Checking out a file changes the read-only attribute of the local copy to read/write. Once a file is checked out, it can be edited.
Only one member of a team can check out a file at one time. No one else can modify a checked out file until it has been checked back into the vault. Refer to the User Name column to determine who has a certain file checked out. You can check out one file, multiple files, or all files in a folder.
Understand Get File and Check Out File
- Get a File–The Get command retrieves a read-only version of the file from the vault ands place it in the working folder. This file can be viewed but cannot be modified because it is not checked out. This means that another user could check out the file and make changes. You will not see the changes until the user checks the file back into the vault and you perform a refresh.
You have the option of selecting a specific version or revision of a file to get, otherwise the Get operation defaults to the latest version of the file in Vault Basic and the latest version of the leading revision in Vault Workgroup and Vault Professional.
The file can also be checked out by selecting the check box in the Get\Check Out dialog.
- Check Out a Specific Version of a File–If the check box is selected in the Get or Get/Check Out dialogs, it is marked for Check Out. A read-write version of the file is retrieved from the vault and placed in the working folder. This file can be modified and no other user can make changes to the file while it is checked out to you.
You must check the file back in to save your changes to the vault.
You can also use the Undo Check Out command to discard all changes made to the local copy and reverse the check out. The file in the vault is not updated.
- Quick Check Out (Vault 2015 R2)–A separate command called Checkout can be used as a fast way to check a file out of the vault. This command bypasses the Get dialog and always checks out the latest version of the file in Vault Basic, and the latest version of the leading revision in Vault Workgroup and Vault Professional. Note: See Understand Revisions for more information.
To return the file to the vault, you can use the Check In command to confirm your changes and copy your local, modified file into the vault. You can also use the Undo Check Out command. Undo Check Out does not update the vault. All the changes made to the local copy since you last checked out the file are lost.