Editing and Viewing Documents

Document Check Out and Check In are two of the key commands you will use in ProjectWise, since they are required for you to make changes to a document and post those changes back to the ProjectWise server. In most cases, you will not explicitly use the Check Out command. Instead, you will use the Open command, which checks out the document to you and then opens it in its associated application.

Checking Out Documents To be able to edit a document you must first check the document out so it is marked for your exclusive use. If a file is not first checked out, you will be unable to check the document back in to ProjectWise. A document can be checked out by double-clicking the file in ProjectWise explorer or by right-clicking the document and choosing Check Out. Documents that you have checked out will have a red check mark displayed next to the document name in the ProjectWise Explorer. If there is a grey lock icon next to the document, it is checked out by another user.

Figure 40: Check Out

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Editing and Viewing Documents

Opening Documents Typically, you will not use the the Check Out command to check out a document. Using the Open command will perform the check out for you and then open the file in its associated application. By default, double-clicking a file will issue the Open command.

Using the Open Command

1.

2.

Right-click the file in the ProjectWise Explorer and choose the Open command. OR Double-click the file. Note that the file is checked out to you (indicated by the red check mark) and that the file is opened in its associated application.

Checking In Documents Once you have checked out a file, made changes and are ready to save the file, you will need to check the document in. To be able to edit a document you must first check the document out so it belongs to you. If ProjectWise is integrated with the application you are using (e.g., MicroStation, AutoCAD or Microsoft Office), when you close the program a prompt will appear allowing you to check the file in (among other things). You can also check a file in by right-clicking the document in the ProjectWise Explorer and selecting Check In if the document is currently not opened in its associated application. Another way to check files back in is to launch the Local Document Organizer and use the Action pulldown menu.

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Update Server Copy

Figure 41: Check In Dialog Box

Update Server Copy The Update Server Copy command is useful in that it lets you update the copy of the file you are currently working on in the ProjectWise storage area but does not check the file back in. If other users need to view what you have done on the document since you have checked it out but you still need to use the file to work on, this command comes in handy.

Open With Command The Open With command is used to open a document from ProjectWise Explorer with an application that is not defined as the default for that file extension. For example, if you wanted to open a DWG file from ProjectWise in MicroStation instead of AutoCAD, you would use the Open With command. To use the Open With command, right-click a document and choose Open With from the pull-down menu. If a user wants to open a document using another application but does not want to check it out, he or she would select the Open document as read-only check box.

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Editing and Viewing Documents

Exercise: Opening a Document Using the Open With Command

1. 2.

Select a document. Right-click it and choose Open With.

Figure 42: Open Document With Dialog Box

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4.

If the application you would like to use shows up in the list, select it. If not, click the Browse button to find the application you would like to use. If you always want to use this application when opening a file of this type, select the Always use this program option so ProjectWise knows to always use the application you picked to open a document with that file extension, and click OK.

Open as Read-Only The Open as Read-Only command is used to view documents without checking them out. If you need to review a document but do not need to make changes, the Open as Read-Only command is the recommended way to open the document. This way another user who needs to make changes can check the file out to work on while you are able to review what has been done.

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Free

Exercise: Opening a Document Using the Open as Read-Only Command

1. 2.

Select a document. Right-click the document and choose Open as Read-Only.

Figure 43: Open as Read-Only

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The associated application will launch and show the document you selected.

Free The Free command is used if you have checked out a document and made changes but have since decided you do not want to save those changes to the ProjectWise server.

Exercise: Using the Free Command

1. 2. 3. 4.

Check out a document. Make changes to the file and save it in the application. Close the application. When the Check In dialog box appears, click Free.

Figure 44: Check In Dialog Box

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Editing and Viewing Documents

NOTE

NOTE: You can only free documents you have checked out. Only ProjectWise Administrators have the ability to free documents checked out by other users.

Copy Out The Copy Out command is used to make a copy of the document you selected onto your hard disk. The document does not get checked out nor does it launch the application associated to it to view like an 'Open as Read Only' command would. Coyping out multiple documents at once can help speed up the process of checking those same documents at a later time. When you open a MicroStation or AutoCAD file with reference file attachments, the master file is checked out to you while the reference files are copied out.

Exercise: Using the Copy Out Command

1. 2.

Select a file. Right-click it and choose Copy Out.

Figure 45: Copy Out

3.

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The bottom left-hand corner of the ProjectWise Explorer will say "Document copied out" (Note: A Copy Out will only copy the document out locally to your machine; it will not launch the application.)

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