This feature request is as a result of a dead end on a recent support request:
In my experience, many times over I have found people we share folders with cannot read the contents of simply constructed text files. Instead it downloads them.
In the ‘best possible world’, they would be able to read Only Office docs as well, but at a minimum being able to read txt files is important. I often create README.txt files for our clients to understand what to do with a folders contents and sometimes they don’t even realize it’s been download (many times over).
I have created a short 1 minute video here to make the issue much clearer.
without having tried it i’m sure that’s correct and would keep the basic format.
but that only cures the sideeffect of what was said… the problem is: you’ll always download the shared file and he wants a preview on the server (before/instead of download). which is still unsolved.
I tested that when you opened the new topic, but couldn’t find it shortly after to reply
I’m running NC 13.0.2 and text files I open with Notepad and with Notepad++ show a correct formatting. So maybe an update of the Texteditor app or an update of Nextcloud might solve that issue.
Anyway: I would always suggest using Notepad++ over Notepad (Windows standard editor), because the standard editor of Windows breaks formatting much too often and Notepad++ doesn’t.
Regarding the possibility to edit publicly shared text files: you would need to open a feature request for that app on Github:
As a workaround probably you could try Onlyoffice. It allows public editing and can handle text files as well.
If you would just like to see the files content after sharing, that is possible if you share the text file directly:
Yeah I get the feeling this is intentional, so addressing the bit I can comment on rather than the bit I can’t…
There’s no text previewer AFAIK, which is why it doesn’t preview, while there are previewers for media. I believe the older, non-maintained documents app would have previewed files though… so we need a new app.
Hello all. Thanks for the advice on the subject and protocol. Will bump in the future. Appreciate the video kudo’s Jason.
I’ll take the advice on updating the Texteditor app etc… regarding the formatting.
The formatting is secondary but important.
Being able to see it all without downloading it primary. Non-editable previews would be ideal with any text document.
When ‘sharing’ it is often with a layperson. The feel like they are looking at an ‘explorer like’ interface and expect it to be viewable. More often these laypeople won’t even realize a file has downloaded.
At a bare minimum, it would be great if .txt files could incorporate a viewer. In this way a simple README.txt file can be added to any folder to assist the shared person with what to expect. For instance, “Hello John, the folder I’ve shared with you contains X files. Clicking on a PDF will open the file in your browser. Clicking on any other document will download that file”.
It allows at least minimal readme type correspondence to occur with the recipient.
I have also attempted to try using the Only Office documents but find the same inability to preview occurs for I would expect the same reason.
I have tested the sharing of the README.txt file directly as a 2nd share item. That gives a partial view of the underlying document and the option to download the file to view it all ie;
I’m not sure if there is a misunderstanding here. I meant Onlyoffice, the service that allows online editing of MS Office files, Open Office files, just like txt files:
It just allows public editing and might be a workaround until that currently missing feature is implemented in the Texteditor app.
Sure, everything we showed and explained so far is not ideal and I didn’t ment these examples as a solution
A feature request is the right way to go and that should lead to a real and good solution in the end
Indeed that should have said Only Office. Thank you. Correction made. That said, Only Office also does not work during Shared access. It just downloads the office document.
No solution on this as of yet. Will now open up a feature request.
- and i always forget that you’re such a foxxx 
