Recommendation for Automation – Box File Upload

Hi there!

I believe that many companies are using Box for cloud storage. In particular, many companies may have migrated their internal file server system to Box in order to establish a remote work system during the COVID pandemic.

In this article, we will show you how to create a system in which files are automatically uploaded to the Box folder when a person does something particular.

No-Code Development Platform Questetra BPM Suite

The cloud-based no-code development platform Questetra BPM Suite is used to automate operations.

In Questetra BPM Suite a business system is constructed through the creation of workflow diagrams. In the constructed system, business data is not only digitized, the system also automates the transfer of business data between people, as well as performing text conversion, numerical calculations, email transmission, etc. Furthermore, data integration to other cloud services can also be automated.

No-Code Development Platform Questetra BPM Suite Overview

Such automation is achieved by placing items in the workflow diagram that will be automatically processed in some way at the desired time. For example, when a contact person enters a response to an inquiry, the inquiry details and the response can be automatically appended to a Google Sheet.

Various automation items are available in Questetra BPM Suite. By using these items you can automate your business processes easily (with no code).

Box Cloud Storage Service File Upload

Box is a cloud storage service for businesses that allows users to store files of any format over the Internet. 97,000 companies use Box and 68% of Fortune 500 companies use it.

The automation items provided in the Questetra BPM Suite introduced in the previous section are available for Box. (v13.3.0)

Box: Upload File
Box: Copy File
Box: Move File
Box: Create Shared Link to File
Box: Delete Shared Link of File
Box: Delete File
Box: Download File
Box: Create Folder
Box: Search Folder
Box: Create Shared Link to Folder
Box: Delete Shared Link of Folder
Box: Delete Folder
Box: Add Collaboration
Box: Delete Collaboration

The mechanism we will create in the next section will use [Box: Upload File] (shown above in bold).

Upload Image Files Automatically After Review

The following operations will be systematized using Questetra BPM Suite.

A client who needs some images, such as a member of the marketing department, requests the production of the images.
The image production team’s staff produces images based on the request. The completed image is attached.
The reviewer checks the image and decides whether it is ok or not.
The image is uploaded to the Box and an email with the URL of the image is sent to the client.

The last two steps, uploading the image to Box and sending the image URL by e-mail (in bold), are handled automatically.

First, we will create such a workflow diagram. (Constructed with Questetra BPM Suite below.)

The following four processes in the workflow diagram are processes that are handled by users. (Items in blue squares)

1. Image production request (by production requestor)
2. Image production (by production staff)
3. Review (by reviewer)
4. Feedback response (by production staff)

If the image is OK’d at the [3. Review] step, the completed image is automatically uploaded to the Box at the gray item [5. Upload to Box]. The image URL will then be automatically sent to the client via email using the round item [6. Image Completion Report Mail].

Create a folder in Box in advance to which files will be uploaded. Set the part of the URL of the created folder (the blue part shown below) to “C3: The folder ID that files will be uploaded” in [5. Upload to Box].

https://example.app.box.com/folder/xxxxxxxxxxx

The following image shows how the image attached at the [2. Image Production] step will be uploaded to Box.

Summary

We showed how to build a system in which files are automatically uploaded to Box cloud storage.

This time we have automated the following processes:

When the reviewer OKs the produced image, it is uploaded to Box.
The URL of the uploaded image is sent via email

This automation reduces the time and effort of uploading files and sending e-mails to requesters. In addition, the following errors are prevented.

Forgetting to upload a file
Uploading files to the wrong location
Incorrect email address or body

By using the automation items provided in Questetra BPM Suite, the no-code development platform used for this automation, you can build a system in which files are automatically uploaded to Box without any knowledge or experience with Box’s API (Application Programming Interface).

Questetra BPM Suite is available on a 60-day free trial basis. If you are interested, please apply from the following link.