculty, and/or staff can log into the University of Maryland Box service. Prior to and during the drop/add period, students will only be able to access Box by visiting University of Maryland Box login.
Box Best Practices advise against customers using the same, previous, or existing passphrases for both a personal Box account and a UMD Box account. Using the same or similar passphrases for both accounts may result in a potential security risk when accessing personal and UMD Box accounts.
Personal and UMD Box accounts may be merged with the assistance of Box's technical support team. For more information, log into a personal or UMD Box account and visit the Box support website.
Content created by students, faculty, and staff that has been stored in a UMD Box account is the property of the content creator, unless the content has been explicitly deemed property of the University of Maryland. As such, user-owned content should be removed from the UMD Box account upon separation from the university.
Students, faculty, and staff must visit the Service Desk in person to close their Box account. Customers must bring at least one form of legal identification to close their account.
UMD Box accounts for students who are leaving the university will remain active for up to four (4) weeks after the drop/add period for the next Fall or Spring semester. If an alternate email address has been added to the UMD Box account, the account will remain active for an additional four (4) weeks beyond the drop/add period of the next Fall or Spring semester. To learn how to add an alternate email address to a Box account, view Add an Additional Email Address to UMD Box.
Students will have 30 days to transfer their account and all included files and folders to a free personal account linked to a non-University of Maryland email address. These new lite accounts will allow students to maintain their existing storage quota and upload files no larger than 250MB. Collaborations and user-owned content will be maintained through the new "lite" account, but group administration privileges and membership will be terminated.
Faculty and staff access to a University of Maryland Box account and files contained within will be terminated 30 days after separation. At that point the account is automatically set to "Inactive". The account will stay "Inactive" for 90 days after separation. At the end of the 90 days the account is automatically deleted.
NOTE: This also applies to students who are graduating from the university.
Box recently adjusted their service offerings, review the UMD Box Storage Allocations.
University of Maryland Box accounts are hosted by Box and managed by the University of Maryland's Division of Information Technology. As such, all rights and responsibilities established in the university's Policy on the Acceptable Use of Information Technology Resources apply to the University of Maryland Box Service.
The following fourteen Box-developed and supported apps are available to all customers of the University of Maryland Box service:
Hundreds of third-party apps are available through Box. However, these apps are not supported by Box's technical or contractual obligations. While the University of Maryland does not plan to block any third party apps, Box users must be aware that information accessed by a third party app may not be secure.
You can edit a Microsoft Office document with Office Online. This option gives you a full-featured Microsoft Office application with the same interface you are familiar with. It opens the document on a separate browser window and saves all your work automatically and seamlessly back to Box.
You can also edit Microsoft Office documents from Box using Box Edit. This allows you to use the version of Microsoft Office that was installed on your Windows or Macintosh computer. Box Edit is not compatible with Linux. To edit Microsoft Office documents on Linux, use the Office Online option described above.
For a more complete description review the Box for Microsoft Office integrations video.
For multiple users to edit or collaborate on a document on Box at the same time you need to use one of the following options:
The Service Desk is the point of contact for technical concerns and inquiries related to the University of Maryland Box service. You can contact the Service Desk by phone at 301-405-1500 or via email at itsupport@umd.edu.
Box is accessible through most mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets. Box can be accessed through mobile devices by installing the Box app, available for free at iOS and Android stores, or visiting Box.com through a mobile browser.
An online connection to the University of Maryland Box service remains active for up to eight (8) hours without the need for additional login. After eight hours, customers will be logged out automatically and must reenter their university credentials to access Box. When used through mobile devices, Box will not disconnect from an online connection without customers logging out. As such, customers are encouraged to log out of Box on a mobile device after completing a work session.