nextcloud / nextcloud/desktop

Open synced Office files in native desktop editor via document server on double-click

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0. Needs triage
Dominant language
C++
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Description

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## Feature request
Open synced Office files in native desktop editor via document server on double-click

When a user double-clicks a ".docx", ".xlsx" or ".pptx" file inside the local Nextcloud sync folder, the file is currently opened as a normal local file by the default desktop application.

## Desired behavior:

Double-clicking a supported Office file in the Nextcloud sync folder should open it in the configured native desktop office editor through the Nextcloud Office / document server session, not as a detached local copy.

## Expected flow:

"Windows Explorer / Finder / file manager → double-click synced Office file → Nextcloud Desktop detects cloud file → opens server-backed editing session → native desktop editor opens document with co-authoring, locking and versioning"

# This would provide Microsoft 365 / SharePoint-like behavior:

- users keep the normal file-manager workflow
- native desktop editor is used
- real-time co-authoring remains available
- document-server locking is respected
- sync conflicts are avoided

A context-menu action like “Open with Nextcloud Office” is useful, but it should not be the main workflow. The normal double-click should be cloud-aware for supported Office documents.

## Main goal:

Make synced Nextcloud Office documents behave like SharePoint/OneDrive + Microsoft 365: double-click from the local sync folder, edit in the desktop app, but still work through the server-backed collaborative document session.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Research direction

No files, tests, or entry points are identified in the issue, so first map where the desktop client handles double-clicks and synced Office documents. Determine how a document-server session could be selected for supported .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx files without inventing a local-copy workflow. Done means double-clicking those files opens the native editor through the server-backed session while preserving co-authoring, locking, versioning, and conflict avoidance.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp
Domain
desktop
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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