Collaborative PDF editing in ONLYOFFICE 101: all you need to know

The release of ONLYOFFICE Docs 8.2 brought many useful improvements across the suite. One of the most exciting features is the ability to collaboratively edit PDF files with other people in real time. Read this guide to find the answers to the most popular questions about this tool and learn how you can co-edit PDFs with your friends, teammates or colleagues like a pro using ONLYOFFICE PDF Editor.

Why do I open PDF files in the Commenting mode?

Previously, ONLYOFFICE PDF Editor opened PDFs in the Viewing mode by default preventing users from making accidental edits. Starting from version 8.2, it opens files in the Commenting mode which doesn’t let you modify the file’s contents.

In this mode, you can’t edit the existing text, add new text boxes or insert objects. Highlighting text, drawing and leaving comments are the only things you can do.

How do I switch to the Editing mode?

If you want to be able to edit your PDF file, you can abandon the Commenting mode and switch to the Editing mode in two ways:

• Click the Edit PDF button available on the Home, Comment, View and Plugins tabs;
• Select the Editing mode using the switcher in the upper right corner near your user avatar.

Either option will give you access to all the PDF editing tools offered by ONLYOFFICE PDF Editor.

Why don’t my co-authors see my edits in real time?

If you have already co-edited text documents, spreadsheets and presentations using ONLYOFFICE Docs, you might know that the Fast co-editing mode is enabled by default for such files allowing you to see all the changes in real time as your co-authors are typing.

When it comes to PDF files, the collaborative process is different since the default co-editing mode is Strict. These are the main benefits of this mode:

• You can collaboratively work with your teammates on one PDF file at the same time but stay concentrated on the part you need to edit;
• If you co-edit a multi-page PDF file, you can simply work on the 1st page while someone can simultaneously edit the last one. In this case, the editing process is more convenient as you don’t get distracted by other co-authors’ edits.

Read this guide in our Help Center to learn more about the Fast and Strict modes in ONLYOFFICE Docs.

How do I make my edits visible to other co-authors?

When co-editing PDFs in the Strict mode, your changes are not visible to anyone, except you. To save your edits and make them visible to other members of the collaborative process, you need to click the Save button located in the upper left corner next to the ONLYOFFICE logo.

Please note that when you save your edits, other co-authors will not only see them but also be able to modify them.

How do I activate the Fast mode?

If you prefer seeing every single edit made by someone in real time, you can activate the Fast mode in ONLYOFFICE PDF Editor. This can be done in the Advanced settings on the File tab. Just find the Collaboration section and tick the Fast option. You will notice that the Autosave option above will be automatically ticked too. This option makes it possible to save all edits automatically without having to press any button. Don’t forget to click Apply.

Now that the Fast mode is on, you can easily keep track of what is being modified in your file in real time.

How do I know who else is editing the same PDF file?

When editing a file in a big team, sometimes it’s vitally important to know exactly who is editing it right now. In ONLYOFFICE PDF Editor, you can easily find out who is editing your file together with you and visually recognize other co-authors by their avatars. All you need to do is to click the avatar button in the upper right corner.

Is it possible to co-edit PDFs in ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors?

Yes, it is. Although ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors is primarily designed for local document editing on Windows, Linux and macOS, it supports real-time document collaboration when connected to one of the compatible cloud-based services — ONLYOFFICE DocSpace, kDrive, Liferay, Moodle, Nextcloud, ownCloud or Seafile.

You can connect to your platform via the Connect to cloud section in the desktop app. For example, this is a detailed guide on how this can be done with an ONLYOFFICE DocSpace account.

When connected to the cloud, the ONLYOFFICE desktop app allows you to co-edit PDF files and other office files in real time.

How do I get started with collaborative PDF editing in ONLYOFFICE?

You need to have the latest version of the suite, v8.2. You can deploy ONLYOFFICE Docs on your server and integrate it with one of more than 40 business platforms via ready-to-use connectors and co-edit PDFs immediately, including Nextcloud and ownCloud due to the recent updates of their integration apps. Also, you can collaboratively edit PDF files in the cloud with a free ONLYOFFICE DocSpace account.

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Software developers who would like to enable collaborative PDF editing within their own software applications can integrate the latest version of the suite with ONLYOFFICE Docs Developer Edition. More information

ONLYOFFICE Docs v8.2: what else is new?

Read this article or watch this webinar to learn more about version 8.2 and its features: