# Collaborative document editing **URL:** \ **Category:** Features Launched\ **Tags:** project-views, launched\ **Created:** [5 September 2018 15:57 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/collaborative-document-editing/30495 "2018-09-05T15:57:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Oliver\_Reid](https://luna1.co/8d76cd.png) [@Oliver\_Reid](https://forum.asana.com/u/Oliver_Reid)\ **Post date:** [5 September 2018 15:57 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/collaborative-document-editing/30495/1 "2018-09-05T15:57:59Z")
From Asana Support "That’s a great question and you’re right, it is not possible to work collaboratively on a document, although I can certainly understand how this could improve Asana! For now, you can only attach hard copies of files from different sources. The file would then need to be downloaded and worked on separately. To be completely honest, we don’t have any immediate changes for this planned in the near term." It seems to me that live linking to live docs in Sharepoint or Drop Box, or for Mac people, iCloud, would be an incredible benefit. If you agree please reply and add your clamorous agreement! Also the Technology behind Drop Box is not rocket science, I would think Asana could “roll their own” collaborative editing feature, or license the the service offered form another party and incorporate it in Asana it . ---
**Author:** ![RyanE](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/asana/user_avatar/forum.asana.com/ryane/32/12382_2.png) [@RyanE](https://forum.asana.com/u/RyanE)\ **Post date:** [5 September 2018 16:29 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/collaborative-document-editing/30495/2 "2018-09-05T16:29:49Z")
Hi @Oliver_Reid, I’d like to understand your feedback better. We use sharepoint online a lot. Generally if we collaborating in a document, we use built in comments and review functionality in Word. People will sometimes post their comments in Asana proper making it cumbersome to consolidate everyone’s thoughts. I’ve tried to solve this issue by asking my team to create specific tasks for what they want people to do in a document (e.g., review comments, review document, write a section, etc.) and post links to the documents in the Asana task description. I also ask that they post comments on the document itself within the document to keep them centralized. My main issue with all this has to do more with Microsoft creating such horrible links for our documents. So I’m wondering if you can give me more details on what you’d like to see. I think I like where you’re going with this as I find getting my teammates to consistently use Asana to generate collaborative documentation tasks difficult at times, but I’ve never seen a way to improve that with Asana itself that would simplify the overall issue if consistency. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Oliver\_Reid](https://luna1.co/8d76cd.png) [@Oliver\_Reid](https://forum.asana.com/u/Oliver_Reid)\ **Post date:** [5 September 2018 16:59 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/collaborative-document-editing/30495/3 "2018-09-05T16:59:35Z")
Ideally I would like to see the ability to open, edit and replace a document that is stored on mainstream cloud document sharing services like Sharepoint, Drop Box, Box, or iCloud. Failing or in addition that I would like to see Asana include its own collaborative document editing feature. This is not, to my mind, very complicated. For example I have simple a FTP client that let’s you do that with files in a cloud FTP repository. (One would need a check out/check in feature of course) Refining an IT spec. document is an obvious use. But a tasks such refining a corporate mission statement, or marketing material, are obvious applications where “groupthink” is needed. HTH ---
**Author:** ![RyanE](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/asana/user_avatar/forum.asana.com/ryane/32/12382_2.png) [@RyanE](https://forum.asana.com/u/RyanE)\ **Post date:** [5 September 2018 19:35 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/collaborative-document-editing/30495/4 "2018-09-05T19:35:03Z")
Currently I handle the open/edit functionality by pasting the link to the document in question in the Asana task description. Using the links in task descriptions is what allowed me to get our team away from what used to be my biggest pain point when we first started using Asana: Thinking it could be a document review management tool. People were writing documents in the task description and then people were stomping all over their changes, or they’d upload word documents to a task and everyone would download them for review and edits creating a mess of copies and versions, etc. Now if I see a word doc attached to an Asana task, I upload it to sharepoint, delete the document, and put the link back in. It sounds like we may be looking for slightly different things. It sounds like you’re just wanting the documents to be more holistically integrated with Asana. For myself, I wouldn’t mind some quality of life things that allow my document links to be managed (I’ve voted for some other suggestions to all Tasks to have a links section) as well as pull a thumbnail or something into the task like attaching an image does. This is a task I’ve voted for: > [@Allow URLs as attachments (e.g. Google Drive + links to youtube videos)](https://forum.asana.com/t/allow-urls-as-attachments-links-to-youtube-videos/2474): > > Right now attachments are limited to specific files uploaded from computer and to specific file hosting services (Drive, Dropbox etc.). ASK: Allow URLs as attachments. Examples of cases: A task requires editing a page on our website. I want to add the URL of the page as an attachment. I want the team to read an article on the internet related to our job. I want the team to complete a training and I provide a link to it I want the team to review client’s website I need to add a link to a liv… Thanks for explaining more, I hope I haven’t distracted you too much. ---
**Author:** ![Laura\_Green](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/asana/user_avatar/forum.asana.com/laura_green/32/23119_2.png) [@Laura\_Green](https://forum.asana.com/u/Laura_Green)\ **Post date:** [2 October 2018 18:00 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/collaborative-document-editing/30495/5 "2018-10-02T18:00:59Z")
Hi, I figured out how to “attach” a link to a document in Sharepoint. In the Sharepoint folder click on the document you want to link to in Sharepoint. Under the “New+” menu, choose “Link” In the task, choose the Attachments menu =\> Your Computer Locate the URL link in your File Manager The URL is linked to the task When you click on the link, it downloads the link to your computer, then you can click on the link and open it up in the Sharepoint application. It’s messy, but it works, and you can see the URL under the Files menu for the project. Hooray. –Laura ---
**Author:** ![lennies](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/asana/user_avatar/forum.asana.com/lennies/32/25518_2.png) [@lennies](https://forum.asana.com/u/lennies)\ **Post date:** [26 November 2018 00:55 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/collaborative-document-editing/30495/6 "2018-11-26T00:55:03Z")
We would find in-asana document editing to be very helpful for things like product specs or campaign briefs. Linking out to an external document is a clunky experience and fractures conversation on a given topic and we’d prefer to build workflows around as few tools as possible (in this example Asana would replace Google Docs—we’d write, review, & modify project plans directly in Asana as well as manage the end-to-end project). ---
**Author:** ![Ricky\_Sahu](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/asana/user_avatar/forum.asana.com/ricky_sahu/32/46151_2.png) [@Ricky\_Sahu](https://forum.asana.com/u/Ricky_Sahu)\ **Post date:** [14 December 2019 12:53 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/collaborative-document-editing/30495/7 "2019-12-14T12:53:52Z")
I would find that collaboratively editing a task would be just as good for us. At this point if 2 people are editing the same task then one’s edits gets overwritten by the other. Is there any plan to address that? ---
**Author:** ![anon59828738](https://luna1.co/8d76cd.png) [@anon59828738](https://forum.asana.com/u/anon59828738)\ **Post date:** [15 May 2020 13:35 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/collaborative-document-editing/30495/8 "2020-05-15T13:35:03Z")
Hi everyone! I too am struggling with how best to employ Asana to completely help with our document review work. I use a “View/Edit” SHARE link to Word, Excel, or PowerPoint once i’ve uploaded the file to OneDrive. I put this link in the task description and that part all works great. When I assign this review to my colleague and he completes that task, it “falls off” the list because it’s completed and my filter is set to “show uncompleted.” That’s fine, I can change that. But that’s not the problem. The problem is that I want to own the task - since I made the request and have the responsibility - but I need him to do his part. Now that I’m typing this out, it sounds like the better approach would be to create a TASK (assigned to me) to complete the creation of the document, and then create a SUBTASK assigned to my colleague for him to do his review, and then be able to “check it off” as completed. He can the leave comments at the TASK level which I would easily see. Does that seem like a reasonable workflow? ---
**Author:** ![anon17719096](https://luna1.co/8d76cd.png) [@anon17719096](https://forum.asana.com/u/anon17719096)\ **Post date:** [12 March 2021 10:41 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/collaborative-document-editing/30495/9 "2021-03-12T10:41:04Z")
This is quite a critical use case for my organisation. We can’t integrate with the existing options e.g. Google docs, onedrive/sharepoint due to security concerns. Will be ideal if we can just upload a doc on Asana and it enables collaborative real-time edit on Asana platform itself. ---
**Author:** ![anon2116712](https://luna1.co/8d76cd.png) [@anon2116712](https://forum.asana.com/u/anon2116712)\ **Post date:** [17 August 2021 13:42 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/collaborative-document-editing/30495/10 "2021-08-17T13:42:48Z")
Same here. we actually would like to see if there could be a place that we could provide instructions and keep notes on the project. ---
**Author:** ![Bastien\_Siebman](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/asana/user_avatar/forum.asana.com/bastien_siebman/32/172354_2.png) [@Bastien\_Siebman](https://forum.asana.com/u/Bastien_Siebman)\ **Post date:** [18 August 2021 10:34 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/collaborative-document-editing/30495/11 "2021-08-18T10:34:44Z")
> [@anon2116712](#): > > we actually would like to see if there could be a place that we could provide instructions and keep notes on the project Maybe the Overview tab with the Brief would help you. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_H](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/asana/user_avatar/forum.asana.com/tim_h/32/67756_2.png) [@Tim\_H](https://forum.asana.com/u/Tim_H)\ **Post date:** [15 October 2021 17:15 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/collaborative-document-editing/30495/12 "2021-10-15T17:15:40Z")
I’d like to be able to attach an MS Word doc and have collaborative editing on the document from within Asana, like I can in [box.com](http://box.com). ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Weir](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/asana/user_avatar/forum.asana.com/mike_weir/32/30344_2.png) [@Mike\_Weir](https://forum.asana.com/u/Mike_Weir)\ **Post date:** [6 July 2022 14:56 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/collaborative-document-editing/30495/13 "2022-07-06T14:56:46Z")
This might have been stated already, but we currently do this by editing the description of a task. We generally make sure we don’t have multiple people working on the same task description to avoid conflicts. But even still, they always continue to happen. Linking to Google Drive would be fine if we didn’t have generally 10 documents per month constituting various announcements and social media posts. This feature would mean a lot to our organization. Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![Nick\_Condon1](https://luna1.co/8d76cd.png) [@Nick\_Condon1](https://forum.asana.com/u/Nick_Condon1)\ **Post date:** [4 August 2022 17:54 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/collaborative-document-editing/30495/14 "2022-08-04T17:54:03Z")
Having the ability to maintain live versions of documents within tasks and the files folder would be monumental. ---
**Author:** ![anon40204497](https://luna1.co/8d76cd.png) [@anon40204497](https://forum.asana.com/u/anon40204497)\ **Post date:** [20 April 2023 14:45 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/collaborative-document-editing/30495/15 "2023-04-20T14:45:06Z")
It would be very helpful to be able to collaborate on a document within ASANA. Each question in the document would be a task in ASANA for different internal teams to work on. At the end we would have a completed document I am looking for a solution to take the custom field data for existing tasks in a project and create + populate a word document for each of those tasks. Has anyone had experience doing this before? Wondering if it would first be a connection to a spreadsheet then the use Zapier or Integromat to create a document/update a document for each line and its corresponding data? Would love to hear anyone’s thoughts/experiences. ---
**Author:** ![Gregorio\_Sanchez](https://luna1.co/8d76cd.png) [@Gregorio\_Sanchez](https://forum.asana.com/u/Gregorio_Sanchez)\ **Post date:** [13 July 2024 04:59 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/collaborative-document-editing/30495/16 "2024-07-13T04:59:38Z")
We see a similar issue and I wonder if anyone has found a solution. Our team uses word documents and PPT alot and they make comments directly on these. So they feel that using asana is double the work. Any ideas for helping individuals adopt asana when they have to use word documents and are used to using these documents to share with leadership, so they don’t see the value in tracking what they know they have to do in the document already. ---
**Author:** ![Bastien\_Siebman](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/asana/user_avatar/forum.asana.com/bastien_siebman/32/172354_2.png) [@Bastien\_Siebman](https://forum.asana.com/u/Bastien_Siebman)\ **Post date:** [15 July 2024 09:37 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/collaborative-document-editing/30495/17 "2024-07-15T09:37:48Z")
Doing document review elsewhere is fine and quite common. But Asana can help with everything else: - who creates the document - who needs to review - who needs to approve - what steps come after and before - … ---
**Author:** ![Nick\_Jones10](https://luna1.co/8d76cd.png) [@Nick\_Jones10](https://forum.asana.com/u/Nick_Jones10)\ **Post date:** [18 September 2025 16:31 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/collaborative-document-editing/30495/19 "2025-09-18T16:31:26Z")
I think that now that Asana has a Note feature that is very similar to OneNote that just keeping things in the Asanaverse would be really amazing as then we can maintain document security, etc. there and in the middle of important deadlines now get his with the “this person doesn’t have access to this document” as it’s 2 places to maintain security and maintain the flowstate necessary for good collaboration especially in tasks that involve even a slight bit of creativity ---
**Author:** ![David\_Pondell](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/asana/user_avatar/forum.asana.com/david_pondell/32/292205_2.png) [@David\_Pondell](https://forum.asana.com/u/David_Pondell)\ **Post date:** [26 September 2025 15:17 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/collaborative-document-editing/30495/20 "2025-09-26T15:17:03Z")
I know you made this comment over a year ago. But StreamWork integrates directly with Asana providing a powerful creative review and approval platform. We bring Workflows, versioning, and much more directly into the Asana task. Interested in learning more? [david@streamwork.com](mailto:david@streamwork.com) ---
**Author:** ![AS95](https://luna1.co/8d76cd.png) [@AS95](https://forum.asana.com/u/AS95)\ **Post date:** [7 April 2026 16:02 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/collaborative-document-editing/30495/21 "2026-04-07T16:02:59Z")
We are using the note tab within a project board to take internal and external meeting minutes but have found that if multiple users are taking notes simultaneously, notes taken by one person will be deleted when the second person begins typing notes. Is there a function to allow multiple people to take notes and even tag the owner of each section of notes taken (like how Microsoft Loop functions)? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thanks! [Next page](https://forum.asana.com/t/collaborative-document-editing/30495.md?page=2)