Office Suite

In on-premise mode, OnlyOffice does not let you edit web-based documents. To edit web-based docs, you'll need to install the document server. A convenient file manager makes it possible to share documents and work on them as a team. However, the actual editing functions of word processing, spreadsheets, or presentation programs are provided by the document server, which needs to be integrated separately. The on-premise mode also offers OnlyOffice Desktop Editors [15] locally on workstations.

The software is licensed under the free AGPLv3 license and, unlike the web-based competitors, is a fully fledged office suite. Various deb and RPM packages are available for Linux, but they only support some Linux derivatives. A portable version (around 217MB in size) that can be used across all distributions is also available. Note that OnlyOffice Desktop Editors is only available for 64-bit hardware.

After downloading, install it locally on the workstations and integrate it into the server services. Once the desktop suite is installed, you can easily import the documents stored on the Community Server into the locally installed office suite and edit them. The advantage of this method is that even documents with very sophisticated formatting can be fully edited.

Important: Other suites, such as LibreOffice, cannot be easily linked to the Community Server. It works, but in heterogeneous environments with Microsoft formats, this sometimes involves a considerable amount of post-processing.

Due to the sometimes poor conversion filters, LibreOffice returns layout errors for current Microsoft formats even within the Community Server's simple sample documents. OnlyOffice's filters are much more mature in comparison and do not display these errors (Figure 6).

Figure 6: OnlyOffice Desktop Editors using the Community Server.

Another drawback for collaborative environments: It is not possible to work on a document simultaneously. However, the Community Server does offer version history for individual documents. In this way, it is at least possible to track which user has edited which document.

Online

Ascensio System SIA provides the document server separately as free software for download. The company also offers a purely cloud-based solution. It is free of charge for personal use. You are simply required to register and activate your account by email. After logging in, you end up directly in the document manager.

The user interfaces of the on-premise and online versions are identical. In contrast to the server version for intranets, OnlyOffice Online already provides editors for texts, tables, and presentations. On request, you can also integrate cloud services, such as Google, Dropbox, Box, or Yandex.Disk, into OnlyOffice. To integrate a cloud service, click on a start button with a major service provider and authenticate. Locally hosted cloud solutions, such as Nextcloud or ownCloud, implement the connection via the WebDAV protocol.

In heterogeneous environments, OnlyOffice Online also supports common formats. These formats include the Open Document Foundation file formats used in LibreOffice and OpenOffice, but also PDF, CSV, EPUB, or HTML formats. However, in some cases, the formats come with considerable restrictions.

One serious disadvantage of OnlyOffice Online is that the cloud solution forcibly converts documents from a local instance to the current Microsoft Office Open XML format when they are uploaded. It then either stores the file alone or together with the original file in the cloud. However, during the conversion, what if there were already problems in the test with simple documents in ODF format that required post-processing (Figure 7)?

Figure 7: Even simple ODF documents can cause problems for OnlyOffice's conversion filters.

Even though you may not be allowed to edit all supported formats, the functional scope of the individual editors clearly outshines that of other online solutions. OnlyOffice Online does not let you edit a document simultaneously with two users, but it offers a comment function and an option to share documents. Other users can also work on mobile platforms (Figure 8).

Figure 8: In a small dialog box, users release documents for other users and groups.

Pay Barrier

Compared to the dedicated server, the online solution for educational and non-commercial use lacks further modules for collaborative work. Also missing are all additional applications, including the appointment calendar, the CRM system, the email server, and the project manager.

These services are only provided to commercial users, for whom the company offers a free 30-day trial version. This version has the full functionality of the on-premise enterprise server and is thus able to handle various backup and restore options, as well as the entire spectrum of collaborative work, including chats between individual users.

At the click of a mouse, you can also integrate many third-party services (Figure 9), including two-factor authentication. If so desired, you can also integrate your contacts from social networks into the CRM module.

Figure 9: OnlyOffice can be extended by apps.