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Problem guide · approved for publication

ONLYOFFICE opens a document as read-only

Read-only behavior depends on which ONLYOFFICE product is in use and on the document's sharing, protection and storage permissions.

APPROVEDDOCUMENTED ONLYChecked 2026-10-15

Symptoms

What you may notice

  • The document opens but editing controls are unavailable.
  • A shared document opens in viewing mode for one user but not another.
  • Editing is available locally but not through a cloud or Document Server integration.

Possible causes

Why this can happen

  • The user has viewing rather than editing permission.
  • The document is protected or opened in a mode that does not allow edits.
  • A cloud integration or Document Server configuration supplies different permissions from the desktop editor.

Diagnostics

A safe way to narrow it down

  1. 01

    Identify whether the document is open in Desktop Editors, ONLYOFFICE Docs or an integrated cloud workspace.

  2. 02

    Check the share permission and the identity used to open the document; do not bypass access controls.

  3. 03

    Check whether document protection is enabled and whether the owner can legitimately change it.

  4. 04

    Compare behavior with a non-sensitive test document in the same product and permission context.

Solutions

Documented approaches

Request or restore the appropriate edit permission

DOCUMENTED

Use the product's documented sharing controls and confirm that the account opening the file is allowed to edit it.

Read supporting source

Check document protection separately from sharing

DOCUMENTED WITH LIMITS

Protection settings can prevent editing even when the file is visible. Only the authorized owner should change protection settings.

Read supporting source

Alternatives and limits

Keep the trade-offs visible

Use the correct ONLYOFFICE product path

Desktop Editors, Docs/Document Server and cloud integrations have different permission models; a fix for one is not automatically valid for another.

Evidence

What this page is based on

ONLYOFFICE Help Center: sharing documents

Viewer/editor sharing roles and document access controls.

Official source
ONLYOFFICE Help Center: document protection

Document protection and password-controlled editing boundaries.

Official source
ONLYOFFICE Help Center: program interface

Differences in editor interface and editing modes.

Official source

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