box content with viewer permission

👋 Hi ​@ektrontek, welcome to the Box Community!

Yes, if you have viewer permission, you can open the file and download it if needed.

A viewer has read access to a folder or file. Once invited to a folder, the viewer is able to preview, download, make comments, and generate shared links. The viewer is not able to add tags, invite new collaborators, edit shared links, upload, edit files, or delete items in the folder.

To learn more about the different permission levels, please visit:

👉 Understanding Collaborator Permission Levels

Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions. 😊

When i open file icon, the file open button is disabled status. Does it mean i don’t have permission ? Thanks.  The screenshot is only example, not real one.

Hi ​@ektrontek, thanks for bringing that up! To better understand the issue and assist you further, we’ll need a bit more information. Could you please help us by answering the following:

• Is this issue occurring with all your content?
• Is the behavior consistent across multiple browsers and computers?
• Are you accessing the content via Box web app or the desktop application?
• Is your browser and OS up-to-date and currently supported?
• Is Box Tools installed and running on your machine?
  👉 You can check it using our support article here.
• Are you able to edit the file if you download it from Box.com and open it directly from your desktop?

Thank you!  We look forward to helping you get this sorted out. 😊

Thanks, there is one thing which I should verify, does the permission is determinted by file or folder? 

Hi ​@ektrontek, great question!

Permissions can be determined at both the folder and file level, depending on how the sharing is set up.

In Box, permission levels follow a “waterfall” model. Individuals have access only to the folder they are invited into and any subfolders beneath it. You can also be invited to individual files.

You can visit Understanding Folder Permissions to learn more.

Feel free to reach out to us if you have other concerns. 😊

Thanks, if end user has no permission for some file in box, when they access it, is there any message will be shown? Or they only can not view the files.

Hello ​@ektrontek, this actually depends on the permissions set by the owner, as outlined here: Understanding Collaborator Permission Levels.

For example:

• Users can only view or make changes based on the access level granted to them (e.g., view, download, upload, etc.).
• End users cannot see files they don’t have permission to access. If they weren’t granted access in the first place, the files won’t appear in their list upon logging in to Box.
• If they previously had access but the collaboration ended or the shared link expired, they’ll encounter an error such as “The file is unavailable” or “This shared file or folder link has been removed...” In such cases, the user needs to reach out to the file or folder owner to regain access.

Hope this helps! Feel free to reply if you have any other questions about file sharing. Happy to assist. 😊