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Question

Office365 Co-Edit for Desktop App (not Office Online)

  • May 22, 2025
  • 5 replies
  • 53 views
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We have been using Box for 1.5 years and one of the major gripes from our users is the lack of co-editing capability in Box for Office Desktop Apps (not Office online which is really the water down version and not usable). Some of our users refuse to use Box and just stick to Onedrive solely for this reason.

I have been talking to our Box account manager and Box Engineering. The typical answer I got is that Microsoft is not cooperating to provide the integration.

However, I stumbled across the Egnyte help site (a competitor of Box/Onedrive) and I noticed that they had just developed the Office Co-Editing capability with the Office desktop app, no kidding!!

How in the world that a smaller vendor such as Egnyte can develop the solution while Box cannot??? 

Here are the links to the Egnyte article that mentions the Co-Editing function.

https://helpdesk.egnyte.com/hc/en-us/articles/360055402931

https://helpdesk.egnyte.com/hc/en-us/articles/360055403071

    5 replies

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    Hi there, 

    Welcome to the Box Community!

    At present, Real-Time Co-Authoring is only supported via Box for Office Online and not on desktop office apps.

    This idea has been shared to our Product Team in Box Pulse (our product feedback page) and currently, its not on Box future roadmap:

    Microsoft API’s don't allow co-authoring and MSFT doesn’t plan to support it for Box. Please provide feedback to MSFT reps to enable co-authoring for partners such as Box.

    You can find the post and add-in your vote and comment for this idea in this thread: https://pulse.box.com/forums/909778-help-shape-the-future-of-box/suggestions/35984047-concurrent-editing-via-microsoft-office-desktop 

    Thanks for your participation in the forum!

    Best,

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    Hi France,

    Thanks for your response but I don't believe the statement is 100% correct that was posted 5 years ago. I doubt that Microsoft will support Egnyte either to integrate with Real Time Co-Authorizing but somehow they got this to work, through code engineering and Sharepoint API if I would guess. Also, the request is almost 5 years ago and there were literally no updates. I am so surprised that there was no traction as this is such an important feature to be productive with O365.

    C
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    I am one of an enterprise's box user (not admin).

    By following this method (Box for Microsoft Office coauthoring – Box Support ), I tried to determine whether Desktop Co-Authoring is enabled or not.

    At my-app page, I found app "Box for Office" but "Box for Microsoft Office (Desktop)" is not there. 

    What is this situation mean, is our organization not allowed to use Desktop Real-time Co-authoring or is this feature not yet GA Roll-out deployed to our organization?

     

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    Hello 362976492687

    I am also writing this comment for the same reason as 403715038494.

    For me, it is also confusing why Box can't enable a real-time co-editing feature with the Microsoft Office DESKTOP App.
    This forum started 2 years ago, and your shared feedback page in Box Pulse is 7 years ago. Yet this work has not been developed still. 

    What is the problem? Users need this feature, and it seems almost fundamental for the productivity platform Box. 
    Are there any issues of negotiations with Microsoft Office, or Box doesn't really care about the needs of its users?

    I guess the second cuz there is not single update on this process even 7 years passed......

    Hope you and your product development team would take a serious action

     

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    I agree with this comment...... 

    It is not the users' job to reach out to Microsoft. It's Box Team's responsibility to take charge and negotiate. 

    I hope you will not take it as "Who cares? If you want, just change to other platforms". 

    I think it is serious that your team did not even say a single word back to your users those who reach out to you 

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