How-To Geek
How to Access your Box.Net Account from Ubuntu the Easy Way
Box.net offers 1GB of free online storage, accessible from anywhere. I use them to back up important files like ebooks I’ve paid for and don’t want to lose. Which got me thinking… how to access my files directly from Ubuntu?
Turns out there is a really easy way to mount your box.net account. Go to Places \ Connect to Server:
You will be presented with this dialog:
For the User Name, enter your own username. Don’t use my username. For Server, enter www.box.net/dav
You can put whatever you want for the “Name to use for connection” textbox. That is the name that will appear on the desktop icon:
Double-click the icon, and you will be presented with an authentication dialog box asking you to login:
I chose to remember my password, because I dislike typing it over and over. That part is really up to you.
You should now be able to access your account.
Tested on: Ubuntu Dapper, Ubuntu Edgy Eft
Got Feedback? Join the discussion at discuss.howtogeek.com
Comments (17)
Programmer by day, geek by night, The Geek, also known as Lowell Heddings, spends all his free time bringing you fresh geekery on a daily basis. You can follow him on Google+ if you'd like.
- Published 10/24/06
Oh, thanks! I had almost forgotten about my box.net account! But now I just found new areas where I can use my account…
Just starting to play with Ubuntu, and tips like this are really useful as I try to work out the “Ubuntu / Windows equivalent” of many ordinary tasks.
Thanks :)
Very cool!
But how do I remove it?
Thanks! This saves me a lot of trouble, especially on linux. (box.net doesn’t seem to like linux veyr much)
To remove it, right-click it and press “unmount volume” (this is for feisty specifically, not sure about other versions)
Also, you can use application named “Conduit”. This is synchronization program. One of his function – synchronization box.net with local directory
Sound like a cool idea. But in my “Connect to server” Secure WebDAV(https) is not listed in Service Type. I am running Hardy. Any suggestions?
It seems that box.net has closed this service.
Thanks Vyazovoi Pavel ! Conduit is an exciting tool, the dream synchronization I want.
This doesn’t work on Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy).
There is no “Secure WebDav (HTTPS)” option, just “WebDav (HTTP).
@Brunno : You’re right !
Too bad …
Here is the bug report :
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gvfs/+bug/222532
I tried with:
dav://box.net/dav
in nautilus and It worked, very slow but it worked. Then I just created a bookmark.
Tested and working on Xandros with Gnome installed on the EEE pc
For “non secure dav” folks
Goto Start —> Places —> Connect to server,
Select “Custom Location”
In the “Location (URI)” field, enter dav://www.box.net/dav
Give a bookmark name then click “Connect”, give credentials.
You’re done, you have a desktop icon with your box.net files.
Can’t get it to work properly. I get the folders in the root dir, but when I try to open them, there an error ‘Could not display “davs://arnold%40adaniels.nl@www.box.net/dav/Personal”. Error: Response invalid
Please select another viewer and try again.’
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
I got a similar error as Arnold. Not sure if this is Ubuntu’s issue or a Box.net issue.
Same problem here
No images found in ‘davs://elie-md@hotmail.com@www.box.net/dav/1 (2).jpg’.
same prob.
Works with Ubuntu 11.10
I couldn’t find Connect to Server for a while. It can be found by opening your home folder, then going to File > Connect to Server…