FAQ's
Service Comparison
Does Microsoft OneDrive and SharePoint offer the same functionality as Box?
Microsoft OneDrive offers the same individual storage capabilities as Box, including the ability to collaborate in real time on files and accessibility from any computer, mobile device, or web browser. Collaboration and communication services from OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams bring additional value beyond what is currently available with Box.
Will I see any new benefits or features with this move?
Because of the tight integration of Microsoft products, the benefits to switching to OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams come from being able to do things like collaborate on the downloaded client of office apps like Word and Excel, which offers more functionality than the web version. You can also be signed into multiple OneDrive accounts locally on your machine through the app at the same time, which may be useful if you use a personal OneDrive account or have a cross-campus role.
Who has access to OneDrive/SharePoint?
All University of Nebraska students, faculty (including emeriti) and staff will have access to OneDrive and SharePoint.
Do I save my files to OneDrive or SharePoint?
If you’re working on a personal file, save it to OneDrive. Your OneDrive files are private unless you share them with others. If you’re already working as a team in Microsoft Teams or SharePoint, you should save your files where your team works. Since all files shared with you can be accessed from OneDrive, you can also start a document in your OneDrive and move it to a SharePoint folder shared with you.
How can I access my files on OneDrive?
You can access both private files and team files through the OneDrive desktop, mobile and web apps.
To access OneDrive through your web browser, go to portal.office365.com.
If you are using a university-managed computer, you can download the OneDrive app from your software portal. You can also go to https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/onedrive/download and download the application.
The mobile version of the app can be download through your phone's app store.
What permission levels are supported in OneDrive and how do those compare to Box?
Box Collaboration Levels – https://support.box.com/hc/en-us/articles/360044196413-Understanding-Collaborator-Permission-Levels
One Drive Permission Levels – https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepoint/sites/user-permissions-and-permission-levels
What file types are supported in OneDrive and SharePoint? What are the file size limits?
All common file types are supported with OneDrive and SharePoint. Learn more at https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/file-types-supported-for-previewing-files-in-onedrive-sharepoint-and-teams-e054cd0f-8ef2-4ccb-937e-26e37419c5e4?ui=en-us&rs=en-gb&ad=gb
For file size limits, depending on the web browser you use, you can upload files up to 100GB in size. (This limit is per file, not total.) For more information, see https://support.office.com/en-us/article/upload-photos-and-files-to-onedrive-b00ad3fe-6643-4b16-9212-de00ef02b586
How much space do I have in OneDrive?
Everyone starts with a 1TB quota for OneDrive. ITS can increase this to up to 25TB for a user by request. SharePoint has 25TB of storage. If the user or department needs more than 25TB, please contact boxmigrationsupport@nebraska.edu.
Can I recover deleted files?
With OneDrive online, you can restore previous and deleted versions of a file for up to 30 days. Please see below for instructions on restoring files in OneDrive online.
What privacy protections are in place for my data?
As with other service contracts, NU’s contract with Microsoft includes privacy protections that prevent the unauthorized (and unlawful) access, sharing, or monetization of NU data stored through these cloud services. NU’s contracts provide greater privacy protections than the user agreement from personal Microsoft accounts. In addition, we have a Business Associates Agreement with Microsoft to cover HIPAA data storage.
We are currently working to have a Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Level 3 compliant environment for University Research data.
Will OneDrive and SharePoint have similar functionality to Box for Research?
Yes, SharePoint will have similar functionality to Box for Research. ITS will retain current security levels and through Microsoft’s Data Loss Prevention, coupled with tagging, we will be increasing security. This will allow us to have security not only on the folder level but also at the file level.
Data Migration
How can I prepare for moving to OneDrive and SharePoint?
Start cleaning out your Box folders now. Take some time to delete unnecessary files and remove yourself, or your team, from shared items that you no longer need. When you are finished cleaning, remember to empty Box trash.
How will data be migrated from Box? Am I responsible for moving my data?
ITS will utilize a tool to simplify the migration of data from Box to OneDrive and SharePoint. Private data will be migrated to OneDrive, shared or team data will be migrated to SharePoint. More information on these tools and the process will be available soon.
How should I work with my data during the migration, and how will I know when it's complete?
Users will be notified before their data is moved. During the transition, they should avoid making changes to Box files to ensure all data is moved correctly. Users will be notified when they can access their files on OneDrive.
Existing data within OneDrive will be retained, and will not be overwritten or deleted.
For departmental accounts, continue to access those files in Box until the initial migration is completed. After that, ITS will migrate any files that were changed during the initial migration.
What type of data will be migrated? Will all file types from Box, including Box Notes, be migrated?
All known and supported file types will be migrated, see https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/file-types-supported-for-previewing-files-in-onedrive-sharepoint-and-teams-e054cd0f-8ef2-4ccb-937e-26e37419c5e4?ui=en-us&rs=en-gb&ad=gb
Box Notes will be migrated and converted to Word documents.
Will Departmental Box data and Shared Box Folders be migrated?
Yes, data stored in Shared and Departmental Box accounts will be moved to the corresponding SharePoint site for the specific team or area. New SharePoint sites can also be created by request. ITS will work with your team or department to create a plan for the migration of your data after July 1, 2020.
Will file collaborators and sharing permissions be migrated?
- Internal collaborators will be migrated and you will not need to reshare these files/folders. This includes UNK, UNL, UNO and UNCA.
- External collaborators in shared files/folders will need to be reshared.
- Any shared Box links will need to be recreated in OneDrive/SharePoint.
How can I tell which Box folders I own?
Manila-colored folders are your personal, unshared Box folders and will be moved to your OneDrive.
Blue folders are shared folders. If the Owner is a departmental account (e.g. DeptName-Box, zz.box.DeptName), those will be moved to SharePoint. If it’s owned by a user, it will be moved to their OneDrive account.
Grey folders are owned by someone outside of your Box instance and will remain in Box.
Will Box file versions be migrated?
Our migration tool will be able to migrate up to 100 versions for each file currently stored within Box.
Will shared links in Box be migrated?
Existing box.com shared links will need to be re-created in OneDrive or SharePoint as new links.
How are files linked from Box to other software (Canvas, SAP, Smartsheet, etc.) impacted?
These files will need to be re-aligned and re-linked by the responsible person or teams.
I have migrated my data from Box to OneDrive. What do I do with my Box account and the data that remains?
If you manually migrated your data and you no longer need your Box account, send an email to support@nebraska.edu and request that your Box account be changed to read only or deleted. Your Box account will be deleted automatically when the service is deprovisioned. If your data was migrated by ITS, your account will automatically be deprovisioned and all data will be deleted four weeks after the migration was completed.
What is the first thing a person will see when their files have been migrated to a Microsoft?
- You will receive an email from the Box Migration team (boxmigration@nebraska.edu) when your migration is completed.
- OneDrive > your “personal” Box files are in a folder named BoxMigration ”your campus”.
- BoxMigrationUNK, BoxMigrationUNL, or BoxMigrationUNO.
- SharePoint > Box departmental “owned” folders
Now that I have migrated, how do I get started?
How do I access my University OneDrive/SharePoint?
- Go to portal.office.com > Login with your University credentials.
- All Microsoft applications including OneDrive and SharePoint are pinned on the left side, under the waffle menu.
Will the external person I share a link with need to do anything other than click the shareable link from SharePoint?
The user may be prompted to enter their email address depending on how it was shared.
How do you share SharePoint files and folders
- Add the person by their email address to that file or folder
- Note: If someone should need access to the specific SharePoint document library, submit a request to (support@nebraska.edu) asking for the person to be added to the group for that site.
- Share SharePoint files or folders - Office Support (microsoft.com)
Now that I have migrated, what happens to my Box data?
When your migration starts, all of your files will be set to read-only. You will still be able to view, and download those files in Box. Four weeks after the migration has completed, all data owned by you in Box will be purged.
How do I submit a SharePoint Site request?
To request a SharePoint Site request, complete this form. SharePoint Sites provide University organizations and teams with a common location to communicate and share data. SharePoint is designed for collaborative use. Guests can be invited to SharePoint sites.
If you are a Student requesting a SharePoint Site ITS will require approval from a Staff or Faculty member prior to creating the site.
For migration of data stored in a restricted or unrestricted Box for Research folder or to request a new Secure SharePoint Site please visit the Storage for Sensitive Data SharePoint request form here.
Microsoft Teams
Does an External user or guest need a Microsoft 365 account?
Yes, external users or guests must have a Microsoft 365 account. If the user does not have a Microsoft 365 account, the user can create one for free.
How to add an external user in Teams Chat?
- New Chat > To: > Enter the external/guest users full email address, e.g. jdoe@unk.edu
- Click Search Externally
- Start your conversation

How to add an external user as a guest to a Team?
- Select your Team
- Tap ellipsis (three dots) > select Add member
- Enter the external users full email address, e.g. jdoe@unk.edu
- Tap Add as a guest


I received an email invite as an external user. What credentials do I use?
- Tap on Open in Microsoft Teams in your email invite
- Use your University credentials to sign in

Can you add external members to a channel in Teams?
Yes. Note that each person that you add to a Teams channel must first be a member of the Team.
How do I switch between Tenants in Teams?
- Click on the drop-down menu next to your profile picture on the upper-right in the Teams App
- Click on the name of the tenant to switch
- Repeat steps to switch back or to switch to additional tenant

Will data be migrated into the Teams channel SharePoint site?
The migration tool being used is able to move data into a Team based SharePoint site but is not able to move data in the SharePoint site associated with a private channel.
Invalid file names and file types in OneDrive/SharePoint
What file name and path lengths do I need to follow in OneDrive/SharePoint?
Different apps and Office versions have different limits, and the combination of limitations may be unique to your setup.
The entire decoded file path, including the file name, can't contain more than 400 characters for OneDrive/ SharePoint in Microsoft 365. The limit applies to the combination of the folder path and file name after decoding.
For more information, click and scroll to File Name and Path Lengths
If a file or folder you’re trying to upload to OneDrive/SharePoint contains any of the characters listed below, it may prevent files and folders from syncing.
Characters Not Allowed in file and folder names in OneDrive/SharePoint
" * : < > ? / \ |
Note: Leading and trailing spaces in file or folder names also aren't allowed.
When OneDrive can't sync a file or folder because its name contains invalid characters, OneDrive can sometimes rename it for you.
If OneDrive is able to rename the file or folder, you'll see a Rename option in the notification area. If OneDrive can't rename the file or folder automatically, you'll need to manually rename it yourself.
Why has my filename changed from comma to ^J?
When saving files to your personal OneDrive, certain characters are automatically renamed by Office apps, including Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
From:
To:
- Filenames that contain , are changed to ^J
- Filenames that contain # are changed to ^N
- Filenames that contain & are changed to ^0
Data Storage
Help Desk Contact Information
Kearney:
308-865-8363
Lincoln:
402-472-3970
Omaha:
402-554-4357
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