Onboarding Guide for Dropbox Dash

What is Dash?

Dropbox Dash for Business combines AI universal search and organization with universal content access control. Connect Dash with everyday work apps to create a central hub for all your company’s information. Robust access permission controls guarantee your company’s content is seen only by the right people, both inside and outside Dash. Combined with universal search, AI-powered insights, and content collections, Dash makes it easy to find, organize, share and secure your work.

Bringing advanced content access control and search capabilities to any size business, Dash is ideal for those who handle large volumes of content and care about protecting sensitive information.

Receiving your invite to Dropbox Dash

Your journey with Dropbox Dash begins when you receive an invitation from your admin. Look out for an email with an invite to Dash, where you’ll find a link to activate your account.

1. Open the email from your admin and click Sign in with Dropbox.
   1. You’ll be redirected to the Dropbox Dash login page.
2. Use your work email and Dropbox credentials to log in. If you don’t have a Dropbox account, you’ll be prompted to create one.

If you don’t see a welcome email, you can go to dash.dropbox.com to set up your account.

Once you log in, you’ll be introduced to Dash, where the following steps will guide you through connecting your tools.

Connecting your tools and apps

After logging in, you’ll see a prompt to connect various apps and tools to Dropbox Dash. These connectors allow Dash to integrate with your work environment and help you search across your documents, emails, calendars, and other content sources.

Admin-provisioned apps

In some cases, your organization’s admin has already set up certain key apps on your behalf. These pre-provisioned apps will be automatically connected to Dropbox Dash when you log in for the first time. You can instantly access the information from these apps without going through the manual connection process. Examples of commonly pre-provisioned apps include:

• Google Drive: If Google Drive is pre-provisioned, you can search and access you and your company's files and folders stored within Drive.
• OneDrive: If OneDrive is pre-provisioned, you can search you and your company’s OneDrive files and folders.
• Confluence: If your team uses Confluence for documentation and collaboration, you’ll have immediate access to all shared pages and spaces.
  

Connecting user apps

In addition to the pre-provisioned apps, you can connect any other tools you frequently use to enhance your Dash experience.

1. From the onboarding step you’ll see a list of available apps.
2. Click “+” (plus sign) next to the apps you want to connect. Dash supports a wide range of apps you’re able to connect with.
3. Once connected, these tools will be integrated into Dash’s search capabilities, allowing you to retrieve files, messages, and other content across all your apps from one central location.
   

Get the most out of your connected apps

The more apps you connect, the richer your Dash experience will be. Dash will index all of your available content, making it easier to perform quick, comprehensive searches and stay up to date with your ongoing work through the activity feed. By leveraging both admin-provisioned apps and manually connecting additional tools, you’ll have access to all the data you need, centralized within Dropbox Dash.

Once you’re satisfied with all the applications recommended for connection, click Continue to proceed to the next step.

Once onboarding has been completed, you’ll be able to connect more apps over time by clicking Apps on the left sidebar.

Product walkthrough

You'll be introduced to Dash with a product overview popup. Then, click Get started with Dash at the bottom right to proceed.

Performing your first search

Now that your tools are connected, you’ll be introduced to Dropbox Dash’s main feature: its powerful search functionality.

1. Start typing keywords like “weekly planning” or “company holidays.” Dash uses text in the title, content, and your content interactions (i.e., which ones you’ve viewed recently/edited) to quickly rank relevant results for you, so you don’t need to know the exact title to find what you need.
2. Dash will search through your apps and present you with a list of results. When you search, you can access recent content that matches your search as you type or press Enter to see a more complete list of results.
3. You can use the filtering at the top of the search results to sort by specific apps, such as Google Docs, Outlook, and more.
   

This quick and easy process shows how simple it is to find what you need without switching between different apps.

Summarize and ask questions about your documents

After locating the document, you can search for specific information or share it.

Some search results will have (twinkle)   next to the file name. This indicates that Dash can extract relevant information from these documents and quickly answer your queries, saving you time and effort.

Summaries currently work only for a single document.  

You can stop there if the summary snippet provides the information you need. However, if you want more context, click Ask new question to ask additional questions based on the information in the document.

Benefits of using the Summarize & Ask feature

• Time-saving: Dash provides direct answers from within your files, so you don’t need to open and read through entire documents.
• Enhanced answers: Dash improves over time by learning from your interactions and providing increasingly accurate answers from your files.
  

Using Answers in Dropbox Dash

Answers give you bite-sized chunks of information for questions related to your search. You can get answers with Dash in two ways:

• Ask a question instead of just keywords: Dash will look for an answer to your question in all your content and surface the best responses and sources so you can verify or seek other information as needed.
• Search by keyword and see suggested questions and answers: If you search for “company planning,” Dash can help you get one step further with Answers. Dash suggests related questions and answers such as “When is the timeline for company planning?” or “What are the goals for company planning?”
  

Answers will appear on the right side of your search results, so you can always easily access the content you need. If you don't see an Answers panel in your search results, Dash couldn't find an accurate or confident answer.

You can try a more specific keyword, ask a direct question, or find the document that contains the answer and click (twinkle)   to ask a questions directly in a single file.

You can help improve the performance of answers by providing a thumbs-up if the results gave the expected result or a thumbs-down if they didn't.

Using the start page in Dropbox Dash

The start page is the central hub of your Dropbox Dash experience. It's designed to give you a quick overview of everything you need to start your day. It features three key modules: the Recents module, the Upcoming events module, and the Activity feed module.

Upcoming events module

The Upcoming events module on the start page lets you keep track of your upcoming meetings, deadlines, and events all in one place. By integrating with your calendar apps, such as Google Calendar and Outlook, Dash makes it easy to stay on top of your schedule. You'll receive all the details from your calendar apps, including the list of invitees. You can also join a meeting directly from the Upcoming events section by clicking Join meeting on a respective event.

Recents module

The Recents module is located on your Dash start page. It provides quick access to the most recent files, documents, and content you’ve interacted with. It automatically updates whenever you open, edit, or view an item from any of your connected apps, ensuring you always have immediate access to your most relevant content.

Pre-pinned stacks

You'll find pre-pinned stacks below the Recents module on the left side of your start page. These stacks are collections of content curated and pinned by your administrator or yourself for quick access to important resources.

Using the activity feed in Dropbox Dash

The Activity Feed feature in Dropbox Dash is designed to help you stay up to date with all the recent activities and updates relevant to your work across your team. It centralizes changes from your connected apps and tools, making it easier to monitor updates and take action quickly.

The Activity Feed allows you to see the latest updates in your work, including:

• Document updates: Any changes to documents, pages, and stacks you have access to.
• Team activities: Updates made by colleagues on shared content.
• New additions: Recently created files or projects from your connected apps.
  

By centralizing this information, the Activity Feed helps you stay informed and act on important tasks without constantly switching between different tools or apps.

The more apps you’ve added, the richer and more comprehensive your feed will be. Items are displayed chronologically, with the most recent updates at the top.

For each item in the feed, you'll see:

• Who last updated the item: Easily identify the colleague responsible for the latest changes.
• A clickable link: This takes you directly to the updated item.
• The app or tool: See which connected app the update originated from (e.g., Google Docs, Outlook, Salesforce).
• The time of the last update: Know exactly when changes were made.

Supported apps are constantly updated as your admin connects more apps to Dash.

By leveraging the Activity Feed, you can streamline your workflow and ensure that nothing slips through the cracks.

Creating a stack to organize your work

Dropbox Dash also allows you to create “stacks," which are collections of related content that help you stay organized. To view a pre-made stack from the Dash team:

1. From the Dash start page, click Stacks on the left sidebar.
2. Click the Get started with Dash stack to view helpful documentation on how to use Dash best.

Stacks are perfect for organizing documents, emails, and links in one place, making collaboration with your team more efficient. You can also create stacks of your own to gather links, documents, and other information for easy access through Dash.

1. From the Stacks page, click Create stack.
2. Name your stack something relevant (e.g., “Marketing Project” or “Client Onboarding.”)
3. Add content to your stack by typing in keywords or copying and pasting links from your search results. Dash will suggest items you can add, and you can click “+” (plus sign) to include them in your stack.
4. Once your stack is created, you can share it with your team or pin it to the top of your dashboard for quick access.
   

Downloading Dropbox Dash for desktop

To download the Dropbox Dash desktop app:

1. Click the Download Desktop App button in the onboarding flow.
2. You’ll be redirected to the download page to choose the appropriate version for your operating system (Windows or Mac).
3. Follow the installation instructions for your device.‍
   1. Windows: Double-click the .exe file and follow the prompts.‍
   2. Mac: Open the .dmg file and drag the Dash icon to your Applications folder.

4. After installation, open the app and log in using your Dropbox credentials. Dash will automatically start indexing your local files.
5. Press Control + E on Windows and Command + E on Mac to launch the Dash app.
   

Now, you can search your cloud apps and desktop files in one place.

Downloading the Dropbox Dash browser extension for Chrome or Microsoft Edge

To further enhance your experience, Dropbox Dash offers a browser extension for both Chrome and Microsoft Edge. This extension integrates Dash directly into your browser, enabling you to organize content without leaving your current workflow and enhance your search based on your browser activity.

With the Dash browser extension installed, you can quickly search your connected content and apps from any new tab, making it easy to find the information you need without disrupting your browsing experience.

For Microsoft Edge:

1. From the Dash start page, click Download.
2. Click Add extension.
3. This will redirect you to the Microsoft Edge Add-ons page, where you can click Add to Edge.
4. A confirmation popup will appear. Click Add Extension to complete the installation.
5. After installation, the Dash icon will appear in your Edge toolbar. Click on it, log in with your Dropbox credentials, and start using Dash directly from your Edge browser.
6. Press Keep it when asked about changing the new tab to Dash.

You’ll be able to disable the Microsoft Edge browser extension in the settings if not desired.

For Google Chrome:

1. From the Dash start page, click Download.
2. Click Add extension.
3. This will redirect you to the Chrome Web Store, where you can click Add to Chrome.
4. A confirmation popup will appear. Click Add Extension to complete the installation.
5. Once installed, you’ll see the Dash icon in your Chrome toolbar. Click on it, log in using your Dropbox credentials, and you’re ready to start using Dash in your browser.
6. Press Keep it when asked about changing the new tab to Dash.

You’ll be able to disable the Chrome browser extension in the settings if not desired.

When you open a new browser tab, Dash will load automatically, allowing you to search your connected apps and organize content directly from your browser.

Some search results will have   next to the file name. This indicates that Dash can extract relevant information from these documents and quickly answer your queries, saving you time and effort.

Reminder: Click Keep it to accept Dropbox Dash as your new default tab. This will ensure that Dropbox Dash is seamlessly integrated into your workflow, giving you access to powerful search capabilities from wherever you work online.  

To quickly access the Dash extension in your browser toolbar, pin it. To do this, click   (puzzle piece), then   (pin) button next to the Dash extension.

You can now easily find your stacks and add the URL you're visiting to a stack.

Completed onboarding

Congratulations! You’ve completed the Day 1 onboarding process for Dropbox Dash. You’re now ready to start using Dash to simplify your workflow, organize your projects, and find answers faster than ever before.

If you have any questions or run into any issues, feel free to contact your administrator or the Dropbox Dash support team.