Checking out a document is a way of indicating that you are currently working on that document. When a document is checked out, other users can open the document and view its contents, but they will not be able to make or save changes to the document. In addition, you can make or save changes to electronic documents without making those changes visible to other users until the document is checked in again. (Changes made to imaged documents will be visible immediately, even if the document is still checked out.)
If your document is under version control, all changes made when the document is checked out will be saved as a single version. This allows you to easily combine related changes into one version, which helps keep the version history more compact and allows you to group related changes for easy review or reversion.
The check out feature is available for all documents under version control. If a document is not under version control, check out is only available if it is an electronic document. Folders and shortcuts cannot be checked out.
Document check out has several advantages:
- You can work on a document over a period of time, without worrying about losing your changes or having your changes overwritten.
- You can save changes to electronic document without making them visible to other users, ensuring that they will not be confused by interim revisions of the document. (Changes made to imaged documents will be visible immediately, even if the document is still checked out.)
- You can easily discard your changes if you decide you do not want to save them.
- If your document is under version control, you can make many changes to a document over several days and save them as a single version. This allows you to reduce the number of versions in the document's version history.
Tip: You can modify an electronic document without having to check it out. While you are modifying an electronic document, nobody else will be allowed to make changes to it. However, unlike checking out a document, closing the electronic document (including the electronic file) will free up the document so other users can make changes to it.