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Using the Box Pack in Coda

Track, manage, and collaborate with the Box Pack in Coda.

Use the Box Pack to create a centralized system for managing files, assets, and contextual information by connecting your Box files directly into Coda.
What's covered
  • How to set up the Box Pack.
  • Why to use the Pack.
  • How to enhance your workflows via the Pack.

Step 1. Install the Box Pack

In your doc, click Insert

  • In the search bar, type “Box” and select the Box Pack.
  • Click Install to connect it to your workspace.

Authenticate your Box account

  • After installation, you’ll be prompted to sign into your Box account so that Coda can access your Box files.
  • Ensure you’re using a Box account with the correct permissions for all files/folders you wish to surface.

Add the Box Pack

Step 2. Add a table Box files

Insert a sync table or formula

  • Use Insert → Table → Files to generate a table using the Box Pack.
  • The table will populate with key fields.
  • Select which columns you’d like to sync into your doc by clicking Sync more properties.

Adding a table of files

Then configure the sync

  • In the Pack settings, choose which Box folder(s) you want to sync or bring in.
  • You can sync multiple folders by choosing to Add another sync.
  • You can adjust how you want the data to refresh and if automated, how often.

Select your folder from Box

Step 3. Enhance your tables

 Because the base data comes from Box, you now have a live view of all files with added context for your team.

Add columns

  • Create columns such as: asset status, assigned owner, use case/audience, review date.

Change how the table is displayed

  • Filter by team: filter to show only assets for a specific team to reduce noise.
  • Create a gallery or card view that shows thumbnails of files plus descriptive text (“What this is for”, “When to use”).
  • Use buttons in tables to open Box links.

4. Update folder collaborators with a button

Insert a button column

  1. Add a new column to your table.
  2. Change the column type to Button.
  3. Under Button type, choose Packs, then select the Box Pack.
  4. Select the action Update folder collaborators.

Unhide and reference the folder ID

 To target the right folder, you need the folder ID:
  1. Hover over a file card in your table.
  2. Click Folder ID and hover choose Unhide fields.

Add a button to your table.

Configure the button

  1. In the button settings, search your folder and select, or click the f, by the Folder ID and type and select the column that contains your folder ID.
  2. For the Email field, either:
    • Enter a specific address in quotes (e.g., "name@company.com"), or
    • Reference a column by using the formula builder and selecting the email column.
  3. If you're adding multiple email addresses:
    • Enter them in a single column, separated by commas.
    • Use .split(",") in the formula to convert them into a list. Example formula:thisRow.EmailColumn.split(",")
  4. Set the Role field to match your collaborator permissions:
    • "editor", "viewer", or "uploader"

Using the button builder.

5. Enhance your workflows

Use case A: Asset management.

 Let’s say your brand team utilizes Box to store essential assets such as logos, templates, and imagery. They’ve pulled in a table of assets into Coda to create a central place to find and manage assets.
Potential enhancement:
  • Add additional columns to the file table to help you manage the asset.
  • Add columns like the status of an asset, assigned owner, review date, and more.
  • Reviewers can open the file from the table, mark it “Up‑to‑date” or “Revision Needed”, and assign the next reviewer.

Add columns and filter bars.

Use case B: Team Wiki / Resource Hub.

 You are onboarding a new member and have extensive files and resources in Box, but it is unclear when to use which files, and your team needs additional context to understand when each applies.
Potential enhancement:
  • By pulling these into Coda via the Box Pack, you create a searchable hub where you can add the context needed for your team.
  • You can reference the information elsewhere in your doc, or add columns with fields like When to Use, Target Audience, Link to File, and Comments / Notes.
Team members find the right resource quickly, see context and status, and access the actual file seamlessly.

Add a column to add context to your table of files.

6. Best practices & governance

  • Permission alignment: Ensure Box access permissions match who needs to view/edit via Coda.
  • Refresh cadence: Configure the Box Pack sync to match how frequently files change (daily/weekly).
  • Metadata enrichment: Use your additional Coda columns (status, owner, purpose) to surface actionable context.

Now what?

 Start by installing the Box Pack in one doc (e.g., brand asset library) and create the table and add some columns.

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