Some feedback after trying Box

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
April 26, 2025
1 reply
63 views

joel_s
New Participant

Hi!

I have tried out Box, but there are some reasons why I won’t be able to use it, so I wanted to add the feedback I have:

The files in Box can’t be searched within an explorer window, that’s a drawback if you want to use and edit files, and not use it as backup storage.
You have to bring up the Box window every time to be able to search, and for that you have to use the ctrl+shift+alt+b command, which I have connected to a shortcut (F4) on my keyboard.

- can't search within a specific folder

You always have to search the whole Box storage, so you can’t search within a certain folder it seems.

- can't search only file names

You can’t distinguish between searching for file names or search within the files (as in explorer)

- can't see matching words inside files

If you search within files in explorer, you see matching words highlighted, but in Box you just get a list of matching files.

- can't search exact phrase

In explorer you can search for exact phrase with ~=”my phrase”, but Box doesn’t have that ability it seems.

- after searching, the window closes, although you may want to open more than one file, or search further

When you open a file or folder , the window closes although you might want to open more than one file if you are searching for something.

- Opening a folder requires opening it with explorer

There is no way to open a folder in such a way that the folder is still using the Box environment, so if you double click a folder, then you are in an explorer window, so you can’t perform extra searches within that window, you have to go back to the Box window.

Compared to other cloud storage services I like one that isn’t connected to an email service (like Onedrive or Gmail) so then there is Box or Dropbox.
But I had a problem with Dropbox taking up unnecessary resources due to various services, even when you’re not using it.
Box also gives a good amount of storage in the free version.

But the problem is with the file system because it is some kind of mounted folder outside of the windows system it seems.

Jey Bueno Box
Community Manager
Forum|Forum|1 year ago
April 28, 2025

👋 Hi @joel_s, welcome to the Box Community! We appreciate you sharing this feedback to help us improve our features and services.

As we have a dedicated platform for feedback, ideas, and feature requests, I highly recommend that you share this information on Box Pulse. Our Product Team continually evaluates user feedback and needs to help shape the future of Box.

Regarding some search functionalities, you may want to consider the approach below to help navigate your Box Drive access—especially if you haven’t tried it yet:

✍ There are some unsupported Windows features as outlined here: Windows-Specific Limitations for Box Drive. Windows search tools such as Cortana or File Explorer search do not return Box Drive results, however you can use Box Drive's search tool instead.

Searching on Windows

To begin searching on Windows, in your menu bar, click the Box icon to open the Box Drive search interface.

Alternatively, use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + Alt + B.

Now do one of the following:
Search throughout Box Drive. To do this, type in your search term(s). Results display as you type.
- To display a result, double-click on it.
- To get more information about a result, right-click on it.
Search within a specific Box Drive folder. To do this:
1. At the top right, click the Search inside a Folder icon (). The Browse for Folder window opens.
2. Click the folder you want. Then click OK.
3. Type in your search terms. Results display as you type.
You can also search through a specific folder via Windows Explorer. To do this, in File Explorer right-click on the folder you want and then click Search in this Folder.

The Box search interface opens with the folder pre-selected. At the top of this window, in the Search Box area, type in your search term.

✍ Note: For both Windows and Mac machines, if you recently added a new file or folder to Box, it may take a few minutes to see the item in your results after the upload finishes.