Box.net desktop for Macs (sorta)
UPDATE: An Automator script was created to help, errrrrr, automate Box.net uploads.
Earlier today we gave you an exclusive on the Box.net desktop client, unfortunately it was for PC’s only. Now, my Mac friends, its your turn. To access Box.net in MacOS X it requires no additional software or special configurations.
In the MacOS Finder select the GO menu then choose Connect to Server (Or even simpler Command-K).
Plug in the address:
https://www.box.net/dav
At the login screen as your USERNAME, put your full email address you used when creating your Box.net account, and for the PASSWORD use your Box.net password. (Don’t worry using HTTPS creates a secure connection)
On your desktop you will now find a little drive called ‘dav’. You can now drag files on and off that drive as you would any other.
79 Comments, Comment or Trackback
Kevin
Damn that hawt! It’s like iDisk but for free!
May 22nd, 2006
SPeedY_B
Great tip. I now have a “dav” on my desktop :D
May 22nd, 2006
Michele
That’s great! :)
May 22nd, 2006
Dan
Bingo Bango!
May 22nd, 2006
Derek
Any way for users to rename? From past experience I believe networked drives were unable to be re-titled on the desktop.
May 24th, 2006
Colin
Maybe I’m doing something wrong but it doesn’t seem to be working for me. I don’t see why not, the instructions are simple enough. This message comes up when I try to connect:
The finder cannot complete the operation because some data in ” https://www.box.net/dav” could not be read nor written. (Error code -36).
May 24th, 2006
Jesse
Now if we could use Apples Backup with iSync it would be set :D
May 25th, 2006
tnkgrl
Maybe there is a way to hack the .Mac plists so that .Mac uses Box.net instead of the Apple servers?
May 25th, 2006
AlTou
Hum… Login works, but I can’t see the files that I’m uploading… The DO upload, because I can see them (and download them) from my account in Safari. the files are just not visible in DAV. The finder window even says “0 items”.
Anyone got this problem?
AlTou
May 25th, 2006
Oskar Syahbana
Ow yeah! I gotta try this. It’s a pitty that the connection isn’t stable sometime
May 26th, 2006
megavolkan
Same problem for me too…
i can’t see the files under dav but in safari i can see them
So what is the problem?
May 26th, 2006
Mark
yes I’m having troubles as well:
some files I upload (but not all) simply do not want to be seen, though they are uploaded which I can see from my account in Safari.
As well, uploading files on the desktop has caused several instances of Finder crashing, and then having to shut down and restart my computer.
Sometimes when I try to upload I get an error message.
It seems to me there are some major bugs present, not at all release-ready. Too bad.
May 26th, 2006
Doomx
I have been trying out box.net since yesterday, and I also have problems viewing the files I upload through webdav. However, I realized that this happens when I try to upload (drag & drop) a folder, or just create a folder in the finder window. The function is not impaired, but it bothers me not to be able to see my files. Disconnecting and reconnecting didn’t help.
The great part is that I just used arSync to backup files to my account, which means that with any rsync script you can do the job!
May 26th, 2006
Dan
Odd, let me run a few tests and I’ll report back.
May 26th, 2006
hundertwasser
I don’t this this is possible any more. I tried with 3 box accounts - all log in fine to the web, but get an invalid password / user not known error when I try to connect this way.
May 26th, 2006
hundertwasser
http://flickr.com/photos/jlt/153666246/
May 26th, 2006
Dan
Let me contact my contact at Box… From my two accounts all is well.
May 26th, 2006
hundertwasser
it seems to work when i log in as xxx@Yahoo.com - weird that the webdav system is case-sensitive to my original login info, but the web interface is not! Too bad these aren’t consistent.
May 26th, 2006
Dan
Well it is not an official feature of Box.net - So I guess we should just be tahnkful it works.
May 26th, 2006
OSmoeX86
DAV needs to be fixed, but great service….i’ve already spammed all my friends :)
May 26th, 2006
ibuch
I get the same problem that you folks. No files in the disk created, although they’re in the account!
grr…
May 27th, 2006
gventuri
If you don’t see your files is because they have on or more spaces in the name. That’s a terrible bug.
May 29th, 2006
Justin
^^ Yep.
May 29th, 2006
Derek
I have just the fix for the extra spaces in the filenames. Look for the fix on the front page.
May 30th, 2006
megavolkan
Fix? Frontpage? where????
where is the exact location?
May 30th, 2006
Derek
Front page tomorrow 10 EST. ;) Automated.
May 30th, 2006
gventuri
Ok, now show the names fine in the folder and files inside, but not in the sub folders or files inside the sub folders. It’s getting better and better. Thanks you guys
May 30th, 2006
gateway4tt
i dont get it, what fix, where?
i got the files to show up using filenames without spaces. ex. “extracredit” but i cant figure out how to get all the other files to show up. any help would be great. thanks
May 31st, 2006
megavolkan
Hey guys, is there a fix for the problem or smthng like that?
Or i cannot see? If so can you write the link?
Please???
May 31st, 2006
Derek
Read here.
May 31st, 2006
aBe
Works great with Transmit! thanks!
Jun 7th, 2006
Ben
I get the same error code as Colin (near the top)… can’t get beyond this first stage.
Jun 7th, 2006
Ben
Ah - an update. I can get it to work if I make the connection address “http” instead of “https”. Don’t understand why, though. (And of course I’ll not be able to store anything sensitive there.)
Jun 7th, 2006
marc
how to get it automatic on my desktop by startup?
Jun 7th, 2006
Derek
Marc, open system preferences > accounts > login items.
Once you’ve connected to the Box via WebDav, drag the desktop server icon from your desktop into the login items window.
Jun 7th, 2006
Scott F
I get as far as step one:
>In the MacOS Finder select the GO menu then choose Connect to Server (Or even simpler Command-K).
and no further. I do not see this command. Why not? Mac Help in no help.
Tiger 1.4.6, iBook G4.
Jun 8th, 2006
Derek
Scott, click on your desktop, or the Finder icon in your dock. Go the the top menu bar GO > Connect to server.
Jun 8th, 2006
Bob B
Everythime I try to log it I get a (-50) and it will not let me procede. Any ideas?
Bob
Jun 8th, 2006
ian
Testing with Nautilus 2.14 and Konqueror 3.5.
Nautilus can drag-and-drop local files onto the share, but then says it “can’t find” the file when I try to do anything with it. At first I thought it might be the problem with spaces in the filename mentioned above, but I still had no luck after removing the spaces with the web interface.
Konqueror works better. I can copy files to the share and back to my desktop.
It would help to supply some real mime-types instead of the generic ‘application/octet-stream’. Then the proper application can be launched by Konqueror. Instead, I have to copy to my desktop and launch from there.
Jun 8th, 2006
marc
Hello Bob B,
use http://www.box.net/dav, not https://www.box.net/dav
Jun 9th, 2006
Derek
It may have something to do with standard vs. premium accounts, but https:// as far as I know, works (premium account).
Get your referrals in and receive the free upgrade to 5GB and try again.
Jun 9th, 2006
Dane
I get. (Error code -50) when I try to connect. whats all that about
Jun 9th, 2006
PT
>>>Scott F
3 days, 4 hours ago
I get as far as step one:
>In the MacOS Finder select the GO menu then choose Connect to Server (Or even simpler Command-K).
and no further. I do not see this command. Why not? Mac Help in no help.
Tiger 1.4.6, iBook G4.
//
same here!
I don’t know why I can’t see the “Connect to Server” (cmd K)
it only go as far as ” Go to Folder…”
http://static.flickr.com/72/164824197_89aa046639.jpg
[img]http://static.flickr.com/72/164824197_89aa046639.jpg[/img]
need help..
any clue????
;___;
Jun 11th, 2006
David
Scott and PT:
It looks like you could have the Simple Finder turned on, which limits the number of menus and commands you will see. If you use Mac Help in the Finder and so a search from the home page for Simple Finder, it should show you an entry on how to turn on all the Finder options.
Jun 11th, 2006
David
The WebDAV feature outlined here seems to only work via https if you are running OS X 10.4 or higher; it doesn’t work on 10.3 or below.
On my two systems, one 10.3.9 and one 10.4.6, I can’t access it via https using the 10.3.9 system, but I can on the 10.4.6 system. I can use http on the 10.3.9 system, but then it’s not a secure connection, even though I don’t think anyone can use the man-in-the-middle attack very easily here.
In the future, it would be more helpful if anyone finds more unofficial features like this to mention what system of the OS they’ve tested it on.
Jun 11th, 2006
GeekyGirlTrin
I have OS X 10.1.5,and using http://www.box.net/dav seems to work.
Also the above poster is right. https only works on OS X 10.4x.
Those with Panther,Jaguar,or Puma use http.
And it is a seccure connection either way you choose!
Jun 12th, 2006
somekool
but it ain’t like .Mac
how can I set my OSX .mac subscription to box.net ? so I can isync things like my addressbook and everything ?
please help.
Jun 15th, 2006
Ammonkc
to trick idisk into thinking that box.net is a .mac you need to map the
DNS for the hostnames that idisk looks for to the box.net server. I read somewhere that the hosts that the .mac control panel uses are:
configuration.apple.com
syncmgmt.mac.com
idisk.mac.com
http://www.mac.com
Jul 20th, 2006
Dan
Anyone care to try tricking the mac?
Jul 20th, 2006
Marc
hi. i’m using 10.4.7 and it also doesn’t work with https.
but with http it does.
has anybody a clue?
Sep 25th, 2006
Nomad
I’ve followed instructions to set up Box.net access via the Finder/Go menu. However, my Box.net username and password is not accepted when I try to make the connection.
Did the fine folks at Box.net block this type of access until they have finalized their own desktop upload/download app?
Ideas?
Oct 3rd, 2006
Derek
Did you try http:// or https://?
Oct 4th, 2006
Gerrit Kruijer
Have tried to connect to Box.net but after entering the login screen i’ll get an
error -128 message.
Has anyone have an idea what i am doing wrong?
Regards,
Gerrit
Oct 4th, 2006
noah
https:// doesnt work for me
http:// does
Oct 5th, 2006
Gerrit Kruijer
Thank you, Noah and Derek.
It works. Used https instead of http.
Regards,
Gerrit
Oct 5th, 2006
zippo
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IDrive for Mac is an excellent desktop interface for working with your IBackup account and Mac. You can copy-and-paste, drag-and-drop, direct edit and do much more with this. All you need to do is download the application, double-click to install, and start the application. It is even better than Mac’s own idisk and supports file and folder names longer than 31 characters and files larger than 2GB. All backups are secure with 128-bit SSL encryption on transmission.
Besides backup and restore, IBackup also has Web-Manager, which can be used to create folders, webload and rename folders. You can create sharable links with Web-Manager and email these links to those with which you like to share data. The `Private Share’ feature allows an IBackup account holder to instantly share portions of the account with another IBackup user. The user who owns the shared data will have full control over this data, including the ability to disable the `Private Share’ any time.
Also backup your favorite multimedia files with IDrive Multimedia, create playlists and then stream them instantaneously with your favorite media player. IDrive Multimedia is the most flexible Internet drive ever designed and it supports all multi-media formats. IBackup offers several subscriptions plans for both personal and enterprise users. I had found it very easy to upgrade my earlier account to another one without any hassles.
Oct 7th, 2006
cdl
Hi,
As some of you I couldn’t logged in. So instead of https://www... (secure HTTP) I tried http://www.box.net/dav (HTTP)
And now I have my dav volume on my desktop :-) after I logged in.
Oct 26th, 2006
Sab
OS X 10.4.8
Https does not work for free account, only Http. I don’t have a paid version to try.
Oct 31st, 2006
Carl
Don’t work =(
Nov 23rd, 2006
Adam Spooner
Running 10.4.8 with a free Box account, neither http nor https worked. Any suggestions?
Dec 26th, 2006
Derek
Adam, are you using http://www.box.net/dav? Just worked on 10.4.8 here using http:// rather than the https://.
Dec 26th, 2006
Nate
Any reason it is unbelievably slow? It takes about a minute to copy a small picture to the mount and then a minute or more to move each file around the directory structure.
I like the idea, but I won’t use it if it’s that bad.
Dec 27th, 2006
G Dauphin
I am on several versions of 10.x and it doesn’t mount the drive on any of them, either using http:// or https://
I am guessing they turned this feature off.
gd
Dec 27th, 2006
Derek
Spoke with our contact at Box and the WebDav is a) definitely unsupported - so don’t expect perfection, and b) still avail and accessible. Give it time if you’ve just signed up. Login info requires your full email rather than just the username.
Dec 27th, 2006
seth
derek, it works for me. i haven’t used box.net since it first came out, but tried mounting the http://www.box.net/dav address and it worked like a champ, was even able to copy some mp3’s with pathfinder. will definitely do your trick of adding that mug to my login items.
Dec 27th, 2006
venom
I keep getting an error code -50 when atemptingto log in from the finder. I am guessing that it must be an issue with my ISP? router? firewall? network services… ??
Dec 28th, 2006
Tim Houghton
It works here, although I had to use http instead of https.
I’m on OS 10.4.8.
Jan 19th, 2007
a.t.
great thanx:)
Feb 7th, 2007
Alan
I tried using the WebDav support in Transmit, and it was lightning fast compared with OS X - much more like FTP (free box.net account, so http rather than https - tried https and it didn’t work).
It’s interesting to see that the support in Transmit for WebDav is so much faster than what’s built into OS X. I wonder why.
Mar 18th, 2007
Tara
I had trouble connecting using just https://box.net/dav, instead, I entered http://www.box.net/dav and entered my info and then it worked fine. Thanks!
Sep 9th, 2007
Gareth
With transmit being soo much quicker grab a transmit widget, configure it for your box.net favourite and you’re away - just invoke the dash whilst dragging (web friendly named files).
Some concerns about having to use HTTP rather than HTTPS howver
Nov 14th, 2007
Tarik
@ those who got this working with transmit. Could you please tell us how you got it working?
Dec 12th, 2007
Tarik
anyone??!!
Dec 18th, 2007
guru
in transmit
server = http://www.box.net
username= your email address you signed up as
password = your password you signed up as
tricky part..
Protocol= WebDAV
remote path= dav
and that should be it.. that what i did to get it to work… hope it works for u!!
Dec 20th, 2007
Kevin
Its like iDisk but free! I love it!
But is there any way to change the name instead of “dav”?
Jan 21st, 2008
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