Nextcloud Onlyoffice: Features, Editions, and Advanced Configuration

Nextcloud Onlyoffice is a powerful combination that offers a wide range of features to enhance your productivity and collaboration.

Onlyoffice is a part of Nextcloud's suite of productivity tools, allowing you to create and edit documents, spreadsheets, and presentations in the cloud. This integration provides seamless access to your files and allows for real-time collaboration with others.

With Nextcloud Onlyoffice, you can choose from several editions to suit your needs, including the Community Edition, which is free and open-source, and the Enterprise Edition, which offers additional features and support.

The Community Edition is a great option for individuals and small teams who want to get started with Nextcloud Onlyoffice without breaking the bank.

You have several options to install Nextcloud and ONLYOFFICE. One way is to install ONLYOFFICE Docs using Docker, which is recommended. To do this, you simply need to run Docker and launch a command that installs ONLYOFFICE Docs and its dependencies automatically.

You can also install the free Community version of ONLYOFFICE Docs on a Debian, Ubuntu, or derivative system. Alternatively, you can use the Docker installation to install pre-configured Document Server and Nextcloud with a couple of commands.

There are three ways to install Nextcloud integrated with ONLYOFFICE: install Nextcloud standalone, use Docker compose to install Nextcloud and ONLYOFFICE together, or use Univention app appliances to install a VM that contains Univention Corporate Server, Nextcloud, and ONLYOFFICE.

Installing Docs is a straightforward process that can be accomplished using Docker, a popular containerization platform. You can install the free Community version of ONLYOFFICE Docs using Docker.

To get started, you'll need to run Docker and launch a specific command to install ONLYOFFICE Docs and its dependencies. If you want to use a custom port instead of the default port 80, you can modify the command to include the desired port number.

ONLYOFFICE Docs uses port 80 for incoming connections, so it's essential to choose a port that won't conflict with Nextcloud, which also uses port 80 by default. You can install pre-configured Document Server and Nextcloud using Docker with just a couple of commands.

You can install ONLYOFFICE Docs on a single machine, but it's recommended to set up a custom port for Document Server to avoid conflicts with Nextcloud.

You have three options to install Nextcloud and ONLYOFFICE on your machine.

You can install Nextcloud and ONLYOFFICE on the same machine, but you'll need to set up a custom port for ONLYOFFICE Document Server as both Nextcloud and ONLYOFFICE work on port 80 by default.

To install Nextcloud and ONLYOFFICE with Docker compose, you'll need to download the latest version of the docker-onlyoffice-nextcloud repository and run Docker Compose, which is a quick and effortless way to get started.

You can also use Univention app appliances to install a VM that contains Univention Corporate Server, Nextcloud, and ONLYOFFICE, which includes automatic configuration of all the components.

Here are the three installation methods in more detail:

Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages, and the best one for you will depend on your specific needs and preferences.

Upgrades are a breeze in this setup. I installed Nextcloud 19 and OnlyOffice 6.0, but Nextcloud 20.0.0 was released soon afterwards.

To apply each upgrade, all you need to do is pull the new image, which is as simple as pulling nextcloud:fpm and onlyoffice/documentserver:latest.

Future upgrades may require more effort, but the first three were easy to apply.

To configure the integration of ONLYOFFICE with Nextcloud, you need to open the administrative settings for ONLYOFFICE section in Nextcloud. Enter the address of the ONLYOFFICE Document Server, which must be accessible from both the user's browser and the Nextcloud server.

You may need to specify the internal requests between Nextcloud and ONLYOFFICE Document Server using the public addresses, especially if your network configuration doesn't allow it. To do this, you'll need to enter the ONLYOFFICE Docs address for internal requests from the server and the server address for internal requests from ONLYOFFICE Docs in the Advanced server settings.

Starting from version 7.2, JWT is enabled by default, and the secret key is generated automatically. However, you can specify your own secret key in the Nextcloud administrative configuration and in the ONLYOFFICE Docs config file to restrict access to ONLYOFFICE Docs and for security reasons.

Configuring the ONLYOFFICE integration app in Nextcloud is a straightforward process. You can find the app in the Nextcloud app market, where you can easily install it.

To configure the app, navigate to the Settings page and find the Administration section. From there, locate the ONLYOFFICE configuration options.

One of the key settings is the ONLYOFFICE Docs address field, where you need to enter the URL address of your ONLYOFFICE Docs instance. If you've installed the office suite on a custom port, make sure to specify it in the URL.

You may also need to disable certificate verification if you're using self-signed SSL certificates. However, this option is not recommended due to security concerns.

In some cases, network configurations might prevent internal requests between Nextcloud and the ONLYOFFICE Document Server via public addresses. If this is the case, you'll need to specify the ONLYOFFICE Docs address for internal requests from the Nextcloud server and the server address for internal requests from the ONLYOFFICE Document Server.

Here's a summary of the required addresses:

Enter these addresses in the Advanced server settings and click Save.

Once you've configured the app, you can start using ONLYOFFICE Docs to edit office documents from Nextcloud. This will enable users to collaborate on documents and make editing easier.

Data Storage Configuration is a crucial aspect of setting up ONLYOFFICE Docs. ONLYOFFICE stores data in special directories, also known as data volumes.

You'll find logs at /var/log/onlyoffice, certificates at /var/lib/onlyoffice, and the database at /var/lib/postgresql. It's a good practice to store your data outside the Docker container to avoid losing it when upgrading to a new version.

To access your data, you'll need to mount the data volumes. This is done by specifying the -v option when running Docker. If the folders don't exist, they'll be created, but you'll need to change the access rights yourself.

You don't necessarily need to store container data, but it can be helpful for accessing logs or removing the data size limit. It's also useful if you're using services like PostgreSQL, RabbitMQ, or Redis that aren't launched via Docker.

Nextcloud OnlyOffice offers a range of features to help you create, edit, and collaborate on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.

You can create and edit text documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, and share files with other users. The application supports a wide range of file formats, including DOCX, DOCXF, ODT, ODS, XLSX, and PPTX.

With Nextcloud OnlyOffice, you can also protect your documents with watermarks, track changes, and use two co-editing modes (Fast and Strict). Additionally, you can use comments, built-in chat, and review and tracking changes features to collaborate with others in real-time.

The application offers two editions: Community Edition and Enterprise Edition.

ONLYOFFICE Docs offers two main editions: Community Edition and Enterprise Edition. The Community Edition is free, while the Enterprise Edition requires a paid subscription.

The Community Edition is suitable for small teams or individuals, with a maximum of 20 simultaneous connections and up to 20 recommended users. It's perfect for those who want to collaborate on documents without breaking the bank.

The Enterprise Edition, on the other hand, offers more advanced features and support for larger teams. It's ideal for businesses that require robust collaboration tools and dedicated support.

Here's a comparison of the two editions:

As you can see, the Enterprise Edition offers more features and support, making it a great choice for larger teams and businesses. However, the Community Edition is still a great option for small teams or individuals who want to collaborate on documents without breaking the bank.

The official connector is a game-changer for integrating Nextcloud and ONLYOFFICE Docs. You can download it from the built-in application marketplace in Nextcloud or from GitHub.

To download it from Nextcloud, log in with administrator rights, click your user name, select Apps, enter the Tools category, find ONLYOFFICE, and click Download and enable. The integration application will be downloaded automatically.

Alternatively, you can download the app from GitHub using a command that specifies the version of the ONLYOFFICE integration app. Always use the latest version to avoid problems. After downloading, unzip the archive and change the folder name to onlyoffice.

Once you've downloaded and set up the connector, you'll need to configure it. To do this, go to your Nextcloud instance, select Settings, find the Apps section, and select Disabled apps. Find ONLYOFFICE and click Enable.

Advanced permissions in OnlyOffice allow you to grant specific access rights to users without the ability to re-share the file.

You can grant additional access rights to users specified in the Sharing tab, depending on the chosen Custom permission option and the file type.

For DOCX files, you can set the given rights to only reviewing or only commenting in the Advanced tab if the file is shared with Custom permission (Edit enabled, Share disabled) in the Sharing tab.

With XLSX files, you can set the given rights to only commenting or applying filtering for everyone in the Advanced tab, as long as the file is shared with Custom permission (Edit enabled, Share disabled) in the Sharing tab.

Similarly, for PPTX files, you can only set the given rights to only commenting in the Advanced tab if the file is shared with Custom permission (Edit enabled, Share disabled) in the Sharing tab.

If you're working with PDF files, you can set the given rights to only filling out forms in the Advanced tab, as long as the file is shared with Custom permission (Edit enabled, Share disabled) in the Sharing tab.

Here's a quick summary of the additional access rights you can grant for each file type:

I was not familiar with either Nextcloud or OnlyOffice, and it took quite a while to figure out the various moving parts and how best to fit them all together.

Nextcloud is like Google Drive for our purposes, storing files and managing access to them. It also serves as the interface for creating users, managing permissions, and uploading files. You can view PDFs and collaboratively edit text or Markdown files through Nextcloud.

OnlyOffice Document Server edits files stored in Nextcloud and plays the role of Google Docs.

Nextcloud is a file storage and management system, similar to Google Drive, where you can store files and manage access to them.

It's also the interface that you and your users will interact with to create users, manage permissions, and upload files, and you can view PDFs and collaboratively edit text or Markdown files.

OnlyOffice Document Server edits files stored in Nextcloud and plays the role of Google Docs, allowing collaborative editing.

OnlyOffice Community Server is an alternative to Nextcloud, but the author wasn't sure if all the relevant features were available in the open source edition.

Nextcloud looked more solid to the author, so they didn't try to use OnlyOffice Community Server.

The author had to figure out the various moving parts of Nextcloud and OnlyOffice, as they were not familiar with either system.

The ONLYOFFICE integration with Nextcloud is a powerful tool that allows users to create, edit, and share documents, spreadsheets, and presentations seamlessly.

The integration follows the API documented on the ONLYOFFICE website, specifically the basic editors API.

To create a new file, users navigate to a document folder within Nextcloud and click on the Document, Spreadsheet, or Presentation item in the new (+) menu.

The browser then invokes the create method in the /lib/Controller/EditorController.php controller, which adds a copy of the file from the assets folder to the user's current folder.

When opening an existing file, the user selects the Open in ONLYOFFICE menu option, and a new browser tab is opened, invoking the index method of the /lib/Controller/EditorController.php controller.

The app prepares a JSON object with specific properties, which Nextcloud uses to construct a page from the templates/editor.php template.

Here's an overview of the key steps involved in the integration:

To install the ONLYOFFICE integration app in Nextcloud, head to your user name and select Apps from the in-built application market.

Find ONLYOFFICE in the list of available applications and install it. If your server lacks internet access or you need to install the app manually, the administrator can do so.

To configure the integration app, open the Settings page and navigate to the Administration section.

You'll find ONLYOFFICE in this section, where you can configure the ONLYOFFICE Docs address field with the URL address of your ONLYOFFICE Docs instance.

If you installed the office suite on a custom port, specify it in the URL, such as http://127.0.0.1:8081/.

Note that disabling certificate verification is not recommended, but it's available as an option.

You'll also need to specify the Secret key field for signing data, which will be discussed later when enabling JWT protection.

In some network configurations, internal requests between Nextcloud and the ONLYOFFICE Document Server may not work via public addresses.

In this case, you'll need to specify the ONLYOFFICE Docs address for internal requests from the server and the Server address for internal requests from ONLYOFFICE Docs.

These addresses will allow Nextcloud to access ONLYOFFICE Docs and the ONLYOFFICE Document Server to access Nextcloud.

Here are the addresses you'll need to specify:

Once you've entered the required addresses, click Save.