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Co-editing documents online

Introduction

Whether you make a contract, or write an article, or translate a text you might need to interact with people especially at the final stage to specify details or proofread the document. In this case the action sequence is more or less similar: sending document - waiting for the result - correcting and editing - sending document - waiting for the result - correcting and editing and so on till the result satisfy both parties.

To avoid this continuous procedure and achieve the best result without wasting time on sending and waiting, make use of the Co-editing feature provided by Document Editor. All you need to do that is to send the link to your document to the needed person and start co-editing the document commenting and discussing it in real time without installing any program.

This guide will show you how it can be done in a few steps.

Step 1. Access the Documents

Enter your portal and click the Documents link.

How to co-edit the document online? Step 1 How to co-edit the document online? Step 1

In case you have already logged in to the portal and been using it for some time, to access the Documents module, open the drop-down list in the top left corner of the page and select the corresponding option.

Step 2. Select a document to edit

The My documents folder opens. To locate a necessary document make use of our filter at the top of the document list.

Click the Plus Icon button and specify the necessary filter parameters:

  • To filter items by TYPES choose one of the following options: Folders, Documents, Presentations, Spreadsheets, Images, Media, Archives, or All files.
  • To filter items by AUTHOR click the User or Group option and choose the necessary user or group.
    The My documents section contains your personal files. Filtering by AUTHOR in the My documents section can be useful if you've previously shared a folder and other users added their files to your shared folder.
  • To include subfolders in search click the All subfolders option in the SEARCH section.

Enter a document title, entirely or partially, in the filter field and press the Enter key to display the found item(s).

By default, all the files are sorted by Last modified date in descending order (later dates to early ones). If necessary, you can sort the items by Creation date, Title, Type, Size or Author opening the Sort by drop-down list to the right of the Filter field and choosing the necessary option. To change the sorting order from Descending to Ascending click the Sorting Order Icon icon.

How to co-edit the document online? Step 2 How to co-edit the document online? Step 2

To edit a file stored on your hard disk drive, first upload it to Documents clicking the Upload Upload button button in the upper left corner of the page and selecting the Upload files option.

You can also create a new document right on the portal clicking the Create button in the upper left corner and selecting the file type you wish to create from the drop-down list.

Step 3. Configure the sharing settings

Once the document is located click the Share button to the right.

In the opened Sharing Settings window, click the External link access switcher and give full access to the document choosing the Full Access option from the list next to the External link access caption. Use the Shorten option to get a shortened link.

How to co-edit the document online? Step 3 How to co-edit the document online? Step 3

Then select a way you wish to share the link to your document:

  • Send it via email
    Click the Email icon icon. If you are already using the Mail module, a message template will open in a new tab.

    In the To: field, enter the email address of the person you need to send the link. You can start typing the recipient email address or name and choose the needed one from the list. The contacts stored in your address book that match the entered characters are displayed there as you type (i.e. your personal, CRM and portal contacts as well as email adresses you've already sent emails to).

    You can add as many recipients as you wish. Select several addresses from the list one by one or enter multiple new addresses separated by commas. If an email address is entered incorrectly, the address block will be highlighted in red. To edit an address, double click the necessary address block. To delete an address, click the Delete Address Icon icon.

    Edit the covering message, if necessary, and click the Send button.

How to co-edit the document online? Step 3 How to co-edit the document online? Step 3
  • Share it via social networks
    Click one of the available social network logos: Facebook or Twitter and access your account.
  • Share it in another way
    Use the Copy option or copy the whole link with the mouse or using the Ctrl+A and Ctrl+C key combinations and send it via the instant messenger you use or any other available way.

Step 4. Start the co-editing

To start co-editing the document all that is necessary is to follow the provided link.

To be able to edit the document, the person with the provided link doesn't need to be a registered user of the current portal or have his/her own. He/she doesn't need to download the document or install any additional word processing program.

After following the link the invited persons can start editing the document using the Online Editor features without any limitations.

Document Editor allows to select one of the two available co-editing modes:

  • The Fast mode is used by default and shows the changes made by other people in real time.
  • The Strict mode allows to hide other user changes until you click the Save icon to save your own changes and accept the changes made by others.

Switch to the Collaboration tab, click the Co-editing Mode icon Co-editing Mode button at the top toolbar and choose the necessary mode. Alternatively, you can open the File tab, click the Advanced Settings menu item, select the necessary mode in the Co-editing Mode list and click the Apply button.

How to co-edit the document online? Step 4 How to co-edit the document online? Step 4

If you have selected the Strict mode, the currently edited text passages are marked with dashed lines of different colors. As soon as one of your co-editors saves his/her changes, you will see a note in the left upper corner of the top toolbar stating that they have updates. To save the changes made click the Save Updates icon icon, to get the updates click the Get Updates icon icon. The updates will be highlighted.

How to co-edit the document online? Step 4 How to co-edit the document online? Step 4

Step 5. Comment the text passages

If you or your co-editor need to comment the changes one of you made or just indicate the text passages to be edited, make use of the Real-time commenting feature.

Select a passage you need to add a comment to with the mouse, right-click it and select the Add comment option from the context menu. The pop-up window will be opened.

How to co-edit the document online? Step 5 How to co-edit the document online? Step 5

Enter your comment text and click the Add button. The commented passage will be highlighted. To edit or remove the comment, just click within the commented passage and use the Edit icon or Remove icon icons respectively. In the Strict co-editing mode, do not forget to save the document using the Save Updates icon icon to make the comment available for your co-editors.

To reply to the comment added by your co-editor, left-click within the commented passage. Click the Add Reply link at the bottom of the opened pop-up window, type in your message and click the Reply button.

Once the issue is solved, click the Resolve icon icon in the upper right corner of the pop-up window.

To track the whole history of the comments added to the current document, open the Comments panel clicking the Comments icon icon at the leftside bar.

How to co-edit the document online? Step 5 How to co-edit the document online? Step 5

Step 6. Discuss the document

To communicate with your co-editors while editing the document, open the Chat panel clicking the Chat icon icon at the leftside bar. All the users who currently edit the document will be listed at the top of the panel.

To start a discussion, just enter your message into the field below and click the Send button.

How to co-edit the document online? Step 6 How to co-edit the document online? Step 6
Real-time co-editing in ONLYOFFICE
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