External source sync allows you to bring information from external tools into a single, centralized table. This article covers how to sync file directories in Box to an Airtable base.

If you haven’t set up a sync before, we recommend first reading the Sync - Basic setup article to become familiarized with how sync works.

IN THIS ARTICLE

Add a new synced table
Select a Box account
Select fields to sync
Create synced table
Security and OAuth scopes
FAQs

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Add a new synced table

Start by clicking the + symbol next to your list of tables. Then, under “Sync data from”, select the “Box” option.

Select a Box account

Select an existing Box account (if you’ve already connected to Box), or link to a new Box account. Once you link to the account, select the folder that you want to use to create the synced table. Lastly, choose whether or not to sync Box Folders in addition to files.

Once you’ve made the selection in this menu, click “Next”.

Select fields to sync

After clicking next, you’ll be presented with two sync options; you can sync:

1. All fields from the source view (Box), including any fields added by Box in the future
2. Specific fields from the source view (Box)

If you choose to sync specific fields you’ll be shown a menu where you can toggle each individual field that you want to sync from Box.

Field data that can be synced from Box

Below is a list of all of the field data that is provided by Box that can be synced to Airtable:

• File path
• File name
• Type (file or folder)
• Created time (of the Airtable record)
• Created By (who created the file on Box)
• Last Modified Time (of the Box file / folder)
• Last Modified By (which Box user last modified the file)
• File Extension (boxnote, png, jpg, pdf, etc.)
• File Size (in bytes)
• Description
• Parent Folder
• Link (a direct link to the Box file)
• ID (the unique file ID assigned by Box)

Create synced table

Before creating your synced table, there are Settings options that allow you choose how often you want to sync, and how to handle records deleted or hidden in the source (Box)

• The frequency of syncing. Right now, the options are manual syncing and automatic syncing which happens around every 5 minutes
• Whether or not deleted records (files / folders in the selected Box folder)should be removed from the Airtable table. By default, deleted events will be removed.

Once you’ve selected your desired settings, click the “Create table” button. The sync operation will retrieve all files (and optionally, folders) in the Box folder selected and generate Airtable records.

Security and OAuth scopes

Authentication

Although the scopes include root_readwrite permissions, these are only necessary for file downloads from Box, and the Box sync integration does not ever write anything to Box. The OAuth consent screen will look something like this:

Airtable will only have access to the folders and files that the user who connected the Box sync has access to. If the user who connected a Box sync leaves the company and their Box account gets deactivated, the sync will stop working.

Box Scopes

For more information on Box scopes, check out Box's documentation here.

FAQs

Can I sync record data from Airtable to Box?

No, this feature only syncs files and folders from Box to Airtable.

What data is used for the primary field of the Airtable record?

The file path for the Box file is used to create the primary field name in Airtable.

What types of information in Box will create Airtable records?

All files and folders will generate individual Airtable records in the synced table.

Are there any limitations to be aware of?

The maximum number of issues synced is 10,000. This is a limit that we impose to ensure reasonable performance.