Dropbox Dash team member onboarding guide

After logging in, you’ll be prompted to connect apps to Dropbox Dash. Once connected, Dash can search across your documents, emails, calendars, and other content sources in these apps and generate AI-powered answers, insights, and summaries from that content.

If you can’t connect an app you need, contact your admin for assistance.

Apps connected by admins

In some cases, your organization’s admin has already connected certain key apps. These apps are available when you log in, so you can search and open team content you have access to.

Examples of commonly connected apps:

• Google Drive: Search across and open team content you have access to, or ask Dash questions about your files and folders.

• Microsoft 365: Search and chat across your SharePoint and OneDrive content to quickly find information or get summaries.

• Gmail or Outlook: Find emails, summarize conversations, or pull key details from messages.

• Google Calendar: Let Dash surface meeting details, related files, or quick summaries from your calendar events.

Apps connected by members

Along with the apps connected by your admin, you can connect any other apps you frequently use to enhance your Dash experience. For example, connect Asana to search across tasks, and projects shared with you to stay on top of team workflows.

The more apps you connect, the better your results and answers will be. Dash will index all of your available content, making quick and comprehensive searches easier. By using both apps connected by your admin and the ones you connect yourself, you’ll have access to the content you need, all in one place in Dropbox Dash.

To connect apps:

1. Log in to dash.ai.

2. Click Apps in the lower left.

3. Click + (plus sign) next to the apps you want to connect.

4. Once connected, these apps will work with Dash search capabilities, allowing you to find files, messages, and other content.

After you've completed onboarding, you’ll be able to connect more apps over time by clicking Apps on the left sidebar.

When you first start using Dash, you’ll see the main experience, where you can search, ask questions, create content, and organize work with Stacks.

To download the Dropbox Dash desktop app:

1. Log in to dash.ai.

2. Click Account in the left sidebar.

3. Click Download.

4. Select Desktop app.

5. Download the version for your operating system (Windows or Mac).

6. Follow the installation instructions for your device:

   • Windows: Double-click the .exe file and follow the prompts.

   • Mac: Open the .dmg file and drag the Dash icon to your Applications folder.

7. After installation, open the app and log in using your Dropbox credentials.

To use keyboard shortcuts:

• Press Control + Shift + E (Windows) or Command + Shift + E (Mac) to open the full Dash desktop app.

• Press Control + E (Windows) or Command + E (Mac) to use Dash quick search.

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

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

1. Start typing in the search bar to begin. Dash searches both document titles and the content inside files. This include Word or Google documents, PDFs, presentations, and other common formats, which helps improve the relevance of your search results..

2. Dash also takes into account your interactions, like reviewing or editing content, to help tailor results to you. What appears will depend on the apps you've connected and the content available to Dash, so results may vary.

3. As you type, Dash will search across your apps and show a preview of matching content. Press Enter to see a full list of results.

4. Use the filters at the top of the search results to sort by specific apps, such as Google Docs, Outlook, and more.

• You can also use typeahead filtering to refine your search as you type, including:

  • from: to find files or messages from a specific person

  • in: to search within a particular app

  • time: to filter by date

  • type: to search by file type (such as documents, spreadsheets, emails)

• Dash automatically applies these filters to your results, ensuring a consistent user experience.

• After entering a keyword, you'll see autocomplete suggestions as you type, making it easier to find what you need.

Note: If you have the Dropbox Dash browser extension installed, you can also search by typing “ds” and the space key directly into the address bar on Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, or Safari. “Dropbox Dash |” will appear, and you can start typing your query.

After finding a document, you can quickly get the information you need without opening every file. In some cases, Dash can highlight results that allow you to extract key information, answer questions, or summarize content directly from the file.

This helps you move faster, with results that improve over time based on your interactions. You can also move seamlessly from searching to exploring your content in more detail.

Note: Summaries currently work for one document at a time.

Ask a questions about your content

Instead of relying on keywords, you can ask questions in natural language and get answers based on the content you have access to across your connected apps and files.

You can use this to:

• Ask questions and get direct answers

• Summarize documents or emails

• Extract key information from your files

You can approach this in different ways:

• Ask a direct question (for example, “What’s the timeline for company planning?”)

• Start with a search, then ask a follow-up question

• Refine your question to explore the topic further

You can ask questions from different places, such as dash.ai or the desktop app. You can also include specific files or sources to get more focused answers.

If Dash can’t generate a confident answer, try making your question more specific or adding more context. You can also include sources or ask about a specific file.

Recents 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 apps, ensuring you always have immediate access to your most relevant content.

On the right side of the start page, Upcoming events helps you keep track of your meetings, deadlines, and events all in one place. By adding 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 this section by clicking Join meeting on the event.

The Activity feed keeps you up to date with recent activities and updates relevant to your work. It centralizes changes from your apps, making it easier to track updates and take action without switching between apps. The Activity feed shows:

• Document updates: Any changes to documents, and Stacks you have access to.

• Team activities: Updates made by colleagues on shared content.

• New additions: Recently created files or projects from your apps.

The more apps you connect, the better 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 it.

• A direct link to open the updated item.

• The app where the update came from (for example: Google docs, or Outlook).

• When the last update happened.

Congratulations! You’ve completed your Dropbox Dash onboarding. 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 admin or the Dropbox Dash support team.