Checking Out Documents 

When you need to make modifications to a checked-in document, you must check it out of the vault.

When the checked out document is launched into CATIA for modification changes, no other user can currently modify it, but other users can view it or copy the file to their working directory. After the document is checked back in or released, the status is replaced by Checked In or Released . For more about the Released status, see Releasing Documents.

Depending on whether the document you want to modify is in your CATIA session or not, the application behaves differently:

  • If the document is in your session, you can check it out before modifying it, or if you start modifying it, the application detects it and then prompts you to check it out. This behavior is made possible if Display Check-Out/New Release dialog box on first modification is active. For more information about this option, see SmarTeam (CWI).

  • If the document is not in your session and that you are opening it, you can use the Check Out option before confirming the open operation.

This task shows you how to check out a document from CATIA.

This section provides the following information:

How to Check Out Documents

You can perform the Check Out operation if the part is currently displayed in your session (in read-only mode), or not.

  1. Select the document you want to check out.

  2. Select SmarTeam > Life Cycle  > Check Out.
    The Check Out dialog box is displayed.

  3. Fill in the fields as described below in Check Out Dialog Box, or accept the default attributes.

  4. Click OK .
    When done, the status of the document is changed to "Checked Out". You can then modify the document. A new revision number is assigned to it.

Using the SmarTeam Open For... Capability

It is also possible to check out a document as follows:

  1. In the Web Editor, once the corresponding profile card of the document you want to check out is displayed, just click OK .
    This displays the Open For... window.

  2. You then just need to click Check Out in that window.
    This displays the Check Out dialog box.

  3. Perform steps 3 and 4 as described in the instructions provided above.

Note

The application also enables you to copy a file (use Set to Copy File) to your working directory without checking it out of the vault. This is useful when another user is working with the document (and has checked it out of the vault), but you wish to view the document at your desktop.

Set to Copy File also to be used whenever you are handling a CATProduct document including several documents. In case you do not need to check out all of these documents, you can therefore restrict the number of documents to be checked out.

Check Out Dialog Box

The following describes the fields in the Check Out dialog box:

Name Description
Actions  
  • Set to No Operation
 Performs no operation on the selected object
  • Set to New Release
 Makes a new copy of the released document placed in the Released vault. The resulting document is a new revision of the source document.
  • Set to Copy File
 Copies the file of a document to your working directory without checking out the document from the vault. You can view the document in your working directory, but you cannot modify it.
  • Set to Check Out
 Checks the selected document out of the vault
Go to Tab Selects the group to which to jump directly (optional)
Apply Operations to Branch Applies this operation to the entire document branch
Switch Children to Latest Available Switches the children of the selected object to the latest available objects
Global Settings Group  
  • File Name
 Shows the name of the physical name (name on the disk) of the file to check out
  • Local folder
 Contains the directory path of the vault in which the document's file will be located
  • Comment
 Allows you to enter any comments relating to the Check In process
  • Do not get the file from the vault
 Performs the check out operation without copying the file from the vault to the working directory
Leading Object Settings Group  
  • Phase
 Defines the phase for this revision:
  • Yes: replaces existing local files when checking out
  • No: leaves existing local files when checking out
  • Yes, for read only
  • Current Revision
 Displays the current revision.
  • Next revision
 Presents the next revision number to be applied to the document after completing this check out operation.

 

To check the document back into the vault for safekeeping, check the document in as explained in Checking In Documents.