diff --git a/R/boxr__internal_misc.R b/R/boxr__internal_misc.R
index ec23b65..d63d935 100644
--- a/R/boxr__internal_misc.R
+++ b/R/boxr__internal_misc.R
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ as_box_id <- function(x, arg = rlang::caller_arg(x),
   
   # a box_id is a string that contains only digits
   
-  # do we need this?
+  # some defaults are NULL; we just pass these through
   if (is.null(x)) {
     return(NULL)    
   }
diff --git a/R/boxr_misc.R b/R/boxr_misc.R
index f8ecf8e..d2779f7 100644
--- a/R/boxr_misc.R
+++ b/R/boxr_misc.R
@@ -306,6 +306,10 @@ boxDirCreate <- function(dir_name, parent_dir_id = box_getwd()) {
 #' @export
 #' 
 box_browse <- function(dir_id = NULL, file_id = NULL) {
+  
+  dir_id <- as_box_id(dir_id)
+  file_id <- as_box_id(file_id)
+  
   item <- collab_item_helper(dir_id, file_id)
   utils::browseURL(glue::glue("https://app.box.com/{item$type}/{item$id}"))
 }
diff --git a/R/boxr_read.R b/R/boxr_read.R
index feff538..87a06be 100644
--- a/R/boxr_read.R
+++ b/R/boxr_read.R
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@ box_read <- function(file_id, type = NULL, version_id = NULL,
                      version_no = NULL, read_fun = rio::import,
                      ...) {
   checkAuth()
+  file_id <- as_box_id(file_id)
   
   temp_file <- tempfile()
   
@@ -122,6 +123,7 @@ box_read <- function(file_id, type = NULL, version_id = NULL,
 #' @rdname box_read
 #' @export
 box_read_csv <- function(file_id, ...) {
+  file_id <- as_box_id(file_id)
   box_read(file_id, format = "csv", ...)
 }
 
@@ -129,6 +131,7 @@ box_read_csv <- function(file_id, ...) {
 #' @rdname box_read
 #' @export
 box_read_tsv <- function(file_id, ...) {
+  file_id <- as_box_id(file_id)
   box_read(file_id, format = "tsv", ...)
 }
 
@@ -136,6 +139,7 @@ box_read_tsv <- function(file_id, ...) {
 #' @rdname box_read
 #' @export
 box_read_json <- function(file_id, ...) {
+  file_id <- as_box_id(file_id)
   box_read(file_id, read_fun = jsonlite::fromJSON, ...)
 }
 
@@ -143,12 +147,14 @@ box_read_json <- function(file_id, ...) {
 #' @rdname box_read
 #' @export
 box_read_excel <- function(file_id, ...) {
+  file_id <- as_box_id(file_id)
   box_read(file_id, format = "excel", ...)
 }
 
 #' @rdname box_read
 #' @export
 box_read_rds <- function(file_id, ...) {
+  file_id <- as_box_id(file_id)
   box_read(file_id, read_fun = readRDS, ...)
 }
 
diff --git a/R/boxr_save_load.R b/R/boxr_save_load.R
index 6884f3e..5e024a4 100644
--- a/R/boxr_save_load.R
+++ b/R/boxr_save_load.R
@@ -50,6 +50,8 @@ box_save <- function(..., dir_id = box_getwd(), file_name = ".RData",
 box_save_image <- function(dir_id = box_getwd(), file_name = ".RData", 
                            description = NULL, filename) {
   
+  dir_id <- as_box_id(dir_id)
+  
   # TODO: in future version, remove argument
   if (!missing(filename)) {
     
@@ -75,7 +77,10 @@ box_save_image <- function(dir_id = box_getwd(), file_name = ".RData",
 #' @rdname box_save
 #' @export
 #' 
-box_load <- function(file_id) {  
+box_load <- function(file_id) {
+  
+  file_id <- as_box_id(file_id)
+  
   temp_dir  <- tempdir()
   temp_file <- box_dl(file_id, overwrite = TRUE, local_dir = temp_dir)
   on.exit(fs::file_delete(temp_file))
diff --git a/R/boxr_write.R b/R/boxr_write.R
index 5b6006a..8dfd90d 100644
--- a/R/boxr_write.R
+++ b/R/boxr_write.R
@@ -43,6 +43,8 @@
 box_write <- function(object, file_name, dir_id = box_getwd(), description = NULL,
                     write_fun = rio::export, x, filename, ...) {
   
+  dir_id <- as_box_id(dir_id)
+  
   # TODO: in future version, remove argument
   if (!missing(filename)) {
     
@@ -78,6 +80,8 @@ box_write <- function(object, file_name, dir_id = box_getwd(), description = NUL
 box_save_rds <- function(object, dir_id = box_getwd(), file_name = ".RDS",
                          description = NULL) {
 
+  dir_id <- as_box_id(dir_id)
+  
   temp_file <- fs::path_temp(file_name)
   on.exit(fs::file_delete(temp_file))