Configuring ONLYOFFICE WebDAV server

Introduction

ONLYOFFICE Workspace now includes its own WebDAV server. WebDAV (Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning) is an extension of the HTTP protocol that allows users to co-edit and manage files on remote web servers.

You can connect to the ONLYOFFICE WebDAV server via a file manager / WebDAV client and authorize with the login and password that you use to access your portal. After that, you will be able to manage files stored on your portal, create and edit them using desktop office suites (ONLYOFFICE Desktop Editors, MS Office, etc.).

Supported operations:

• Editing (creating, viewing, modifying, removing) files
• Downloading files from server on your machine
• Uploading files from your machine to the server
• Copying files
• Moving files

The solution was tested on Windows 10 64-bit with the following software:

• WebDAV clients: WinSCP, FileZilla, cyberduck, crossFTP.
• File managers: Windows File Explorer, Total Commander, SpeedCommander, FreeCommander, Multi Commander, Double Commander, XYplorer, Q-Dir, NexusFile, Directory Opus, Just Manager, Unreal Commander.

The solution was tested on Ubuntu 20.04 with the default file manager.

Connecting to ONLYOFFICE WebDAV Server on Windows

Option 1: Using a file manager on Windows

Step 1: For Windows Server only. Skip this step for Windows 10

Before connecting to the web server via a file manager, install Windows WebDAV client:

1. Run Windows PowerShell as an administrator.
2. Execute the following command:

   Install-WindowsFeature WebDAV-Redirector –Restart

3. After restart, verify that the WebDAV-Redirector component is installed:

   Get-WindowsFeature WebDAV-Redirector | Format-Table –Autosize

   
4. Two new services will appear in the system:

   WebClient (get-service WebClient) – allows Windows programs to create, modify, and access files on the Web.

   MRxDAV (get-service MRxDAV) – a driver of the file system (WebDav Client Redirector Driver).

Step 2: For Windows Server and Windows 10

1. Run Windows PowerShell as an administrator and change the startup type to Automatic for two services.

   By default, the WebClient service and the MRxDAV driver are disabled and set up for manual startup. Change the startup type to Automatic and start the services using the following commands:

   Set-Service WebClient -StartupType AutomaticSet-Service MRxDAV -StartupType AutomaticStart-Service WebClientStart-Service MRxDAV

2. Open Windows File Explorer.
3. In the hierarchical tree on the left, right-click the This PC menu item to open the context menu. Choose the Map network drive... option. Alternatively, switch to the Computer tab on the top and select the Map network drive option.
   
4. A new window will open. In the Drive field, enter your portal address and add /webdav (e.g., https://yourportal.onlyoffice.com/webdav). Click the Finish button.
   
5. In the authorization window that opens, enter the login and password that you use to access your account on this portal. Click OK.
   
6. You will see the folder structure which corresponds to the folders of the Documents module on your portal:
   

Option 2: Using a WebDAV client (WinSCP) on Windows

1. Open WinSCP.
2. In the Session menu on the top, select the New Session... menu item.
3. The Login window will open.
   • In the File protocol drop-down list, select the WebDAV option.
   • In the Encryption drop-down list, select the TLS/SSL Implicit encryption option.
   • In the Host name field, enter your portal address (e.g., https://yourportal.onlyoffice.com).
   • In the Port number field, set the 443 value.
   • In the Username and Password fields, enter the login and password that you use to access your account on this portal.
   • Click the Advanced... button.
   
4. The Advanced Site Settings window will open. In the Environment menu on the left, select the Directories menu item. In the Remote directory field, enter /webdav. Click OK.
   
5. In the Login window, click the Save button. The Save session as site window will open. Click OK.
   
6. Click the Login button.
7. You’ll be asked for your password. After entering the password, you will see the folder structure which corresponds to the folders of the Documents module on your portal:
   

Connecting to ONLYOFFICE WebDAV Server on Ubuntu 20.04

1. Open the file manager.
2. Click the + Other Locations menu item on the left.
   
3. In the Connect to Server field located in the lower right corner, enter your portal address with the davs:// prefix and add /webdav at the end.

   For example, davs://yourportal.onlyoffice.com/webdav. Click the Connect button.

   
4. In the authorization window that opens, enter the login and password that you use to access your account on this portal. Click the Connect button.
   

Working with documents

When connecting to ONLYOFFICE WebDAV server, you can work with the following sections of the Documents module: My documents, Shared with me, Favorites, Recent, Private Room (if activated), Common, In projects, Trash. Depending on the section, you can perform various operations with files.

Supported operations for each section

1. My documents: Editing (creating, viewing, modifying, removing), downloading, uploading, copying, moving.
2. Shared with me: Editing (viewing, modifying), downloading, copying.

   Access to the files corresponds to the access rights provided by the file owner:

   • Full access: Editing (viewing, modifying), downloading, copying.
   • Read only: Editing (viewing), downloading, copying.
   • Deny access: no operations can be performed.
   You cannot share a file from a file manager.
3. Favorites: Editing (viewing, modifying, removing), downloading, copying.
   You cannot mark a file as favorite from a file manager.
4. Recent: Editing (viewing, modifying, deleting), downloading, copying.
5. Private Room: Moving/renaming own files/folders only.
   You cannot perform other operation from a file manager.
6. Common: Editing (creating, viewing, modifying, removing), downloading, uploading, copying, moving.
7. In projects: Editing (viewing, modifying, deleting), downloading, copying.
8. Trash: Editing (viewing, modifying, removing), downloading, copying.
   You cannot restore a file from a file manager.

Details and known issues

In the Trash, it’s possible to perform any operations with files/folders, because access to files corresponds to the access property received from the server. Each item in the Trash has the access = 0 property that means full access. At the same time, it’s not possible to create new items in the Trash, because privileges allow only to view the contents.

When performing each operation, a request is sent to the server. If the response from the server was negative, the operation should not be performed in a file manager. Depending on the file manager, the operation may be displayed as completed. After updating the folder, everything will be displayed correctly.

If you have several files (or folders) with the same name in a certain folder on your portal, these files in a file manager will acquire a number: file_name, file_name(1), file_name(2). This will not affect operations with files, as the file ID is used instead of the file name. The actual file name is necessary for renaming. It is stored in the additional realTitle field.

If several users simultaneously edit the same file, the changes of the user who last saved the file will be displayed after saving.

In many file managers which use the WebDAV connection via the Microsoft implementation, it’s not possible to download files larger than 50000000 bytes. To solve this issue, you can change the corresponding value in Windows Registry as described here.

When uploading a file to the server, a session is created and the file is sent to the server in chunks. Therefore, a file of any size which the storage capacity allows can be uploaded to the server.

In the file managers which use the WebDAV connection via the Microsoft implementation, there is the possibility to copy some root folders (e.g., Shared with me), which have permissions for reading. The folders are copied with the same access level, and there might be some issues when working with the copied folders (for example, if you copy the Shared with me folder, you’ll not be able to upload, create, or remove files in the copied folder, as well as to remove the copied folder itself).