Edit Word and Excel files in the browser

What is it?

You open Word documents and Excel spreadsheets from your choir's file storage directly in Chorilo without downloading them. You edit them in the browser and save them back to the same folder. Word and Excel on your computer open the file as usual afterwards, and the Files app receives the new version automatically.

How to open a file

1. Click Files in the sidebar and open the folder.
2. Click a Word or Excel file. It opens in the editor. Alternatively: menu ··· on the file → Edit in browser.
3. At the top you see the file name and its state, for example "Version 4 · saved today".

Editing Word documents

The toolbar above the page offers:

• Paragraph style: Normal, Title, Heading 1 to 3 and the styles already used in the document
• Font and font size, plus buttons for larger and smaller
• Bold, italic, underline, strikethrough (Ctrl+B, Ctrl+I, Ctrl+U)
• Font colour and highlight
• Alignment left, centre, right, justified
• Bullets and numbering; Tab indents a list item, Shift+Tab moves it back
• Link, insert table (pick the size in the grid), insert image, page break (Ctrl+Enter)

When the cursor is in a table, a second bar appears: insert or delete rows and columns, merge and split cells, delete the table.

At the bottom right you can zoom the view from 75 to 200% or fit the page to the window width. This only changes the view, not the file.

Editing Excel spreadsheets

• Click a cell and start typing. Enter confirms and moves down, Tab moves right. Double-click or F2 edits the existing content.
• Formulas start with "=". While you type, Chorilo suggests matching functions. Clicking a cell while typing inserts its reference into the formula.
• Σ Sum suggests the sum of the numbers above.
• Number format: number, currency, percentage, date, time, text, plus more or fewer decimal places. Typing "€12.50" or "12/24/2026" sets the format automatically.
• Font, colours, alignment, wrap text, borders and merged cells in the toolbar.
• Rows and columns: insert, delete or freeze at the top left. Drag the edge in the header to change column width and row height.
• Fill: drag the small square at the bottom right of the selection. Formulas adjust, number series and dates continue.
• Copy and paste also works between Chorilo and Excel.
• At the bottom you switch between sheets, add, rename or delete them. Selecting several numbers shows sum, average and count.

Connected to Chorilo

• Templates: Under Files → New pick a template: letter, invitation to the general meeting, minutes, rehearsal schedule (Word) or attendance list and cash list for a trip (Excel). The letterhead with the choir's logo, name and address is already in place. Put your own Word or Excel templates into a folder called Templates and they show up in the same list.
• Insert events: Insert › Insert events adds one event as a paragraph or several as a table (date, time, place). In Excel they start at the selected cell.
• Insert programme: Insert › Insert programme adds the sheet music of an event in programme order with composer, arrangement and duration.
• Mention members: Type @ and a name. When you save, that person gets a notification. Only members who can see the file are suggested.
• Mail merge: Via Insert › Mail merge you add fields like «First name» or «Town» and then create one combined document for all active members, one voice or a selection. It is saved as a new file in the same folder. Address and email are only offered if you can see them in the member list.
• Pass it on: In the ··· menu at the top you attach the file to an event or send it in a new announcement.

Working together

Several people can edit the same file at the same time. At the top right you can see who has the file open. Other people's changes appear right away: in Word with their cursor and name, in Excel as a coloured frame around the cell. Undo only takes back your own steps.

People who may only view the file can follow everything live. Saving creates a new version as before, and everyone sees who saved. Changes that have not been saved yet are kept for 7 days, even if everyone closes the file. If a new version comes in from outside during that time, for example through an upload or the Files app, the new version applies and unsaved changes from the closed file are dropped. Word, Excel and the Files app on a computer only see the saved state.

Saving and versions

1. Click Save at the top or press Ctrl+S (⌘+S on a Mac).
2. Chorilo creates a new version. The previous state stays available under Versions for 7 days.
3. If a new version comes in from outside and you have unsaved changes, Chorilo asks: Save anyway or Save as copy.

If you leave the page with unsaved changes, Chorilo asks first.

Creating a new document

Files → New → Word document or Excel spreadsheet, enter a name, Create and open. The file is placed in the current folder and opens in the editor right away.

Permissions

• View: view files. Without the edit permission the file opens for viewing, copying and downloading only.
• Edit and save: edit files in that folder.
• Create a new document: upload files in the current folder.

Tips

• Nothing gets lost: content the editor doesn't know is shown greyed out or not at all and is saved unchanged.
• The same Excel cell: if two people change the same cell at the same time, the last entry counts.
• Large files over 30 MB and old formats (.doc, .xls) still open on your device.
• Keyboard and phone: Press Esc to leave the document or sheet, then Tab to reach the buttons below. On a phone, tap a cell a second time to edit it and drag the round handle to extend the selection.