Creating Fileboxes

You can create a Filebox from the Workspace or from the Excel add-in.

From the Workspace

1. In the left navigation, click Workspace. Click + New and select New Filebox.

   

2. Choose the Filebox type (Manual input, Model or Report) and click Next. The window describes each type as you select it.

   

3. Fill in the details:

   • File name: the name of the Filebox.
   • Scenario: what the file represents, such as Actuals, Budget or Forecast. If you select Budget, also choose the Budget Cycle.
   • Date: how often the file is submitted, such as monthly, quarterly or yearly.
   • File Status: turn this on to mark versions as Draft or Final.

   

4. For a Report, also choose the Report format: Excel or PowerPoint.

   

5. Click Upload File to add the first file now, or Create & Close to create an empty Filebox.

The new Filebox is added to the folder you were in.

From the Excel add-in

Save the file first. The file must be saved on your computer before you can connect it to a Filebox.

1. Open the file in Excel.
2. On the Datarails add-in, click Connect. If the file isn't saved yet, the Save As window opens. Choose a location and click Save.
3. In the Connect as Filebox window, choose where to create the Filebox. To create a new folder, click Add New Folder.
4. Fill in the Name, Scenario, Date and File Status. If the scenario is Budget, also choose the Budget Cycle.
5. Click Connect to Filebox.

See Installing the Datarails Excel Add-In.

Upload a file to a Filebox

Each upload becomes a new version. Earlier versions stay in the Filebox.

From the Workspace

1. On the Filebox's row, click the Upload icon.

   

2. In the Upload file window, drag your file into the box or click click to browse. You can add several files, and each becomes its own version.

   

3. Check the tag next to each file, such as the month, and change it if needed. To email the people the Filebox is shared with, select Notify collaborators by email.

   

4. Click Upload.

   

The file is added as a new version under the tag you chose. Files can be up to 100 MB in total. The window lists the file formats it accepts.

From the Filebox

1. Open the Filebox and click + New version.

   

2. Select Upload file and click Continue.

   

3. Add your file, check its tag, and click Upload.

Generate calculated version creates a new version from calculated values in the latest version, without uploading a file. See Auto Calculate.

From the Excel add-in

1. Open the file in Excel. Save it on your computer if it isn't saved yet.
2. On the Datarails add-in, click Connect.
3. In the Connect as Filebox window, select the Filebox.
4. Choose the tag for this version.
5. Click Connect to Existing.

Supported file formats in the Excel add-in

The formats you can work with depend on which Excel add-in you use:

• COM add-in (desktop): appears as a tab in the ribbon of desktop Excel.
• Office JS add-in (web and Mac): works on Windows, Mac and Excel Online, and appears as a pane on the right side of Excel.

Share a Filebox

Sharing gives a colleague or a group access to the Filebox at the level you choose. You need edit access to the Filebox to share it.

1. In the Workspace, click the ⋮ menu at the end of the Filebox's row and select Share.

   

   You can also open the Filebox and click the share icon at the top of the page.

   

2. The Manage members window lists everyone who has access and their permission. Click + Invite.

   

3. Select Members or Groups, enter the email address or group name, and choose the Filebox Permission. Then click Invite.

   

To change or remove someone's access later, use the pencil or trash icon on their row in the Manage members window.

Managing Filebox versions

Every file you add to a Filebox is saved as a version. This article picks up where Filebox overview leaves off: once a Filebox has files in it, here is how to find a version, work with it, tag it, and understand its status.

Open the Versions page

In the Workspace, click a Filebox's name. Its Versions page opens, with every version of the file.

• When the Filebox has a Date tag, versions are grouped by date, for example by month. Click a group to open or close it.
• Each version shows its Version ID, file name, submission date, who submitted it, and its data status.

Find a version

Use the toolbar at the top of the page.

Integration Fileboxes also have Sync and Upload manually, and a Logs panel with the history of every sync. See Managing Integration Fileboxes.

Work with a version

1. On the Versions page, click the ⋮ menu at the end of the version's row.

   

2. Select an action.

   

Act on several versions at once

1. On the Versions page, select the checkboxes of the versions you want.

2. In the bar that appears, click Rescan or Archive. Archive asks you to confirm first.

   

Restore an archived version

1. On the Versions page, click the Archived versions icon next to the search box.

   

2. Select the versions you need and click Restore.

Add a new version

There are four ways to add a version. The first two are covered step by step in Filebox overview.

You can also submit a version from the Excel add-in with Connect. Each upload can be up to 100 MB in total.

Tags

Tags tell Datarails what each version represents, so reports and dashboards pick up the right one. You set which tags a Filebox uses, and then each version gets its own value.

Change a Filebox's tags

1. Open the Filebox's settings. Click the settings icon at the top of the Versions page, or select Settings in the Filebox's ⋮ menu in the Workspace.

2. On the General tab, set the Scenario, Date tag and Filebox status. If the scenario is Budget, also set the Budget Cycle.

   

3. Save your changes.

Change a version's tag

1. On the Versions page, click the ⋮ menu on the version's row and select Edit tags.

2. In the Version Tags window, choose the new tag and click Change.

   

The version moves to the group for its new tag.

Save a version under another date from the Excel add-in

This adds the file as a version under a second Date tag. It doesn't change the tag of the original version.

1. Download the version and open it in Excel.
2. Open the Datarails add-in. The Filebox's tags are shown under Info.
3. Click Change tags, select the new tags, and save.

Version statuses

The Data status column shows where each version is in processing.

If a version has an error

Lock a Filebox or a period

Locking protects finished work from being changed. Lock a whole Filebox, or lock a single period (one Date tag) once its numbers are final, for example after month-end close.

While a Filebox or period is locked, nobody can:

• Upload a new version to it.
• Run Calculate or Auto Calculate for it.
• Sync data into it from an integration.
• Roll its data forward or backward.

Lock a Filebox

From the Workspace:

1. Click the ⋮ menu at the end of the Filebox's row and select Lock.

   

2. Click Lock to confirm.

   

From the Filebox:

1. Open the Filebox and click Lock Filebox at the top of the page.

   

2. Click Lock to confirm. The button changes to Unlock Filebox with a closed padlock.

On an Integration Filebox, the button is Lock all versions.

Lock a period

On the Versions page, each date group has a padlock on the right of its header.

1. Open the Filebox and find the period. Click its open padlock. The tooltip reads "Lock period".

   

2. Click Lock to confirm. The padlock closes.

   

You can also lock a period from a workflow:

1. Go to My workflows and open the workflow cycle.
2. Select the step that holds the Filebox, for example "Upload/sync".
3. On the Filebox's task row, click the open padlock in the last column. The padlock closes straight away, with no confirmation.

Unlock a Filebox or a period

Updated November 13, 2026 20:28