OpenProject 17.0 brings real-time documents collaboration and strategic project management

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OpenProject 17.0 Release image with real-time document-collaboration

PRESS RELEASE 14th January 2025
OpenProject 17.0 brings real-time documents collaboration and strategic project management

Berlin, January 14, 2026 – OpenProject, the leading open source project management software, today announced the release of OpenProject 17.0. The new major version introduces real-time collaboration in documents, improved meeting workflows, a redesigned project home, and new capabilities for managing programs and portfolios at a strategic level.

With OpenProject 17.0, teams can work together more closely, keep context directly connected to their projects, and manage both day-to-day work and long-term initiatives in one secure, open source platform without vendor lock-in.

Think together, create together: Real-time documents collaboration

A central highlight of OpenProject 17.0 is the redesigned Documents module with real-time collaboration. Teams can now edit documents together simultaneously and see each other’s changes as they happen, directly inside OpenProject

Documents Collaboration

This makes it easier to jointly draft concepts, specifications, contracts, or planning documents while staying closely connected to the underlying project work. Documents can reference milestones and link work packages, helping teams move seamlessly from shared ideas to actionable plans.

Key benefits include:

Editing documents simultaneously with multiple users in real time.
Seeing who is currently editing and follow changes instantly.
Linking work packages dynamically to keep documents up to date.
Keeping all project-related knowledge in one central place.

The new Documents module is built on BlockNote, a modern open source text editor also used in other European open source initiatives such as openDesk and LaSuite. The foundation for this integration was laid during the French DINUM hackathon, where OpenProject was awarded second place for its work on collaborative document editing. This provides a strong foundation for future collaboration features.

Real-time collaboration in Documents is available out of the box for all OpenProject Cloud users and for container-based on-premises installations. The module is available in all editions, including the free of charge Community version.

Better meetings, less overhead

OpenProject 17.0 further improves meeting management by supporting teams before, during, and after meetings, all in one place.

New capabilities include:

Draft mode to collaboratively prepare agendas before notifying participants.
Presentation mode to guide meetings agenda item by agenda item.
Multiple outcomes to clearly document decisions, agreements, and next steps.
iCal subscriptions to keep meetings and updates visible in personal calendars.Together, these improvements reduce manual effort, keep discussions focused, and ensure that meeting results are easy to follow up on.

Meeting management

Together, these improvements reduce manual effort, keep discussions focused, and ensure that meeting results are easy to follow up on.

Clearer structure: Redesigned project home and improved template selection

To support consistent project setup and transparency, OpenProject 17.0 introduces a redesigned project home, now clearly separated into an Overview and a Dashboard tab. This helps teams quickly understand both high-level project information and operational details.

Redesigned project home

Project creation has also been improved with a clearer template selection, making it easier to set up projects correctly, even for users without deep technical knowledge. These changes lay the groundwork for a future multi-step project creation wizard.

Manage projects at a strategic level: Programs and portfolios (Enterprise add-on)

For organizations managing many related initiatives, OpenProject 17.0 adds programs and portfolios as a new Enterprise add-on in the Premium plan. Projects can now be grouped into programs, while portfolios provide an overview of all ongoing initiatives.

This enables:

Better alignment of projects with strategic goals.
Visibility into dependencies and progress across projects.
Informed decision-making at portfolio and management level.

This is especially valuable for PMOs, public sector organizations, and teams working with frameworks such as PM² or PMflex.

Programs and portfolios

Many additional improvements

OpenProject 17.0 includes numerous further enhancements, such as:

Improved accessibility with better contrast and ALT texts.
Smarter global search with more context.
More control when connecting SharePoint (Enterprise add-on)
More precise autocompleters.
More restrictive user privacy options.
Required project attributes for consistent project data.
A new permission to export projects.
Custom mobile app logos for Enterprise users.

For a full overview of all improvements in OpenProject 17.0, please refer to our Release Notes.

OpenProject at openDesk

OpenProject is the open source component for project management in openDesk. All updates will also be part of openDesk and will be released with the upcoming release of openDesk.

Sobre o OpenProject

OpenProject is the leading open source project management software, providing a versatile collaboration and project management software for teams worldwide. With a focus on data sovereignty and privacy, flexibility, and user-centered design, OpenProject serves a diverse range of industries, including NGOs, public institutions, and large enterprises. For more information and to explore OpenProject, visit openproject.org or follow OpenProject on LinkedIn or @openproject on Mastodon.