Check In Check Out

When a user checks out a document, that document is locked such that other users cannot make changes to it. The lock remains until the user checks the document back in, even if they close the document or log out of Laserfiche in the meantime. When a user checks out an electronic document, a copy of the electronic file is created on their computer, and the user can continue to modify it even when he or she is not logged in to Laserfiche. This allows the user who checked it out to make changes to the electronic document at his or her leisure. Once the user is finished making changes, he or she can check the electronic document back in to save changes to the Laserfiche repository and make the document available for editing to other users. Alternately, the user or an administrator with sufficient rights can undo the checkout, which makes the document available for editing without saving the changes the user made.

Note: Only electronic documents can be checked out. Documents that have not been associated with an electronic file cannot be checked out.

A user can modify an electronic document without checking it out simply by opening the document. While the document is open, other users will not be able to save changes to it; however, if a document is modified in this fashion, it will become available for other users as soon as the document is closed. A checked out document, on the other hand, remains locked until a user indicates that it should no longer be locked.

How it works

Any electronic document can be checked out, modified, and either checked back into the repository or the check out can be undone. The entire process through which an electronic document can be locked and unlocked is illustrated and explained below.

Unlocked Electronic Document

In this stage, the electronic document is not locked. This means that any authorized user can make changes to the electronic file, metadata, and/or image/text pages of the electronic document. This is the default state for all electronic documents.

Electronic Document Check Out

Any authorized user can check out one or more electronic documents. Typically, a user should only check out an electronic document when his or her changes will be performed over a period of time and one or more of the following is true:

• The user wants to delay when his or her changes to the electronic file or metadata will be made available to other users.
• Other users should not be allowed to make changes to the electronic document.

If a user decides to check out a document, a copy of the electronic file and the metadata is stored on that user's computer. This is known as the local copy, since only the user that checked out the document will be able to view it, and it will be displayed when the user that checked out a document attempts to view the electronic file or metadata associated with it. It will also be used when the electronic document is checked in. However, this local copy will not be used when a user other than the person who checked it out opens the checked out electronic document from Laserfiche. Instead, those users will see the version of the electronic file and metadata that was stored in the repository when the electronic document was checked out.

Important: After making changes to the electronic file, it is important that it be saved to the same location and with the same name. Changing the name or the location of the electronic file will either prevent the Laserfiche Windows client from finding the file or from displaying the latest version when requested by the user that checked it out.

Note: The user specifies the location on their computer where the electronic file will be stored when he or she checks out the document. If the user does not remember where he or she checked out a document, the location can be viewed by selecting Checked Out Documents from the Tools menu in the Laserfiche Windows client.

Exclusive Lock on Electronic Document

Once an electronic document has been checked out, the user that checked it out will have an exclusive lock on the electronic document and can change the electronic file, metadata, and image/text pages of the electronic document as desired, while all other users will be prohibited from making any changes.

Changes made to the image/text pages of the electronic document are applied immediately. This means that once the changes to the image/text pages of the electronic document are saved, other users will be able to see them. Changes made to the electronic file and metadata will only be applied to the checked out electronic document when it is checked in. This allows a user to work on an electronic file without affecting what users will view when opening that electronic document

Undo Check Out

A checked out electronic document can either be checked in or the check out can be undone. Undoing a check out indicates you want to keep the version of the electronic file that is currently stored in the Laserfiche repository. The changes made to the local copy of the electronic file will not be stored in the repository.

Important: Undoing a check out will not undo the changes made to the image/text pages associated with that electronic document.

Note: If the user that checked out a document decides to undo his or her check out, Laserfiche will prompt the user to delete the local copy of the electronic file. If an authorized user decides to undo another user's check out, the local copy of the electronic file will not be deleted. If the user that checked out the electronic document tries to open the electronic document, he or she will be prompted to check out the electronic document again.

Electronic Document Check In

When a user has finished working with an electronic document, he or she may choose to check that document in to make the electronic document available for modification by any other authorized user. When checking in a document, a user can decide how his or her changes to the electronic file and metadata will be handled.

• If the local copy of the electronic file or metadata has been modified, the updated version can be saved as a new version, a new document can be created from it, the existing file associated with the electronic document can be overwritten, or the changes can be discarded.
• If the user decides to save the local copy in the repository, it will be automatically removed from his or her computer.
• If the user decides to discard his or her changes, the user will need to decide if the local copy of the electronic file and metadata will be removed from his or her computer.
• If the user decides to keep the local copy and does not move or rename it, the next time that the user checks out that electronic document to the same location, he or she will need to decide whether the local copy will be opened or overwritten. After choosing how his or her changes will be handled, the electronic document will be checked in.

Keeping track of checked out documents

A list of all documents that have been checked out appears in the Checked Out Documents node in the web or desktop Admin Console. Although the Admin Console can display a complete list of all checked out documents, it will hide those documents that the current user does not have sufficient rights to view. In order for a document to be listed in the Admin Console, you need to have Browse and Read rights and all necessary security tags on that document. If the document in question was checked out by another user, you will need the Manage Entry Access privilege.

When viewing a list of checked out documents, you will be able to see the full path to the document, the name of the user that checked it out, the date and time at which it was checked out, and the comment that was specified when it was checked out.

Undo check out

The check out of an electronic document can be undone. This means that changes made to the electronic file will not be stored in Laserfiche and the electronic document will once again be available for modification by any authorized user. To perform an undo check out action, a user must be one of the following.

• The user that currently has the document checked out.
• A user that has the Browse, Read, and Access Control entry access rights on the checked out electronic document.
• A user that has the Manage Entry Access privilege.

Note: In addition to having to meet one of the above requirements, a user will also need to have been assigned all security tags that have been applied to the checked out document in question.

If a user decides to undo the check out of an electronic document from the Admin Console, the electronic file and metadata will remain on the computer from which the electronic document was checked out. The next time the user opens the electronic document, he or she will have to decide what will happen to the local copy on his or her computer. The user can decide to check out the document and continue using his or her version of the electronic file and metadata or to replace the local copy with the version stored in the repository.

Note: If a user cancels his or her own check out from the Laserfiche web or Windows client, he or she will be prompted to retain or delete the version of the document stored on the local computer.

Note: If a user is currently making changes to an electronic document, he or she will have a temporary exclusive lock on it. Electronic documents that have been locked in this way cannot be unlocked using the undo check out feature, but they are automatically unlocked when the user making the modifications closes them.

For more information on a specific repository administration topic, return to the repository administration home page.