- Detailed auto-recovery with system routes and restore from the app
- Advanced collaboration, WebDAV, Nextcloud, and AI with improved plugins
- New features in 7.4: drawings, radials, combining documents, and image exports
If you work with documents, spreadsheets, and presentations on a daily basis, you've probably come across ONLYOFFICE files. In this article, you'll find a very complete explanation of what you can do with them, how to recover them in case of a problem, what's new in the editors, and how to take advantage of their integrations and artificial intelligence. All with a practical and straightforward approach, so you can improve your workflow right now. ONLYOFFICE files.
In addition to reviewing advanced features, you'll see details that often go unnoticed, such as the exact paths where recovery copies are saved, the real difference between merging and comparing documents, or a step-by-step automation example for creating presentations from scratch with the Document Builder API. The idea is that you finish reading with a complete understanding and tools to apply from day one in your environment with only Office.
What are ONLYOFFICE files and how to work with them?
ONLYOFFICE offers office editors for text, spreadsheets, and presentations that handle modern Office formats with ease. The base types are DOCX, XLSX files and PPTX, and other common formats such as DOC, XLS, PPT, ODT, ODS, ODP, DOTX can also be opened and processed. For viewing, PDF can be opened, and when it comes to exporting, it is possible to save as PDF, TXT, CSV or HTML, which is very useful for share or publish.
One of the biggest advantages is collaboration. You can share files with different permissions: read-only, review, or full access. You can also generate external links if you need to grant controlled access to someone without an account. While you're working with others, real-time co-editing shows changes as they're written, so the team can work together. full sync.
If you're interested in forms, the editors allow you to view and fill out templates. You can then save them as PDFs for easy distribution. Templates are created in the web version of ONLYOFFICE Docs, although there's also a library of ready-to-use templates, which greatly speeds up document creation. standardized.
For those who prefer to work locally, desktop editors allow you to edit text and spreadsheet documents, view presentations and PDFs, and even open photos and videos. You can also rename, move, copy files, create folders, and convert documents before exporting them. All without leaving the ONLYOFFICE environment, with a local workflow. rápido y seguro.
In the cloud, you can log in to different services using WebDAV. This way, you can manage documents, spreadsheets, and presentations stored in these spaces, edit them directly, download and upload items, and work with collections and directories. The app also gives you access to your own ONLYOFFICE portal, either corporate or a free personal one, which you can create from the app if you don't have one yet. This ecosystem facilitates centralized control of your data. document life cycle.
Edit directly from Nextcloud with ONLYOFFICE
If you use Nextcloud, the integration with ONLYOFFICE allows you to edit files directly from the browser, similar to Excel OnlineOnce both instances are configured and connected, simply right-click on a file to view the OnlyOffice options and open it instantly. This context menu action saves time and prevents additional installations on your computer, ideal for multi-user environments.
You can also create new documents from the web by clicking the plus icon in the upper left corner. After giving it a name, the file automatically opens with the online editors. This allows you to generate and modify content without leaving your cloud, with the benefit of having all your material in a single location controlled by your organization and managed under your policies.
File Recovery in ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors
One of the critical points in office automation is what happens when something goes wrong: a crash, a power outage, or an unexpected shutdown. ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors has a recovery system that works in the background to minimize losses. When you open or create a document, a copy is created in a special folder and automatically updated after you finish editing. This AutoRecovery is enabled by default and can be viewed in File > Advanced Settings, within the Edit & Save section, which provides a extra layer of security.
The paths where these backups are stored depend on the operating system. On Windows, they are saved in %LocalAppData%\ONLYOFFICE\DesktopEditors\data\recover, on Linux in /home/{user}/.local/share/onlyoffice/desktopeditors/recover, and on macOS in Users/%UserName%/Library/Application Support/asc.onlyoffice.ONLYOFFICE/recovery. Keeping these locations handy is important for auditing purposes or to verify that backups are being generated correctly. vision.
While you edit, changes are automatically recorded in a database and saved in folders like …/recover/{any_folder}/changes. Change updates are triggered 3 seconds after you complete an editing action, for example, when you stop typing in a document or change cells in a sheet. This time buffer avoids costly operations every second and keeps the record close enough to the latest version. part.
If the application is closed improperly, any pending changes in the recovery directory remain there and can be recovered later from the dedicated recovery function within desktop editors. However, if you close the application normally and there are files with unsaved changes, you will be prompted to choose between saving or closing without saving. Depending on your choice, the changes to the file will be saved or discarded, and in both cases the recovery copies will be automatically deleted from your computer. permanent bases.
To recover an unsaved file from its backup, go to Recent Files and select Recover Files. Select the file and open it. Important: After recovering, you'll need to manually save your changes so that the file is up to date and you're not relying solely on the backup data, ensuring a final save.
For now, it's not possible to modify recovery process parameters. The team is considering incorporating configurable autosave and manual selection of the recovery folder path in future versions. If you work in the cloud with ONLYOFFICE DocSpace, you also have version history to restore previous states of documents, a second line of defense that complements the self-recovery.
Key new features in editors version 7.4
Version 7.4 of the online editor brings a number of practical features. One of the most striking is the ability to draw freehand directly on slides, as well as in text documents and spreadsheets. You can choose the color and line thickness from the new Draw tab. To top it all off, suggestions with color names and an eyedropper that identifies the color you need have been added, speeding up the process. visual coherence.
In the field of charts, radar charts are here to illustrate multivariate data in spreadsheets, documents, or presentations. They're available in Insert > Chart > Radar, and include variants such as Radar, Radar with Markers, and Filled Radar. This expands the options for presenting time, category, or profile comparisons with a clear view. clara.
For those who manage many versions, document merging makes all the difference. You can now merge two versions into one, and unlike document comparison, unresolved changes remain pending in the final document. This way, you can accept or reject them later, preventing the system from tacitly accepting them. The option is located in the Collaboration > Merge tab, helping legal and content teams manage revisions with ease. fine control.
Another powerful improvement: saving objects as images. You can convert shapes, charts, Text Art, text boxes, or Smart Art into PNG images with transparent backgrounds, ready to reuse in other documents or presentations. Additionally, edge opacity adjustments for graphic objects and the ability to copy formatting from existing visuals when creating new ones have been added, speeding up the process. consistent design.
It's also possible to export text documents and spreadsheets as PNG or JPG images. And for compatibility, the list of formats open for viewing and further editing via OOXML conversion has been expanded, including MHTML, SXC, ET, ETT, SXI, DPS, DPT, XML, SXW, STW, WPS, and WPT. This additional coverage makes it easier to recover older material or less common suites and bring it into a modern workflow. OOXML.
Spreadsheets now have improved range protection, so you can grant editing permissions to only the right people while everyone else sees the content. New formulas like SEQUENCE, XMATCH, EXPAND, FILTER, ARRAYTOTEXT, and SORT are also available, and PivotTable improvements include Show Values As and contextual options. Also added are page break preview, range and first page number settings for printing, short and long date presets in number format, and case adjustments for changing capitalization, improving control. of presentation.
For plugins, the expanded API allows for multiple windows per plugin and dynamic embedding in context menus, opening up more advanced uses. The ChatGPT plugin is revamped with word analysis, image generation, summaries and keywords, translation, and more. There's also a server utility for administrators to install or uninstall plugins with a single command, avoiding manual folder copies and reducing deployment time. maintenance.
The document editor incorporates advanced column settings and improvements to list handling: configuration of numbered and multi-level lists, recently used and current document lists as presets, and the option to create a new list from the configuration dialog. In addition, a list of exceptions for capitalization autocorrection has been added, also available in the presentation editor, solving cases in which you do not want a word to be capitalized. automatic way.
Localization has expanded its reach: Sinhala translation for editors, Danish regional settings, formula tips translated into Armenian, and a Help section in Turkish. If you're interested in contributing, the community is open to translators and contributors with incentives, a good opportunity to boost the community. global accessibility.
ONLYOFFICE forms are optimized with the option to add a new form without leaving the current one, default value adjustment to avoid filling in edit mode, better rendering in fixed forms, and more polished behavior in small forms embedded in complex structures. In usability, more interface scales have been added: 250, 300, 350, 400, 450, and 500 percent, in addition to tweaks to elements such as the number of search results and column titles, which improves readability on screens. high resolution.
To quickly learn what's new, there's a release overview video and even a free scheduled webinar designed to answer questions live. The self-hosted edition of ONLYOFFICE Docs 7.4 is available for download, while the update arrives shortly after for cloud solutions. This cadence ensures that both on-prem and cloud deployments stay up-to-date. stable cycle.
Automating presentations with Document Builder
ONLYOFFICE Document Builder allows you to programmatically generate presentations, ideal for creating recurring reports or custom templates. A typical workflow starts with creating a PPTX file and fetching the current presentation. An attempt is made to locate the starting slide by index; if it doesn't exist, a new one is created and added to the presentation. The canvas dimensions are then set to 12,192,000 by 6,858,000 internal units, corresponding to the slide size, which sets the basis for positioning. objects with precision.
For backgrounds, it's common to use stretch-fit image fills. For example, you can apply a background that points to an image URL for the first slide, and then clean up the slide objects to start from scratch. Rectangular shapes are added with dimensions expressed in multiples of 3600 units per measure, setting a fill without color and without a stroke when looking for a clean text box. Thanks to precise positioning in x and y coordinates, the text block appears exactly where it's needed, with adjusted spacing before and after and a line separation based on a 9 by 24 multiplier for comfortable leading and readable.
In text, you can control parameters such as RGB color, font size, and font family (e.g., Arial), and apply bold. Moving on to the next slide, you can set a different image background and repeat the pattern: create shapes without fill or border to place informative phrases, control spacing and leading again, and use white for text on photographic backgrounds. This creates blocks such as Add and manage slides or Create shapes, charts, and insert images, all adapted to a visual design. coherent.
The API includes gradient fills with color stops. For example, a linear gradient with two stops can be created, combining shades such as 255,219,178 and 240,173,173 with an angle of 13,500,000 units to generate decorative rectangles of 374 by 221 units multiplied by 3,600. Various pieces with blues (57,151,219 to 0,112,192) or cyans (161,232,255 to 135,209,232) allow for visual accents. Positioning, once again, is handled with exact coordinates that tile these cards, providing depth and visual hierarchy.
In addition to rectangles, you can insert symbols such as a mathPlus with a solid fill in a soft tone (e.g., 255,255,204), or build small staggered blocks with rectangles of different sizes and colors (e.g., 240x467, 231x366, 251x250, 177x144, with specific positions). It is even possible to create blockArc shapes with gradients that mix pale yellows with soft reds or blues with turquoise, achieving organic compositions. The flow concludes by saving the file as samplepresentation.pptx and closing it from the builder, leaving a presentation ready.
This level of detail in positions, sizes, and colors allows for faithful reproduction of complex designs. Highlights include setting backgrounds per slide, deleting existing objects, creating text boxes with line spacing control, inserting elements with solid or gradient fills, and final saving. All of this enables automated pipelines that produce consistent corporate materials with minimal intervention. manual.
AI in ONLYOFFICE and plugin ecosystem
The suite integrates flexibly with artificial intelligence. You can connect any AI model, even local models in your infrastructure, and assign different models to specific tasks. This opens the door to generating texts, images, or code snippets directly within the editing flow, obtaining quick answers, checking spelling and grammar, rewriting texts to shorten or extend them, and translating into multiple languages, all from the same environment. time saving.
In addition, there's an online AI agent in beta, designed to intelligently interact with editors. Added to this is the overall improvement in plugins: more windows per plugin, insertion into context menus, and a server utility that simplifies installation or uninstallation with a single line. The ChatGPT-type plugin illustrates this leap well with functions for word analysis, image generation, summaries, keywords, and translations, increasing the reach of automation.
When integrating AI, it's a good idea to define usage policies and choose appropriate models based on the task. For example, one for linguistic verification, another for image generation, and a third for content synthesis. The ability to run local models is key for sectors that require data sovereignty, as it keeps sensitive information in proprietary systems and facilitates compliance with data security regulations. privacy.
Management, forms and interaction messages
The ONLYOFFICE Documents app makes it easy to manage files on your portal: upload and download, sort, filter, rename and delete, add to favorites, and organize by folder. To work in the cloud, you need an active portal, but if you don't have one yet, you can create one from the app itself. With local and cloud editing covered, your day-to-day workflow flows seamlessly between desktop, mobile, and web. continuity.
In the forms section, the improvements described above make creating and managing templates more convenient. The ability to add another form without leaving the current one reduces clicks, improved fixed rendering provides clarity, and the ability to prevent filling in edit mode prevents common errors when working with master templates. Along with saving as PDF, this feature becomes a backbone for repetitive processes.
Sites powered by ONLYOFFICE often include comment modules or forms. In this context, you'll see common messages such as "Recaptcha is incorrect," "Your request has been sent successfully," or "We're sorry, but an error occurred. Please try again later." These notifications help validate interactions and provide transparency for the user, as well as serving as quick indicators for the support team when diagnosing a problem. incidences.
Best practices for working with ONLYOFFICE files
It's a good idea to adopt a discipline of saving frequently, even with auto-recovery enabled. Take advantage of Recent Files and the Recover Files section for incidents. If you work in the cloud, enable and use version history in tools like DocSpace. When sharing, define read, review, or edit permissions based on role, and use external links only when necessary and with limited validity to reinforce the to maximise security and your enjoyment..
In spreadsheets, protect ranges when collaborating with multiple people and combine new formulas to build powerful models. In presentations, take advantage of exporting objects as images and pen or marker drawings for creative sessions or quick corrections. In documents, use advanced column and list options to maintain consistent styles and create templates with predefined headings, fonts, and lists that speed up your workflow. production.
For integrations, keep your credentials up to date and check your services for WebDAV compatibility. If you manage plugins, document which extensions are approved, what extra windows they open, and what context menu entries they add. Periodically review the catalog and use the server utility to cleanly install and uninstall, recording them in your installation procedures. cultural, .
On computers with high-density displays, adjust the interface scaling to 250 percent or higher until you find the appropriate comfort level. If you localize the environment for international computers, review the regional settings and consider contributing translations where you see areas for improvement. Small tweaks to language and date formats impact the overall agility. TEAM.
ONLYOFFICE Files enables robust work on-premises and in the cloud, with disaster recovery, co-editing, permission control, enterprise-grade integrations, and an AI layer that adds speed and quality to your content. With new features in version 7.4 and the ability to automate presentations or workflows with Document Builder, the suite covers everything from everyday tasks to complex scenarios, always with options to export, protect, version, and maintain visual and data consistency across each project. Valid identity document.
