Storage Services

Using Your M+Box Account

Log In to Your Account

First-time Users

  1. Click Sign up for an account.
  2. Enter your uniqname in the Login ID field and your UMICH password in the password field.
  3. Click OK. You will be directed to the home screen of your new M+Box account.

Returning Users

  1. Direct your browser to box.it.umich.edu.
  2. Enter your uniqname in the Login ID field and your UMICH password in the password field.
  3. Click OK. You will be directed to your M+Box Home screen

Notes:

Logging Out

To fully logout of the system:

  1. Click My Account in the top menu bar and select Log Out. You will be directed to the M+Box Login page.
  2. To completely log out of Shibboleth and CoSign, exit your browser.

Note: If you do not exit your browser, you may still be logged in to CoSign and/or Shibboleth. On a shared computer, this may give others access to other CoSign-protected services.

Set Up & Get Started

Store & Share Files

Once you have logged into your account, you can begin to create folders and upload and share files.

Upload and Share Files

Please note:
Staff that use M+Box for university work are responsible for ensuring that sensitive information is not placed or stored in the cloud.

Manage Files and Folders

Sync Files

Box Sync is a tool that allows you to sync files from your desktop to your M+Box account. Box Sync is intended to be used for folders containing files actively in use. We recommend that you only sync folders that you will need to access when you do not have access to the Internet.

You will see Box Sync as an option under the Mobile and Sync tab in Account Settings. Follow these steps to get started:

  1. Download the Box Sync Desktop Client for a supported operating system.
  2. Run the Box Sync Installation wizard to install Box Sync on your computer.
  3. Follow the prompts in the wizard. When prompted for your login information, enter your U-M email address (uniqname@umich.edu) in the Email field and select Use my company's single sign-on credentials.
  4. Once the install is complete, drag and drop files into the My Box Files folder to automatically sync them with your Box account.
  5. From your M+Box account, right click on any folder and select Sync Folder to sync with your desktop.

More on using Box Sync...

Add to CTools

M+Box can be added to any CTools course or project site. Though users see Box in a CTools window, the cloud-based storage is external. You can add M+Box to a course or project site while the site is being created or once it has been established.

To add M+Box to a site has already been created:

  1. Navigate to the CTools site to which you would like to add M+Box.
  2. Click the Site Info tool along the left menubar.
  3. Click Edit Tools along the top of the window.
  4. In the list that opens, add a checkmark next to the M+Box tool.
  5. Click Continue.
  6. Click Finish.
  7. Refresh your browser window. M+Box will appear in the left-hand menubar
  8. Click the new link to open M+Box in the main window.
  9. Click Open M+Box to view your personal Box account in the CTools window.

To add M+Box while you are creating a site, follow steps 4-6 when choosing new tools for your site.

Integrate with Editing

Microsoft Programs

Box for Office is a free add-on that helps bring M+Box to your Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files. Easily open, edit, save, and share using M+Box from within Office programs.



Google Apps

Google Docs integration makes it easy to edit Google docs and spreadsheets right from M+Box. More information on Box and Google Docs

Box Edit

Box Edit makes it easy to create and edit content directly on Box using the native applications installed on your computer. If you can edit it on your desktop, you can edit it on Box. A Box Edit install is automatically triggered by clicking the Edit button when previewing a file. More information on Box Edit

Mobile Devices & M+Box

You can also access and manage your M+Box account from a mobile device. More on using Box with mobile.

Note: When logging into a mobile app, use the More Login Options and enter your U-M email address — you'll go directly to the U-M Weblogin page to log into M+Box.

Apps

Apps connect your M+Box data with other applications and services. While all Box apps are available from your M+Box account, U-M has evaluated the following list of Core Apps.

U-M Core Apps

Installing Apps

For instructions on installing an app, please the the Box Apps Overview and FAQ. Please note that system administrator level access is required to install some apps.

App Security

The ITS Standard on Sensitve Regulated Data provides information on the data types that may be used with M+Box core apps. Non-core apps should not be used for any type of regulated sensitive data.

App Passwords

Some apps will require an "external password". This means that the app does not support single sign-on and will require an additional password when accessed.

To create an external password:

  1. Log into your M+Box account.
  2. In the top navigation area, select the Gear icon next to your name, then Account Settings.
  3. On the Account tab under Create External Password, enter a new password in the New Password field and Confirm Password field. Ensure that the password meets the maximum strength requirement.
  4. Click Save
  5. Your external password has now been set and may be used to log into apps.

Information for Faculty

Using M+Box for Classes

Diagram displaying multi-folder structure with shared folders for class materials and private folders for individual students [+] Click to zoom

M+Box can be used to store and share class materials, even across multiple sections.

The diagram to the right shows a class with several sections, with each section having several students. Some materials are available to all students, while other materials can only be accessed by certain students.

Students could put group work into the All Student folder and allow others to collaborate and comment on it, whereas the Individual Student folder could be used for the student to upload private work to be seen only by instructors.

To create this structure within M+Box, the instructor should:

  1. Create a top-level Class folder that is not shared.
  2. Create additional folders within the master, with the following permissions:
    • Course Materials (shared folder)
    • Reading Materials (shared folder)
    • Student (private folder)
    • Individual Student (private folder within the Student folder)
    • All Students (shared folder within the Student folder)

For more information, please see: Using Box Online Storage at the University of Michigan.

Information for Researchers

Using M+Box for Research

Diagram displaying multi-folder structure with shared materials, action items and institution folders [+] Click to zoom

One of the key benefits of M+Box is that it allows collaboration with members of other university and institutions.

You can grant permissions to folders and files to members of other institutions, without giving permission to all folders or even all the files in a particular folder. You can then use the Discussion feature to facilitate feedback and comments on any topic in any of your folders.

The diagram to the right shows a research project between multiple institutions. Materials can be divided by topic, institution, or action needed.

For more information, please see: Using Box Online Storage at the University of Michigan.