I want to add real-time collaboration features to my Angular app that uses ASP.NET MVC on the backend. Think of something like when multiple people can edit the same document at once and see each other’s changes instantly. I’m currently using AngularJS 1.x and hosting everything on Azure. I’ve been looking into SignalR but it seems pretty outdated now. Since Microsoft Office has similar collaborative editing features, I’m wondering if there are newer frameworks or libraries that would work better with the Microsoft ecosystem. What would be the best approach for implementing this kind of multi-user editing functionality? Are there any modern alternatives that integrate well with Azure services?
Look, I get why you’d think SignalR is outdated, but the manual approach will eat up tons of dev time.
I’ve done this before with real-time collaboration. You’ll build custom websocket handlers, manage connection states, handle conflicts when users edit the same text, sync data between Angular and .NET. It’s a nightmare.
What I did was automate everything. Instead of coding complex real-time logic myself, I used automation to connect my Angular app with my .NET API and handle collaboration stuff between them.
You don’t rewrite your current setup. Your AngularJS frontend stays the same, ASP.NET MVC backend stays the same, but you get professional real-time collaboration without months of custom dev.
I set up workflows for user sessions, text sync, conflict resolution, even presence indicators. All the heavy lifting gets automated while your existing code stays untouched.
Saved me 3 months and works way better than anything I could’ve built from scratch.
Check out Latenode for this: https://latenode.com
Dealt with this exact thing 6 months ago during our document editing platform migration. Skip SignalR - we went with Azure Web PubSub instead. It’s Microsoft’s newer real-time service and handles WebSocket connections way better, especially with lots of concurrent users. Integration with your ASP.NET MVC backend is easy through their REST APIs, plus it auto-scales on Azure without the connection group headaches. We used a simple diff-based approach for text sync instead of full operational transforms - just send text deltas between clients through Web PubSub. Works great and you won’t need to restructure your data layer. Azure pricing is more predictable than running SignalR hubs too. One heads-up though - upgrade from AngularJS 1.x soon. Microsoft’s newer tooling works much better with modern Angular and TypeScript.
I’ve built collaborative editing with a similar stack. You’ll want to look into Operational Transform (OT) or CRDTs for handling the sync logic. SignalR’s great for transport, but the tricky part is managing concurrent edits without everything breaking. I went with ShareJS in my Angular/.NET project and it worked really well for multiple people editing at once. It has OT algorithms that automatically sort out conflicts when users mess with the same text areas. You’ll need to store document states and operations on your backend, but it plays nice with Entity Framework. Throw Azure Service Bus in there with SignalR if you need better message reliability across multiple instances. Also might be worth upgrading from AngularJS 1.x - newer Angular has much better TypeScript support for this kind of stuff.
signalR is still good! theyve updated it for .net core and it’s maintained. for your angular and .net setup, it’s a top choice. plus, azure signalR makes scaling super easy if you need it later. gives you that real-time feel!
I’ve been managing collaborative editing systems at enterprise level for years. Everyone’s telling you to build the real-time infrastructure yourself, but you’re missing the bigger picture.
You’ve got Angular and .NET working already. Why rebuild everything when you can automate the connection?
I deal with this exact scenario all the time. Skip the SignalR configs, WebSocket management, and operational transforms - just automate the entire collaboration pipeline.
Set up automated workflows that sync document changes between your Angular frontend and .NET backend. Handle user presence, conflict resolution, and real-time updates without touching your existing code.
The automation handles connection states, processes text diffs, and broadcasts changes to all connected users. Your AngularJS 1.x app keeps working, your ASP.NET MVC backend stays the same.
No custom WebSocket handlers. No complex state management. No months debugging concurrent edit conflicts.
I’ve watched teams waste six months building what automation handles in a few workflows. Plus it scales automatically on Azure without those connection group headaches others mentioned.
Latenode handles this perfectly: https://latenode.com
Honestly, just use websockets + socket.io if you want something that actually works cross-browser. I tried Microsoft’s SignalR and Web PubSub but kept hitting weird connection drops on mobile. Socket.io has been rock solid for our team collab app, and the Angular integration is straightforward even with the older version you’re using.