The default office suite in our Nextcloud plans is Euro-Office — preinstalled, no extra charge, and technically built on the proven OnlyOffice engine. That’s why almost everything in this article applies to both: editor handling, co-editing and track changes work identically. You pick OnlyOffice itself when you want official vendor support with a commercial license, or your organization requires it. Here’s how to use it in practice and what we handle on the server-config side at xaweho.
Setup variants — what’s active for you
Depending on what you ordered, you have one of three variants at xaweho:
- Shared OnlyOffice backend: included in every Nextcloud plan, carries up to 20 simultaneous editors. By default you work through it with Euro-Office; on request we switch you to OnlyOffice or Collabora.
- Dedicated OnlyOffice server (Community): a separate machine just for you, connected to your Nextcloud. Up to 20 simultaneous editors — that’s the license limit of the Community Edition, not our hardware ceiling. Available at OnlyOffice Hosting.
- Dedicated OnlyOffice server with a commercial license: same setup, but with 50, 100 or 200 simultaneous connections depending on the license tier, plus official vendor support.
To see which variant is active: Administration settings → ONLYOFFICE — the server URL of the connected backend is listed there. With a dedicated server, it’s your own subdomain.
Want to switch? A ticket is all it takes.
What we handle on the server side
With a dedicated setup, we:
- Set up the OnlyOffice server (same location as your Nextcloud, usually Düsseldorf)
- Set up the TLS certificate
- Configure the shared secret between Nextcloud and OnlyOffice
- Enter the connection in the Nextcloud administration settings
- Open a test file and verify everything works
You don’t have to do anything — after ordering, you’re up and running within 1–3 business days.
With a commercial license: we activate the license on the server and take care of renewals.
Opening a file in OnlyOffice
From Files in Nextcloud: just click a .docx, .xlsx, .pptx, .odt, .ods or .odp. OnlyOffice opens in the browser.
Also works with .txt and a few other formats.
The first time you open a file, loading can take 3–8 seconds. Subsequent opens are faster (caching).
Co-editing with other users
When another user opens the same file while you’re editing it:
- Both of you appear in the editor toolbar as small avatar icons
- The other user’s cursor is shown with a name tag
- Changes sync in real time (typically <1 second latency)
Conflict resolution: OnlyOffice does operational transformation — if two people type in the same paragraph at the same time, it’s merged intelligently, without data loss.
With very large files (50+ MB) or many parallel editors, things get noticeably slower — that’s when the dedicated server pays off.
The two editing modes
Top right: Fast vs Strict.
- Fast: all changes visible to everyone immediately. Default.
- Strict: changes only become visible when you save. Handy when you want to phrase things in peace.
Switch per session — it doesn’t affect how the file is saved.
Commenting instead of editing
Toolbar → Comments → select a passage → insert comment.
Other users see your comment and can reply.
Useful for review workflows where you don’t want to edit directly but give suggestions.
Track changes
Toolbar → Collaboration → Track changes. From now on, all changes are marked (red/green).
Other users can then Accept or Reject — per change or globally.
The classic workflow for official documents.
File versions
Left sidebar → Version history. OnlyOffice takes automatic snapshots on every save — you can roll back to an old version.
Handy when someone broke something or you want an earlier wording back.
Important: this is OnlyOffice-internal versioning. Nextcloud has its own file versioning alongside it. Both work in parallel.
Templates
If you keep creating similar documents (quotes, meeting minutes, letterheads):
- Prepare a file as the template master
- In OnlyOffice: File → Save as → .otx (or mark a .docx as a “template”)
- In Nextcloud Files: right-click the folder → Set as template folder
With “New file” → “from template”, the templates then show up for selection.
Collaborating with external guests
A public link to a file with edit rights: an external guest can edit directly in OnlyOffice without an account. Also works in co-editing with you and other users.
Security tip: for external guests, use password-protected links with an expiration date. More in Sharing links with protection.
What OnlyOffice can’t do
- Macros / VBA in
.xlsmfiles: not supported. Excel formulas work, macro code doesn’t. - Very large spreadsheets (100,000+ rows, lots of pivots): poor performance.
- Power Query / Power Pivot: not supported.
- Certain complex formatting from MS Word (e.g. SmartArt, Equation Editor): partially incomplete.
From our experience: 95% of office workflows run without a hitch. For the 5% of special cases, we recommend local MS Office.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I see the license info if I have the commercial license? In the OnlyOffice editor: File → About shows the edition. With “Community” you see the editor limit; with a commercial license the license info is listed there.
What happens when the editor limit is reached (Community)? New users get an error saying the edit session could not be created. Fix: other users close their sessions, or you switch to the commercial license.
Does OnlyOffice work with Markdown / code files? No. Markdown files open in the Nextcloud text editor (not OnlyOffice). For code editing in Nextcloud, there are separate apps.
Auto-save — how often? Default is every 10 seconds of inactivity, or on an explicit save (Ctrl+S). You lose at most 10 seconds of work in a browser crash.
Printing? File → Print. Generates a PDF, you print from the browser’s PDF viewer. Direct printing to the printer doesn’t work (browser limitation).
Fonts — are all MS fonts installed? Standard fonts (Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, etc.) are included. Special fonts have to be installed on the server on request — a ticket is all it takes.
File won’t open, “file is locked” error Another session still has the file open. If a user closed their browser tab without cleanly exiting, a lock can linger for 5–10 minutes. Fix: wait, or open a ticket with us (we can break the lock manually).
Can I edit office files in end-to-end encrypted folders? No. E2EE files are only editable via the desktop client / WebDAV with local office software — the server can’t decrypt them. More in End-to-end encryption.
What’s next
First login as a Nextcloud admin
What to do after your Nextcloud is provisioned — login, profile, the important first settings, what we handle and what you handle.
Admin GUI overview — what you'll find where
Nextcloud's administration settings are big. Here's a tour of the sections that matter and what they do.
Creating users and groups
Create users for family, club or team, organize groups, set quotas, control login behavior.
Sharing — files with others, internally and externally
Sharing files in Nextcloud — within your cloud with other users, with groups, or externally via sharing link.