How to display files in a web browsers?

Question

I have a new OA site spun up and have some content available for the few users I have. One of the requests from the user's is to be able to view (and most likely edit) the documents via the web browser.

I was able to open a Word document in the browser when using IE, however I was unable to edit the document. Also, opening project files was a no go.

I am pretty new to Drupal, however any research I did on this issue just brought me different file manager modules.

Is it possible to view/edit files in the browser with Drupal/Open Atrium? I know it is possible with SharePoint but that utilizes a back end office.

Or is it possible to have it so people can open files automatically in their client side applications (Project, Word etc.) and have it save to the OA file system?

Answer 1

I'm not aware of any web based file browser that "opens files in the client site applications" like Project, Word, etc. and saves them.

Some ideas:

However, this could be possible if you open your files with a FTP manager, as they will be opening from your client's computer, therefore using its applications.

Another option might be the download / re-upload approach, for what you could use a module like elfinder, which does allow you to edit text based files (note that we are not talking about propietary software like Microsoft Word).

Disclaimer: I'm not endorsing any of these methods, just offering alternative ideas.