ONLYOFFICE DocSpace turns 1: a retrospective report

A year ago, we released the first version of ONLYOFFICE DocSpace, our room-based document collaboration platform. Let’s take a look at how this software product was born, how it has changed and what our team has done to improve its functionality and usability over the last 12 months.

Concept of ONLYOFFICE DocSpace

When our team started developing ONLYOFFICE DocSpace, we wanted to deliver a new concept of working with office files allowing users to save time and improve document collaboration with people outside of their team or organization, e.g. customers, partners, contractors, sponsors and so on, within a single platform that could be integrated into any ready-to-use web interface if needed.

The key idea was to provide our users with a comprehensive suite of tools to streamline collaboration processes, ensure data security and boost productivity, making it the perfect choice for their document collaboration needs.

When it comes to pricing, the concept of ONLYOFFICE DocSpace implies an unlimited number of users for free, which is not what popular document collaboration platforms usually offer. When using the paid version of DocSpace, you should pay only for the number of admins you need to effectively manage your team.

Did we manage to make the concept of DocSpace come true? Let’s find out together!

History of ONLYOFFICE DocSpace: background

The history of ONLYOFFICE DocSpace started in 2021 when our team began revamping our productivity platform with the purpose of creating ONLYOFFICE App Server, a microservice architecture platform that was supposed to bring infinite scaling capabilities.

As a result, we released an updated version of ONLYOFFICE Personal, an online office for documents spreadsheets and presentations, that was based on the App Server technology. The new Personal was faster, more powerful and stable, and worked smoothly both in the web and mobile environment.

As the required technology was ready and proved its reliability in practice, the next step was the release of the first DocSpace version.

History of ONLYOFFICE DocSpace: major releases

There have been several DocSpace releases so far, each of them with its own unique features and improvements. Let’s quickly recap the main things you need to know.

ONLYOFFICE DocSpace v1.0

The first version of ONLYOFFICE DocSpace was released in April 2023. It allowed users to create collaboration rooms for real-time co-authoring and custom rooms with individual settings for any purpose. In DocSpace, it was possible to invite other people and give them flexible access permissions, such as Viewer, Commentator, Reviewer, Form filler, Editor, Power user and Room admin, for more convenient collaboration on any content, including office files, PDFs, e-books and multimedia files.

Self-hosted ONLYOFFICE DocSpace

Initially, ONLYOFFICE DocSpace was only available in the cloud. The self-hosted version of the platform appeared a few months later providing the same document collaboration features for users seeking data privacy. On-premises deployment is possible for both Linux and Windows servers.

ONLYOFFICE DocSpace v2.0

The next important release was ONLYOFFICE DocSpace v2.0 in December 2023. The upgraded version offered plenty of new features and improvements across the platform, including a new room type for public sharing, enhanced room management, plugins for extra functionality, a more intuitive profile page, data reassignment, further hotkeys, extended tools for developers and more.

ONLYOFFICE DocSpace v2.5

The latest release is ONLYOFFICE DocSpace v2.5 rolled out in April 2024, one year after the first version. The upgraded ONLYOFFICE DocSpace offers some really useful improvements, including third-party storages for public rooms, user groups, storage quotas and statistics, presets for DocSpace embedding, data import from ONLYOFFICE Workspace and Google Workspace, multi-spaces management and other improvements.

New document editing features

The ONLYOFFICE editors are an integral part of the DocSpace platform. This is a quick summary of all important releases and new features available in ONLYOFFICE DocSpace:

• Drawing tools, radar charts, document combination, saving objects as pictures and an updated ChatGPT plugin in version 7.4;
• PDF editor, automatic hyphenation, improved pivot tables, Morph transitions and screen readers in version 7.5;
• Fillable PDF forms, bidirectional text and the RTL interface, Chart Wizards and Goal Seek in sheets, user avatars and updated UI for plugins in version 8.0.

Watch this video to learn how to use the latest version of the ONLYOFFICE online editors in your DocSpace:

Integration options

When we worked on the concept of ONLYOFFICE DocSpace, it was designed as a software product for integration, initially for those platforms that didn’t have their own storage for office files. That’s why since the first version, ONLYOFFICE DocSpace has been offering open API and special tools for developers. Using this functionality, it’s possible to integrate the platform into a single-page application (SPA) or any other web-based platform.

The most common DocSpace integration scenarios include:

1. Integration of separate rooms. In this case, you can embed DocSpace rooms into your web-based application to make their contents available to users allowing them to view and download files without having to register a DocSpace account.
2. Integration of the whole DocSpace platform. This scenario implies that DocSpace is used to store, edit and co-author office files within the interface of a web-based application.
3. Integration of third-party services and tools into DocSpace. You can create a plugin making it possible to integrate a service or an app into the platform to get access to new features.

Read the official API documentation to learn how to integrate ONLYOFFICE DocSpace according to one of the scenarios above.

Our team has ready-to-use connectors and plugins to demonstrate the integration capabilities of ONLYOFFICE DocSpace. Let’s take a quick look at them.

Integration of the DocSpace platform: Zoom

The DocSpace app for Zoom, launched in February 2024, allows Zoom users to edit and co-author office files within virtual meetings using the features and tools provided by ONLYOFFICE DocSpace. The app for Zoom is free and can be found in the Zoom App Marketplace.

Bonus: If you register before August 1, 2024, you will get access to the following advantages which will be valid for 6 months from the registration date:

• 100 admin users;
• 100 rooms;
• 100 GB of disk space.

A new version of the DocSpace app for Zoom is coming soon. Stay tuned!

Integration of DocSpace rooms and folders: WordPress and Drupal

Another integration achievement for our team was the release of ONLYOFFICE DocSpace connectors for WordPress and Drupal in March 2024. Both connectors were designed to enhance accessibility to office files for website visitors.

Using the ONLYOFFICE DocSpace integration apps, Drupal and WordPress admins can embed DocSpace rooms and folders with content and office files into web pages, enabling users to conveniently access and interact with documents without the need to download them. Also, they can store, edit and collaborate on docs within their platform.

Integration of third-party tools: plugins

DocSpace plugins are meant to enhance the functionality of the platform by enabling new features and tools. Currently, there are four DocSpace plugins:

• Draw.io to create, edit and insert professional-looking diagrams and flowcharts;
• Markdown to view, create and edit .md files;
• PDF converter to convert docs, sheets, slides and forms to PDF format;
• Speech-to-text to convert speech from audio and video files into text.

DocSpace plugins can be enabled by admins and the platform owner. When enabled, they are available to all DocSpace users.

Universal integration: Zapier (beta mode)

To make integration with other systems easier, our team released a new DocSpace integration app for Zapier. Using it, you can easily automate your business tasks using Zaps for ONLYOFFICE DocSpace and various apps like Zoom, Slack, OneDrive, HubSpot, etc. Stay tuned and learn more about ready-to-use examples coming soon in our blog!

Appreciation of users

Currently, there are more than 2.5 million DocSpace users worldwide. The platform managed to earn the trust of a wide audience. One of the most striking examples is Kinderhaus Berlin – Mark Brandenburg e.V. (the Berlin Children’s Home), a public organization in the Berlin region, Germany. The organization installed ONLYOFFICE DocSpace Server to help its employees save their time and organize effective document workflows. Read the full story to learn more.

This is how users rate DocSpace on some popular software marketplaces and catalogues:

• 4 out of 5 stars on Capterra, Software Advice and GetApp;
• 4,8 out of 5 stars on G2;
• 9 out of 10 on Tekpon.

This is a review written by a DocSpace user on G2:

ONLYOFFICE DocSpace is one of the easy to use documentation software. With the help of ONLYOFFICE DocSpace one can work with any content type like PPT, text document, spreadsheet, pdf’s. OnlyOffice Docspace also has good integration with Zoom and draw.io. The dedicated customer support provided is very good. ONLYOFFICE DocSpace is easy to implement within our organisation, and I am a frequent user of DocSpace.

Do you have something to say about ONLYOFFICE DocSpace? Share your opinion by leaving a review on one of the platforms above!

ONLYOFFICE DocSpace in the press

Not only users but also professional writers and authors expressed their opinions about ONLYOFFICE DocSpace. Read these reviews written by popular online publications and websites:

• MUO;
• Beebom;
• Tech Times;
• Tech Advisor;
• Make Tech Easier;
• El Grupo Informático (in Spanish);
• Revista Cloud Computing (in Spanish);
• Muylinux (in Spanish);
• t3n (in German).

ONLYOFFICE DocSpace in numbers

Numbers speak louder than words. Take a look at this infographic to learn some interesting facts about ONLYOFFICE DocSpace in 2023 and 2024:

In the first year, almost 100,000 DocSpaces have been created with more than 2.5 million users from all over the world. Interestingly, 30% of them come from Europe, and the most popular languages are English, Chinese and French.

When it comes to DocSpace rooms, the most popular type is collaboration rooms, they are created most often. The least popular type is public rooms, and this is not a surprise. This room type appeared not long ago.

You are always welcome to share your feedback in the comments or tweet us at @only_office. Want to contribute to our project? Learn how on our website!

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