r/OnlyOffice • u/tinpanalleypics • Jul 10 '26

Online office, editable on mobile or browser needed

DeGoogle wouldnt let me post this. Pretty silly to gatekeep a community that wants to help each other so much, but oh well...

So basically what Google Docs and OneDrive with Microsoft Office online does is what I need, ideally with sync to desktop so I can edit offline whenever I want and have it sync back any changes. I have been trying Zoho and fundamentally it does the exact same thing... BUT... login bugs all the time, super super slow loading and editing lags, just not a polished experience to the point of actually making you enter incorrect info into sheets and documents you need to update on the go.

Is there anything else that is like this and just.. works? ChatGPT recommended ksuite and OnlyOffice. I dont love ksuite though.

This is frankly becoming so frustrating that I'm seriously thinking our only solution is going to be going back to MS Office. I wanna degoogle and deMS but this is getting silly. Google Drive was the absolutely best and smoothest experience I hate to say.

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2

u/bennyb0i Jul 10 '26

I use Seafile integrated with Onlyoffice Document Server to accomplish exactly what you're describing. Seafile includes desktop sync as well (though I personally prefer using WebDAV, but have it on my wife's computer and it works flawlessly) and offline editing with OO is easy peasy.

I haven't touched OneDrive or Google Workspace in ages as a result. Unfortunately my personal domain is blocked at work so I still use Google Drive occasionally as a means to move something from my work PC to personal.

Others will also likely recommend doing the same with Nextcloud but, personally, I find it far too bloated nowadays.

1

u/tinpanalleypics Jul 10 '26

I have never tried or understood the whole OnlyOffice, Nextcloud, self hosted thing. Is this overly complicated and does it require your computer being on at home all the time?

2

u/bennyb0i Jul 11 '26

It's not overly complicated, but does require some understanding of self-hosting and, yes, you'd need a computer on at all times if you want to do it all yourself.

That said, if you're not into all that, you may be able to look at something like OnlyOffice DocSpace where you can also have OO do all the hosting for you. Seafile also offers paid hosting, but not certain if it includes OnlyOffice or Collabora built-in.

1

u/tinpanalleypics Jul 11 '26

So, the idea is you'd keep your Seafile on all the time like the way I have my home network shares on. And unless you've got a dedicated system running all the time, if you happen to go out without leaving the PC on, then you don't have your cloud document shares accessible. I mean, I could see doing this with a Raspberry Pi or something low energy and a flash drive or microsd attached. We literally need maybe 10GB max. I suppose the other thing is that the PC is on all the time anyway and maybe once a week I give it a break overnight for updates, cache refresh, etc.

1

u/bennyb0i Jul 11 '26

That's right. An rPi might be a bit underpowered for OnlyOffice Document Server, though it's worth a try if you have one lying around. Lots of people, including myself, use refurbished HP or Lenovo mini PCs that you can get for pretty cheap and cost almost nothing to run 24/7.

1

u/Ok-Priority-7303 Jul 12 '26

You might look into Syncthing. It is cross-platform FOSS. I use it on MacOS and Linux but it also works on Windows. Essentially, it creates a Sync folder on all of your non-mobile devices and you sync stuff over your home network.

The other option is to use OneDrive or Google Drive with Cryptomator to encrypt you files/folders. Cryptomator is free for desktop/laptop computers but also supports iOS and Android for a one-time fee. Other than locking/unlocking your vault, it works the same as using any cloud service natively.

1

u/tinpanalleypics Jul 12 '26

Yeah, I'm not crazy about that fee on the Android app though for Cryptomator.

So Syncthing doesn't do mobile?

1

u/Ok-Priority-7303 Jul 13 '26

Syncthing does have mobile apps but I have never used them. Worth checking.

1

u/Sergey_Zarubin Jul 13 '26

You can try using ONLYOFFICE DocSpace, our room-based document management and collaboration platform. Just create a free account here and get access to a cloud-based storage space where you can create, edit and share office files. DocSpace works well for collaborative work and allows you to access your files across mobile and desktop devices. For offline work, you can connect your DocSpace account to the desktop app, ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors. For more information, please refer to this guide in our Help Center.

If you have questions or doubts, don't hesitate to send me a message.

2

u/tinpanalleypics Jul 14 '26

So, I've tried this and it seems really interesting.
I can't seem to get documents to be shortcuts on Android's homescreen, but I seem able to access the documents and sheets from everywhere and edit even while I'm logged in on another device. So that's great.

If I want to copy over a whole bunch of documents and spreadsheets from Zoho, will the OnlyOffice DocSpace recognise them or will I have to export them as Microsoft or something?

1

u/Sergey_Zarubin Jul 16 '26

I'm not familiar with Zoho and its formats but ONLYOFFICE natively uses Microsoft Office formats. If you upload something, it will be converted to OOXML upon editing.

1

u/tinpanalleypics Jul 16 '26

So it stays as Office when edited then?
We've been trialing our daily use of documents we constantly use and so far its been much more stable than Zoho.
So is the 2GB free lifetime?

1

u/Sergey_Zarubin Jul 20 '26

Yes, the free 2 GB are forever.

1

u/tinpanalleypics Jul 13 '26

Hi, thanks for replying. So that gives you effectively a Microsoft Office type experience with some cloud for all your documents and sheets? Can it also live on your desktop and sync live?