Unable to edit Word file using Companion

[Thomas Neeff]

All,

I have an issue with editing word files using the Companion app.

On the affected Confluence instance, if I click edit on a MS word file on the page, the preview loads - but the "Edit with" button does not appear (none of the buttons appear) - see screenshot 1.

On another instance, if I try to do the same, the "edit with" button appears and I can easily edit as expected - see screenshot 2.

It doesn't matter which browser I use (tested with Edge and latest Firefox). My computer is running the latest Companion app on Windows 10.

I assume this is a settings issue in Confluence, however in both spaces I am space admin  with all permissions. The difference is: the Confluence instance where everything works is the one which is my own, whereas the affected instance - where it doesnt work - belongs to one of my customers.

Any help is appreciated. Thanks, Thomas

[Alex K · Accepted solution]

Hi @Thomas Neeff ,

Which version of Confluence are you using? Does the file preview show at all?

It looks that Confluence Previews has been disabled. This can be verified through the the "Manage Apps" (Universal Plugin Manager). All of the modules for Confluence Previews must be enabled. 

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I would like to note that for Confluence versions 6.11-7.2 (inclusive), Companion is no longer compatible with certain browsers. We have a knowledge base article explaining this issue:

Can’t edit files in Confluence Server using Atlassian Companion app in Internet Explorer, Edge, Firefox, or Safari 

This issue is fixed in Confluence 7.3+ (with Companion 1.0.0+). 

The symptom for this is different to what you are experiencing though. 

[Thomas Neeff]

Hi Alex_K,

thanks for the quick reply. I've seen the Can’t edit files in Confluence Server using Atlassian Companion app in Internet Explorer, Edge, Firefox, or Safari note, but I'm pretty sure this is a different situation (as I have one running instance - my own one - where everything works fine).

Both instances are brand new (set up around two weeks ago), Cloud versions, so I assume those are running both on the latest version? Can you please advise where to find the version number?

I have asked my customer to temporarely grant site admin role to me, so that I can check the other topics mentioned by you.

Thanks, Thomas

[Alex K]

Hi @Thomas Neeff ,

Sorry, I incorrectly assumed you were running Confluence Server 🤦‍♂️, my bad! No need to check the Confluence Previews modules. 

For Confluence Cloud, the file previewer with the "Edit Files" button is only accessible from pages that were created with the legacy editor. The top screenshot is for a file opened in the new file previewer. 

To access Edit File from pages created with the new editor, you will have to navigate to the attachments page (see screenshot). Each attachment with have an "Edit file" button associated with it.  

Please see the following blog post for details about the current limitation: 

https://community.atlassian.com/t5/Confluence-articles/The-Companion-app-on-Confluence-Cloud/ba-p/1272354

[Thomas Neeff]

Dear Alex_K,

thanks for the quick reply - your tip solved the issue :-).

Last question: will the feature to edit Word files using Companion app remain, or is this going to be removed?

Last question: I was trying to configure the Office connector plugin. On both instances I receive the following error:

Is the configuration of the Office connector limited in the Standard plan?

Again, many thanks for your help - issue solved! Thomas

[Alex K]

Hi @Thomas Neeff ,

Companion integration on Confluence Cloud will not be removed in the near future (at least a year), but it will likely be phased out at some point. 

OfficeConnector configuration is not available on Confluence Cloud, regardless of plan. Also, note that Edit in Office is not available on Confluence Cloud. 

Regards,
Alex

[David Howard]

Hi Alex,

what does the comment "Also, note that Edit in Office is not available on Confluence Cloud" mean?

We currently have the issue that we can open a file (Word, Excel) in the respective Office application via Companion App and edit it there. It seems that it is saved back into Confluence page but the file cannot be viewed anymore. The icon on the page seems to loose the name of the file.

The behavior is the same on Win10 and Mac OS using Firefox or Chrome.

Regards,

David