Process for Checking out and Checking in SharePoint Documents
Check out and check in SharePoint Files:
In SharePoint, checking out a file is how you prevent anyone else from working on the file while you are making edits. While this is not the default behavior, certain SharePoint sites you may be required to check out a file before you can make edits. This guide is written primarily for sites that require files to be checked out before they are edited.
Things to keep in mind:
Checking out a file is very similar to how files were treated in the T-Drive. Unlike T-Drive files however, there are a few manual steps to remember when working with checked-out files.
You cannot have a OneDrive shortcut, or SharePoint Sync, to a SharePoint site where you intend to work with files that require being checked out. Microsoft does not support this functionality. This means that to edit files that need to be checked out, you can only open them via the document library in the SharePoint browser for a given site, and they cannot be synced to your File Explorer in any way.
Important note: these files can and should still be opened so that they load in their respective Desktop app, such as the Desktop app for Microsoft Excel. The process for this will be detailed in this documentation, however this part will likely be automatic on any site that requires checkout.
Files that are checked-out can still be opened in a “Read Only” mode, meaning that someone can view the contents of the document, but not make changes. Please be aware that in read only mode the contents of the document will reflect the state of the document when it was checked out, not the changes being made by whomever checked out the document.
This guide will step you through the check-out/in process:
Steps for Sites that require check out:
When working with a site that requires files to be checked out, make sure that you do not have any SharePoint Syncs or OneDrive Shortcuts setup for that specific SharePoint Site. If you do, then they must be removed from your device entirely before you can proceed.
In your browser, open the site that you want to open a file from, then navigate to the documents and find the file you want to open.
Open the file by left clicking on the name of the file.
On the sites where Check Out is required, the files should be set to open with their respective Desktop app by default.
If you want to specify whether the app is opened in browser preview, or in the Desktop app, then do the following instead:
Hover over the name of the file, to the right of the name should be an ellipsis. Left click the ellipsis, then left click Open, then select the way you want to open the file
The rest of this guide will proceed as if you selected “Open in app” as this will ensure the maximum functionality for the file.
If the file is opening in the Desktop app, you may be prompted with a pop up to allow the file to be opened. Confirm this action. The specific wording may differ depending on your browser.
The file should begin to open in the app. This may take some time depending on the file size, as the file needs to be downloaded to the app first.
If you do not see the app loading the file immediately, it may just not be obvious where the loading prompt is. Most files should open within a few seconds. Even large Excel files usually open within 20 to 30 seconds.
When the file opens, you should see a yellow bar along the top indicating that the file needs to be checked out. To make edits to the file, you need to click the Check Out button:
Once the file has been checked out, you are now the only one who can make edits to the file.
If you were to look in the browser view of the file, you should now see this icon next to the file:
Others will see a different icon indicating that they are not the person who checked out the item
When you are done making edits to the files, you can close the file by closing the app window you are working in, usually by left clicking the X in the corner of the window.
You may see the app indicate it is now uploading your changes. Shortly after, you will see a prompt asking if you want to check in the file so that others can edit it. Select Yes.
If this prompt does not appear, this means that the file is still checked out to you. This is a rare occurrence but seems most likely if you don’t make any changes to the document after checking it out. To check in a file in this case, use the instructions below that detail manually checking out/in files.
You may be asked to add version comments, these are not necessary, however they make it easier for someone to review the version history of the file.
If you checked out a file, you must make sure to check in a file once you are done editing it so that others can begin to work on the document. This process will be detailed in the document, but it is highly important to make sure a file checks in properly so that others can work on the document. To double check that the file checked in, return to the browser view of the file, and see if the icon indicating you have the file checked out has disappeared. You likely need to refresh the page to see any changes. The item should appear like the below image to indicate it is no longer checked out.
Manually check out/in a file:
In certain scenarios you may need to manually check out or in a file. The steps below will guide you through both parts, though they can be performed independently.
In your browser, open the site that you want to open a file from, then navigate to the documents and find the file you want to open.
Hover over the file and click the ellipsis, then hover over “More”. Depending on the file (checked in/out) you will see options for either checking out the file, discarding the checkout, or checking in the file.
If you discard the checkout any changes that were made during that checkout will be lost.
When checking in a file using this method you will still be presented with the option to include comments on the version of the file.