ONLYOFFICE

Overview

ONLYOFFICE is a free, open source online office suite and collaboration platform that provides document editing (word processing, spreadsheets, presentations), project management, email and team collaboration features, and is highly compatible with Microsoft Office formats (DOCX, XLSX, PPTX). It is developed by Ascensio System SIA (Latvian company) and supports cloud (SaaS), self-hosted (Docker, Linux, Windows) and desktop applications (Windows, macOS, Linux). ONLYOFFICE includes ONLYOFFICE Docs (core editor), ONLYOFFICE Workspace (collaboration platform, including documents, projects, email and other modules) and ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors (offline editing). It adopts AGPL v3 (server-side) and Apache-2.0 (partial components) licenses and is widely used in corporate, educational and personal scenarios.

History and Development

• Origin:
  • In 2009, Lev Bannov led the team to develop TeamLab, an internal collaboration platform. Document editing was added in 2010.
  • In March 2012, the first HTML5 document editor was released at CeBIT (IT Exhibition in Hannover, Germany), marking a landmark milestone.
  • In 2014, TeamLab changed its name to ONLYOFFICE, open sourced its code and released TeamLab Server Community Edition.
• Development history:
  • 2015-2016: Released ONLYOFFICE Documents mobile app (iOS 2015, Android 2016), and Desktop Editors supporting offline editing.
  • 2017-2020: ONLYOFFICE Docs integrates 30+ connectors (Nextcloud, ownCloud, SharePoint, etc.), and open sourced desktop application code.
  • 2021-2023: Release of ONLYOFFICE DocSpace (Collaboration Space, 2021), support for ARM devices (2022), enhanced right-to-left (RTL) language support (such as Arabic, Hebrew.
  • 2024-2025: ONLYOFFICE 9.0 (2025) redesigned interface, support for RTL languages, DocSpace 3.1 introduces role forms and room templates.
  • X post says "ONLYOFFICE 9.0's RTL support and UI improvements make collaboration smoother."
• Community and support:
  • Maintained by Ascensio System SIA and the community, hosted on onlyoffice.com and GitHub.
  • Provides ONLYOFFICE Help Center (helpcenter.onlyoffice.com), forums, blogs and X communities (such as @only_office).
• Open Source License:
  • ONLYOFFICE Docs (server-side) uses AGPL v3, Desktop Editors uses Apache-2.0.

Main Features

ONLYOFFICE is known for document editing, collaboration and integration, suitable for desktop and cloud offices. Here are its main features:

1. Document Editor
   • Functionality:
     • Provides word processing (DOCX), spreadsheet (XLSX), presentation (PPTX) and PDF editors, based on HTML5 Canvas to ensure cross-platform consistency.
     • Supports EPUB, ODT, ODS, ODP and PDF formats.
2. Collaboration Features
   • Real-time Collaboration:
     • Supports multi-person real-time editing (Fast and Strict modes), similar to Google Docs.
   • ONLYOFFICE Workspace:
     • Integrates Groups (document, project, email management), Mail and Talk (instant messaging).
3. Integration and Connectors
   • Connectors:
     • Supports 30+ integrations (such as Nextcloud, ownCloud, SharePoint, Moodle) enhance cloud platform capabilities.
4. Cross-platform support
   • Cloud:
     • SaaS version (www.onlyoffice.com) supports browser access.
   • Self-hosted:
     • Supports Docker, Linux, Windows.
   • Desktop:
     • Desktop Editors support offline editing.
   • Mobile:
     • iOS and Android apps support editing at any time.
5. Security and multi-language
   • Security:
     • Support JWT encryption, HTTPS and document permission control.

Advantages and limitations

Advantages

• Microsoft Office compatibility:
  • Highly compatible with DOCX, XLSX, PPTX, no formatting errors.
  • X post said "ONLYOFFICE opens Office 365 files without any problems."
• Collaboration function:
  • Real-time multi-person editing, better than LibreOffice.
• Open source and cross-platform:
  • AGPL v3 and Apache-2.0 license.
• Integration:
  • 30+ connectors to enhance the Nextcloud project.
• User-friendliness:
  • Microsoft Office-like interface, easy to get started.

Limitations

• Limited complex functions:
  • Spreadsheet functions are not as good as LibreOffice.
  • Solution: Combine with LibreOffice to handle complex tables.
• Resource usage:
  • Self-hosting requires higher hardware (8GB RAM, 4-core CPU recommended).
• Community size:
  • Smaller than LibreOffice, less extension development.
  • Solution: Refer to helpcenter.onlyoffice.com and forums.
• Printing issues:
  • Some users report landscape printing issues.
  • Solution: Wait for 9.0.3 to fix or export PDF for printing.

Summary

ONLYOFFICE is a free, open source office suite and collaboration platform that provides document editing, project management and email features, and is highly compatible with Microsoft Office format, supporting cloud, self-hosted and desktop applications. It is licensed under AGPL v3 and Apache-2.0. ONLYOFFICE is suitable for document collaboration and office tasks.