Hey everybody, first time post here.
Here’s a quick rundown of my setup. I’m running an ubuntu server with a Nextcloud/redis/maria db stack. I’ve enabled collabora online built in CODE server for my online nextcloud office. On my pixel i use the collabora app and my linux mint desktop I’m using either libre office or collabora office. I’m currently just a single user and I use a wireguard server on my router for remote access. I’m fine with not having live web based editing for now as I’m the only user. My syncs between my phone and my nextcloud server UI are flawless.
The PROBLEM I’m experiencing is on my desktop when I open say a .xls(using calc) or .docx(using writer), libre office or collabora opens them with a “.~lock.” When this is opened it wipes the data in the file and resyncs my nextcloud server UI and my phone nexctcloud app with the wiped version.
Has anyone else experienced this and found a solution??
I’ve also only recently been tinkering with servers and self hosted applications for about 5 months, so this is all new to me and I could easily be overlooking a few things.
Many thanks in advance
Hey thanks for the input! Although a bit disappointing to hear your frustrations with nextcloud.
So right now I’m not even trying to setup the “live collaboration” features (although that ultimately was a feature I’m interested in). I guess I’m just testing how well the file syncing works before I commit to moving all my stuff off google drive. Right now I’m just doing tests, I create a .xlsx file from my phone collabora/nextcloud app, make a few edits and save… refresh… wait 10 to 15 minutes, then I try opening the newly saved .xlsx file on my nextcloud desktop file synced folder (after hitting the sync button) with say libre or collabora, and its hit or miss if the file I open is the same as the last edit from my phone. Right now its definitely not at the point where I would trust a large/important file that I frequently collaborate between my phone and desktop. However, the notes, like markdown files or just pdfs are syncing flawlessly between my client devices. So it seams like its got something to do with the office files.
Anyways, I guess I’m just a bit disappointed in the reliability of the syncing with office files and am just curious if anyone else has a nextcloud setup where this all actually works… Also, maybe my expectations are too high coming from my google drive desktop sync which performs very well. Or maybe suggestions to another application that is more reliable and maybe less features and overhead of nextcloud.
I’ve not had any issues with file syncing on desktop. Android has a few issues due to google screwing with permissions and making it unable to sync all file types through nextcloud, but I don’t recall having any issues with collabora on my phone syncing. Nextcloud does seem to have full file sync permissions in it’s android/media/etc. folder, and that’s where I open my documents from, so if you’re not opening your files from there, maybe that’s the issue.
To address your android permission comment, I’m opening all my office files on my phone from the nextcloud app, not the actual storage on my phone.
Are you saying you edit documents stored on your phone storage and nextcloud syncs your phone folder?
I am seeing an issue with nextcloud not syncing a file within the folder that should automatically two-way sync. I have found that the file needs to be uploaded to nextcloud in order for syncing to happen, but once it is uploaded, it syncs normally when two way sync is enabled. I don’t think that has anything to do with you’re issues, but it’s food for thought.
It should be saving the file you open to that folder, then. It needs a local copy in some capacity for you to edit it, and that’s where it should be at. Once you’re done editing, it should upload automatically. I should also note that I’m using the F-droid version of nextcloud on android, they did have to make changes to the play store version due to syncing policies from google messing things up.
I both open from nextcloud and from the folder. I did just check my settings, and I have two-way folder sync on the folder that I edit locally. Everything seems to update correctly if it was opened through nextcloud regardless of which folder it’s in, but only the folder I have sync setup on my phone updates if edited locally and only every 15 minutes. I’ll test some more things and check if something isn’t working as I expect. I did notice some settings had been changed and I wasn’t uploading from my phone as expected, so I have some confirmations to do on my end before I can absolutely confirm my phone is working properly.
As far as desktop goes though, I haven’t had any issues with it being unable to sync.
In my situation it’s more my desktop giving me issues and not android.
So when you open office files on your desktop synced folders, they open with the changes you’ve made from your phone? Do you mind me asking what OS/distro your desktop is and what local office you use?
Right now I’m forced to use the nextcloud server UI office to see any changes I’ve made on my phone. Then, and only then if I save the file in the server UI I will see the desktop office files update… I was picturing being able to see sync changes between my phone and desktop without the need to use the server UI as a middleman.
I’m on opensuse/fedora/Debian and haven’t noticed any issues. Libreoffice for my office suite on all of those. Collabora office (not through nextcloud) on my phone.
I have disabled nextcloud office and CODE server because of the troubles it gave me. So all my edits are directly to the the file itself, even on mobile, using a separate editor.