Nextcloud Office is an awesome tool for editing documents. It lets teams work together in a safe cloud space right inside Nextcloud. With OnlyOffice, you get a smooth online editing experience, kind of like using Google Docs, but it’s all on your own servers. This article gives you easy steps to set up Nextcloud Office (OnlyOffice), and it covers how to use it, keep it secure, and make it run fast.

What is Nextcloud Office with OnlyOffice?

Nextcloud is like your own private version of Dropbox or Google Drive. It’s open-source, so you can host it yourself and keep everything to yourself. One of the coolest things is that you can add apps to it, like OnlyOffice, which makes editing documents online possible right within Nextcloud.

OnlyOffice Document Server is a separate server that hosts the document editing features—like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint—and hooks up with Nextcloud. Together, they give you your own web-based office suite, so you don’t need to pay for any other software.

Why Choose Nextcloud Office?

  • Control Your Data: All your docs are on your servers.
  • Work Together Effortlessly: People can edit documents at the same time.
  • Support for Common Formats: Works with files like DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX.
  • Built-in Integration: Works smoothly within the Nextcloud interface.
  • Saves Money: No need for pricey subscriptions from other cloud services.

Plenty of companies dealing with sensitive data love to use Nextcloud Office because it helps them follow the rules and still allows remote work.

How to Set Up Nextcloud Office (OnlyOffice)

Getting Nextcloud Office going means two things: installing the OnlyOffice Document Server and connecting it to your Nextcloud.

1. Get Everything Ready

You’ll need:

  • Nextcloud running (version 20 or newer is best).
  • A different server or Virtual Machine for the OnlyOffice Document Server, as it needs some decent CPU and RAM.
  • SSL certificates for secure connections. You can use something like Let’s Encrypt.

What You Need for OnlyOffice:

  • At least 2 CPU cores for smaller teams; go for 4 or more for bigger groups.
  • Minimum 4GB RAM, more if your team is large.
  • Open ports 80 and 443 for web access.

2. Install OnlyOffice Document Server

OnlyOffice makes it easy with official Docker images and scripts for installation.

  • Docker Method (It’s the easiest):
docker pull onlyoffice/documentserver:latest
docker run -i -t -d -p 443:443 onlyoffice/documentserver
  • Or, you can use installation scripts on Ubuntu/Debian.

After installing, make sure you can reach the OnlyOffice server URL via HTTPS. You should see a default page.

3. Setup the Nextcloud OnlyOffice App

In Nextcloud:

  • Go to Apps and get the OnlyOffice app.
  • Jump to Settings > Administration > OnlyOffice.
  • Put in your OnlyOffice Document Server URL, like https://office.yourdomain.com.
  • For security, set up JWT (JSON Web Tokens):
    • Set a secret in OnlyOffice’s local.json.
    • Use the same secret in Nextcloud’s OnlyOffice app settings.

JWT makes sure only your Nextcloud can ask for document editing, keeping your documents safe.

4. Give It a Spin

Upload a document (Word, Excel, or PowerPoint) to your Nextcloud files.

Click to open and edit it with OnlyOffice.

Try editing it and see if changes sync back to Nextcloud instantly.

5. Tweak and Fix Issues

  • Enable caching on both servers.
  • Watch logs for problems with the document server or connections.
  • Adjust resources based on user usage for better performance.

Examples from Real Life

Example 1: A University

A university uses Nextcloud Office for editing lecture notes and admin documents collaboratively. They put the OnlyOffice Document Server on its own VM with SSL, which helps keep everything private and running well, even at busy times.

Professors love using it because they can work without needing big software suites, and IT folks like it because they don’t worry about compliance as much since everything is in-house.

Example 2: A Remote Work Team

A tech company sets up Nextcloud with OnlyOffice for online teams. They use their VPN to keep editing sessions safe. Real-time editing means fewer email attachments and version errors.

This setup helps the company keep productivity up and enforces strict data security rules.

Security and Compliance Tips

Running Nextcloud Office means you’re handling documents yourself. This gives you more control, but also more responsibility:

  • Your Data Stays Yours: No one else has access.
  • Use Safe Connections: Always go HTTPS between Nextcloud and OnlyOffice.
  • Verify Access: JWT tokens make sure only the right people can use it.
  • Keep it Updated: Always put the latest updates on Nextcloud and OnlyOffice.
  • Control Who Sees What: Manage who can view and edit files in Nextcloud.

When you mix Nextcloud’s access controls with secure OnlyOffice integration, you can keep it easy to use and stay on the right side of laws like GDPR and HIPAA.

Making It Run Better

  • Let OnlyOffice run on its own system for less resource juggling.
  • Give it enough CPU and RAM based on how many users you have.
  • Use Redis caching in Nextcloud for speed boosts.
  • Check server logs and metrics often.
  • If things slow down, limit how big files can be or how many can work on them.
  • Consider using a reverse proxy like Nginx or Apache for SSL stuff.

Doing these things helps make document editing faster and smoother.

Cool Stuff You Can Do

  • Connect to more file storage by mounting other file systems in Nextcloud.
  • Change the OnlyOffice look according to your needs.
  • Track document edits with audits.
  • Use LDAP or SAML for single sign-on with Nextcloud for easy user management.

These tweaks can make your Nextcloud Office fit right into what your big company needs.

In Closing

OnlyOffice with Nextcloud gives you a strong, secure, and easy-to-use space for document editing in your own cloud setup. Setting up the OnlyOffice Document Server and linking it with Nextcloud makes teamwork, privacy, and compliance easy peasy.

By following this guide, you can offer your team efficient document editing and real-time collaboration without relying on other cloud services. Keep those connections secure and the system updated.

For more support and updates about Nextcloud and OnlyOffice, check out Dhabaka—a trusted place for Nextcloud know-how and services.

Take Action

Want to boost your team’s work with safe, reliable document editing in Nextcloud? Start by setting up your OnlyOffice Document Server using this guide. Need expert help or a custom approach? Reach out to Nextcloud specialists to kick-start your setup.

Get in Touch