Edition: Professional, Business, Enterprise
User-level: All users
Previous steps: Uploading a new version
In document management, it's important to be able to let others know that a document is currently being worked on. Synergy allows you to check out a document, make your changes to it, and then check it back in.
Check-out a File
When you need to make changes to a file, use the check-out feature. This locks the file and reserves it for use only by you, so you can update its contents without interruption. Other Synergy users won't have access to the document until you check-in the new version.
To check-out a file:
Go to the Project Menu > Project Information > Document Register.
Navigate to the document you wish to check-out.
You can check out the document from the document register list here by clicking the ellipses on the right, and selecting 'Check-out for edit'.
Or you can open the document directly and then click the ellipses at the top right, and select 'Check-out for edit' from there.
Once a file has been checked out, a banner will display at the top of the document page:
And from the document register list, the icon on the right will show a red arrow to indicate that the file has been checked out:
Check-in a File
Once you have made the necessary modifications to the document or file, be sure to use the check-in feature. No one else will be able to make changes to the file until you check-in with your new version. Once you select the check-in option, you will be able to upload the current file as the latest edition.
Note: that this option is only available to those whose files are already checked-out.
To check-in a file:
Go to the Project Menu > Project Information > Document Register
Navigate to the document you wish to check-in.
You can check-in the document from the document register list here by clicking the ellipses on the right, and selecting 'Check-in'.
Or you can click on the file to open it. In the file you can either click on the ellipses menu and select 'Check-in', or you can click the 'Check-in new version' button in the banner at the top.
Click the 'Choose File' button and browse to the location where you have saved the new version of this document. The document that is to be imported can be saved with any file name.
Highlight the file and click 'Open' to upload it. Enter any comments you want about the new file, and then click Save
The document history will show both the new version and the original version, with the latest at the top.
Cancelling Check-out
If you have a file checked out, you can use this feature to cancel your check-out of the file. By cancelling the check-out, the file returns to its original version, and it is once again available for members of your staff to check-out and make any changes.
To cancel a check-out:
Go to the Project Menu > Project Information > Document Register
Navigate to your checked out document.
You can cancel the check-out from the document register list here by clicking the ellipses on the right, and selecting 'Cancel check-out'.
Or you can open the document. You can cancel the check-out using the option in the banner at the top of the screen, or from the ellipses menu:
Once the check-out has been cancelled, other users will be able to check it out themselves.
Requesting Check-in from another Total Synergy User
If the file you are wanting to access has already been checked out by another user, this will prevent you from being able to access it and make any changes. You can send a request to the user to check-in the controlled file so that you can then open the file for edits.
This will email the user that has the file checked out, requesting that they check-in the file so that others can make changes. The request option is only available on files who are checked out to another user.
To request a check-in:
Go to the Project Menu > Project Information > Document Register
Navigate to your checked out document.
Click the ellipse on the right and select 'Request check-in'
Where to next?
Rolling back to a previous version
What other features does this relate to?
File versions overview [pending link]