ONLYOFFICE addon for Plone

May 20, 2026 · View on GitHub

This addon allows users to edit office documents within Plone using ONLYOFFICE Docs.

ONLYOFFICE for Plone

Features ✨

The addon allows to:

  • Create and edit text documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.
  • Share documents with other users.
  • Co-edit documents in real-time: use two co-editing modes (Fast and Strict), Track Changes, comments, and built-in chat.

Supported file formats 📁

ActionFormats
EditingDOCX, XLSX, PPTX, PDF
ViewingDJVU, DOC, DOCM, DOCX, DOT, DOTM, DOTX, EPUB, FB2, FODT, HTML, MHT, ODT, OTT, OXPS, PDF, RTF, TXT, XPS, XML, CSV, FODS, ODS, OTS, XLS, XLSB, XLSM, XLSX, XLT, XLTM, XLTX, FODP, ODP, OTP, POT, POTM, POTX, PPS, PPSM, PPSX, PPT, PPTM, PPTX
Convert (Download as)DOC, DOCM, DOCX, DOT, DOTM, DOTX, EPUB, FB2, FODT, HTML, MHT, ODT, OTT, OXPS, PDF, RTF, XPS, XML, FODS, ODS, OTS, XLS, XLSB, XLSM, XLSX, XLT, XLTM, XLTX, FODP, ODP, OTP, POT, POTM, POTX, PPS, PPSM, PPSX, PPT, PPTM, PPTX
Convert to Office Open XMLDOC, DOCM, DOT, DOTM, DOTX, EPUB, FB2, FODT, HTML, MHT, ODT, OTT, OXPS, PDF, RTF, XPS, XML, FODS, ODS, OTS, XLS, XLSB, XLSM, XLT, XLTM, XLTX, FODP, ODP, OTP, POT, POTM, POTX, PPS, PPSM, PPSX, PPT, PPTM

Installing ONLYOFFICE Docs

To use the addon, you need a running instance of ONLYOFFICE Docs (Document Server) accessible to both your Plone server and client browsers.

ONLYOFFICE Docs must be able to send POST callbacks to Plone for document status updates.

You can deploy either version below:

🖥️ Self-hosted version

Community Edition vs Enterprise Edition comparison can be found here.

☁️ Cloud

If you prefer not to maintain your own server, use ONLYOFFICE Docs Cloud which requires neither installation nor configuration.

👉 Get started here

Installing the addon

  1. Installation instructions can be found under Manage add-ons and packages.
  2. To activate, go to Site Setup -> Add-ons and press the Install button to enable the addon.

You can also install the addon via Docker:

docker run -p 8080:8080 -e ADDONS="onlyoffice.plone" plone/plone-backend:6.1 start

📝 Note: If you have a previous version (e.g., onlyoffice.connector), remove it before installing the new one.

Configuring the addon ⚙️

Navigate to Site Setup → Add-ons Configuration → ONLYOFFICE Configuration and configure:

  • Document Editing Service URL: Your ONLYOFFICE Docs endpoint
  • Secret key: For JWT token signing and validation
  • Internal request addresses (optional): For internal network routing

JWT is enabled by default to protect the editors from unauthorized access. If setting a custom Secret key, ensure it matches the one in the ONLYOFFICE Docs config file for proper validation.

Developing the addon

Run this command to install the addon from the local repository:

docker run -p 8080:8080 -e DEVELOP="/app/src/onlyoffice.plone" -v /path/to/onlyoffice.plone:/app/src/onlyoffice.plone plone/plone-backend:6.1 start

For more information, check Developing packages variable.

Upgrade the addon

  1. Update instructions can be found under Manage add-ons and packages.
  2. Navigate to the Add-on screen (add /prefs_install_products_form to your site URL) and in the Upgrades list select onlyoffice.plone and click Upgrade onlyoffice.plone.

How it works

The ONLYOFFICE addon follows the API documented here:

  • User navigates to a document within Plone and selects the ONLYOFFICE Edit action.
  • Plone prepares a JSON object for the Document Server with the following properties:
    • url: the URL that ONLYOFFICE Document Server uses to download the document;
    • callbackUrl: the URL that ONLYOFFICE Document Server informs about status of the document editing;
    • key: the UUID+Modified Timestamp to instruct ONLYOFFICE Document Server whether to download the document again or not;
    • title: the document Title (name).
  • Plone constructs a page from a .pt template, filling in all of those values so that the client browser can load up the editor.
  • The client browser makes a request for the javascript library from ONLYOFFICE Document Server and sends ONLYOFFICE Document Server the docEditor configuration with the above properties.
  • Then ONLYOFFICE Document Server downloads the document from Plone and the user begins editing.
  • ONLYOFFICE Document Server sends a POST request to the callback URL to inform Plone that a user is editing the document.
  • When all users and client browsers are done with editing, they close the editing window.
  • After 10 seconds of inactivity, ONLYOFFICE Document Server sends a POST to the callback URL letting Plone know that the clients have finished editing the document and closed it.
  • Plone downloads the new version of the document, replacing the old one.

ONLYOFFICE Docs editions

ONLYOFFICE offers different versions of its online document editors that can be deployed on your own servers.

  • Community Edition 🆓 (onlyoffice-documentserver package)
  • Enterprise Edition 🏢 (onlyoffice-documentserver-ee package)

The table below will help you to make the right choice.

Pricing and licensingCommunity EditionEnterprise Edition
Get it nowStart Free Trial
CostFREEGo to the pricing page
Number of usersup to 20 recommendedAs in chosen pricing plan
LicenseGNU AGPL v.3Proprietary
SupportCommunity EditionEnterprise Edition
DocumentationHelp CenterHelp Center
Standard supportGitHub or Community1 or 3 years support included
Premium supportContact usContact us
ServicesCommunity EditionEnterprise Edition
Conversion Service++
Live Viewer++
Document Builder Service--
Automation API--
InterfaceCommunity EditionEnterprise Edition
Tabbed interface++
Dark theme++
125%, 150%, 175%, 200% scaling++
White Label--
Integrated test example (node.js)++
Admin Panel-+
Mobile web editors-+*
Plugins & MacrosCommunity EditionEnterprise Edition
Plugins++
Macros++
Collaborative capabilitiesCommunity EditionEnterprise Edition
Two co-editing modes++
Comments++
Built-in chat++
Review and tracking changes++
Display modes of tracking changes++
Version history++
Document Editor featuresCommunity EditionEnterprise Edition
Font and paragraph formatting++
Object insertion++
Adding Content control++
Editing Content control++
Layout tools++
Table of contents++
Navigation panel++
Mail Merge++
Comparing documents++
Multipage View++
Spreadsheet Editor featuresCommunity EditionEnterprise Edition
Font and paragraph formatting++
Object insertion++
Functions, formulas, equations++
Table templates++
Pivot tables++
Data validation++
Conditional formatting++
Sparklines++
Sheet Views++
Solver++
Presentation Editor featuresCommunity EditionEnterprise Edition
Font and paragraph formatting++
Object insertion++
Transitions++
Animations++
Presenter mode++
Notes++
Slide Master++
Form creator featuresCommunity EditionEnterprise Edition
Adding form fields++
Form preview++
Saving as PDF++
Role-matching colors for fields++
PDF Editor featuresCommunity EditionEnterprise Edition
Text editing and co-editing++
Work with pages (adding, deleting, rotating)++
Inserting objects (shapes, images, hyperlinks, etc.)++
Text annotations (highlight, underline, cross out, stamps)++
Redact++
Comments++
Freehand drawings++
Form filling++
Get it nowStart Free Trial

* If supported by DMS.

Need help? User Feedback and Support 💡

  • 🐞 Found a bug? Please report it by creating an issue.
  • ❓ Have a question? Ask our community and developers on the ONLYOFFICE Forum.
  • 👨‍💻 Need help for developers? Check our API documentation.