What OnlyOffice includes
When you're creating and sharing your documents, is security near the top of your list? Do you wish that you had a few more controls when it came to sharing your documents or your files with others?
Well, in today's video, we're taking a look at an office suite that will allow you to be more secure and keep your files hidden from, let's say, the big guys like Google and Microsoft so that you can have full control of all of your documents.
But it also allows you to share and be more collaborative when it comes to working with others. Hello everyone, Scott Friesen here at Simpletivity, helping you to get more done and enjoy less stress.
Today we're taking a look at OnlyOffice, a full office suite that, yes, allows you to run it on your own server. What does this mean?
Well, if you don't want Google, Microsoft, or some other document provider to have the ability to scan and search and look at all of your files, you can run OnlyOffice locally or on a virtual server so you have 100% full control.
However, if you don't need this level of security or if this sounds a little too advanced, no problem. You can use OnlyOffice in the cloud as well.
So let's dive in and take a bit of a deeper look. First off, OnlyOffice is a part of a larger collection of tools called OnlyOffice Workspace, where you can manage your mail, create a CRM, manage your projects, and schedule all in one place.
But for the sake of today's video, we're gonna look at OnlyOffice Docs, which is on par, if not better, with what you would find in Google Drive and Microsoft, specifically documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.
And as mentioned, you can use OnlyOffice in the cloud or choose to download it for your desktop or iOS or Android devices.
What OnlyOffice looks like
So here we are within the OnlyOffice document editor, and right off the bat, you'll notice that it has a very similar look and feel to Microsoft Word, which is great for anyone transitioning to OnlyOffice.
You'll recognize many of the same icons and even many of the same locations of these icons when it comes to the ribbon and menu up above.
I might even add some things like this header option here on the right-hand side, and if I want to choose to make adjustments to the images and other such things that I click on the document, here are almost easier to access.
I don't have to minimize and expand so many different things as I would in Microsoft Office. It lets me know what I can change right off the side of my editing window.
Google Drive sharing comparison
But one of the additional features that really sets OnlyOffice apart is its collaboration opportunities and things that you don't normally see or can find elsewhere.
Let's actually jump back to Google Drive for a moment just so I can show you what I mean. So here I am within a docs file within my Google Drive account.
And I'm going to go up to the top right-hand corner and select the share button. Now, if you're already familiar with Google tools and services, you're probably familiar with this share dialog.
Here I've added someone that I'd like to share this document with, but if I go over to the right, I only have three different options.
Now, I can choose to give them editor permission so they can basically do whatever they want with this document, and that may be appropriate depending on my needs.
I can choose to make them a commenter so they can add comments, but they don't have the ability to edit anything on the page. Last but not least, I can choose for them to be a viewer, so this is a read-only option.
At first glance, it may seem like this is all that you may need, but OnlyOffice gives us so many more flexible options. Back inside my sample document, I'm gonna go over here and click on the collaboration tab and I'm going to click on sharing.
Now, first off, I've got a lot more options here that I can choose from, including adding groups and users right from this screen.
Advanced collaboration options
But where I really want to pay our attention to are the sharing options. So if I click on this dropdown, you see that we have much more than just three options.
The first one is full access, which would be the equivalent of an editor within Google Drive. But the second one down is a reviewer.
This is so much more than just a commenter, which we also have that selection here as well. As a reviewer, they can come in here and edit anything they want, but of course, everything will be tracked.
And you, as the author or owner of this document, can approve anything that you want, but you can also decline things in which they have changed. This can be a really powerful option when you're collaborating with others.
The third one down I think is rather unique but can also be very, very helpful. This is called form filling.
And this is where you choose certain pieces of text or sections of your documents where you're going to allow this individual to add content. Let's take a quick look and see how this works.
So if I close this sharing dialog, maybe I want them to fill in the title or the name of this line here. So I'm just gonna highlight this particular line, and I'm gonna come over here to the insert layout option.
I'm gonna come over to content controls, and for our example, I'm just gonna say plain text. By applying this option, I can add as many different sections or different areas of my document where I only want to allow other people that I share with to fill out this form.
So if I go back to collaboration and I choose to share this with someone else, I can set them as a form filler only, and that means only these types of sections of my document will they have access to.
Again, giving me just a more control, maybe a little more freedom, and I can sleep a bit easier sharing this document with other individuals, knowing that they can only fill in certain areas.
The comment section is gonna be very similar to what we've seen in other programs. Yes, we do have a read-only. This would be the equivalent of a viewer.
But I especially like that they've added a deny access choice. Why? Because then I can keep a record of who did have access at one point, but now I have denied them access to this document.
Unlike other tools such as Google Drive and others, you can simply just remove that user and you won't have that same history or remember who you've shared this file with in the past.
So a lot of additional options here within the sharing settings, but it goes one step further. Besides sharing, you'll also see something called co-editing mode.
Co-editing mode options
And this can be really helpful depending on who you're sharing your files with and how you plan to update and edit the content.
So here by default, we have what's called the fast co-editing mode. And this is very standard, what you will find in other areas including Drive and Microsoft OneDrive, where everything is real-time.
For example, if I'm editing something and I choose to delete something from this line, anyone else that I'm sharing this with is going to see that immediately. And in some cases, that may be okay.
However, there is a second option called strict mode, and what this means is that you will need to use the save button to sync the changes you and others have made.
So for example, maybe I need to rework these next two paragraphs, but I don't wanna see others having me work on this in the process. I'm gonna make some mistakes, I'm gonna write some things, I'm gonna edit it, I'm going to change it.
Instead, I can choose the strict mode, and now I can choose to edit whatever I need to here and then hit save when I'm ready, so they can see the final piece or the edited version once I'm all done.
Again, just giving you some further flexibility when it comes to collaborating and sharing and editing with others.
Now you can start using OnlyOffice Docs free for 30 days, but if you choose to upgrade to their business plan, you can receive 50% off your subscription with the coupon code simple15.
For full details, be sure to check out the link in the description below. Remember, being productive does not need to be difficult. In fact, it's very simple.
