Collaboration

By default with Docs, collaboration is enabled. To allow the collaboration between users, a connection to a websocket server is made (the y-provider service), you only have to configure the Django backend URL in your y-provider service:

COLLABORATION_BACKEND_BASE_URL: https://{yourdocsdomain.tld}

An advanced configuration can be used in some cases when your users are not allowed to use websocket on their network.

What happens when connection to the websocket is not allowed?

When multiple users access a Docs and the connection to the websocket is not allowed, then they will be in a situation where they can lose data. They will lose data because they will erase each other modifications. You can also have a scenario with a mix of users connected to the websocket and some other not.

Safeguard configuration

We have imagined a safeguard scenario, not enabled by default. The idea is to give the priority to users connected to the websocket. While there is at least one user connected to the websocket, all other users not connected to the websocket can access the Docs in read-only mode.

To enable this safeguard, the Django application will have to fetch the y-provider service to retrieve some information in it.

In the Django configuration, you have to set these environment variables:

COLLABORATION_WS_NOT_CONNECTED_READ_ONLY: True
COLLABORATION_API_URL: https://{yourdocsdomain.tld}/collaboration/api/
COLLABORATION_SERVER_SECRET: A-shared-secret-with-y-provider-service

In the y-provider service, you have to set these environment variables:

COLLABORATION_SERVER_SECRET: A-shared-secret-with-y-provider-service
COLLABORATION_SERVER_ORIGIN: https://{yourdocsdomain.tld}