Check out a SharePoint document for a controlled edit

Check out the file before you start the planned change. While it is checked out, colleagues cannot edit it, and your changes are not available to them until you check it back in. When the edit is ready, save it and check in the file to make the changes available. These steps are based on Microsoft’s SharePoint documentation, not hands-on verification.

Decide whether checkout fits this edit

Use checkout when one person needs to make a controlled change before others can edit the file. It blocks coauthoring, so it is the wrong choice if colleagues need to work in the document at the same time. Make that decision before checking out the file: does this change need a single editor until it is finished? If yes, checkout fits the task.

A library may already require checkout. In that case, SharePoint prompts you to check out a file when you try to edit it. Otherwise, you can choose checkout for this particular change. In either case, plan to finish by checking the file in or discarding the checkout. Saving your work alone does not end the checkout or make the changes available to colleagues.

Make the change and release the file

1. Open the SharePoint document library that contains the file. Select the file, then choose More above the document list and select Check out. A small checkout icon beside the file name indicates that it is checked out.

2. Open the file, make the planned edit, and save it. You can save more than once while working. If you downloaded the file to edit it locally, upload it to the library before checking it in so that the library receives the edited copy.

3. Return to the library and select the file. Choose More, then Check in. You can add a comment describing the change, then select OK. The checkout icon disappears when the check-in is complete. That is the point at which colleagues can see your changes and edit the file, if they have permission.

Before checking in, look at the saved document and decide whether it contains the change you intend to release. If it does, check it in. If you no longer want the change, use the discard option instead of checking in an unwanted edit.

Handle an interrupted or unwanted edit

If you checked out the file but will not keep the change, select it in the library and choose More > Discard check out, then confirm. This releases the checkout without keeping your edits. It also avoids creating a new version solely because you checked in a file whose changes you did not want.

If the file is already checked out, point to its name in the library to see who has it checked out, then contact that person before proceeding. Also remember the limit of checkout: someone with the necessary permission may be able to override another person’s checkout. For the ordinary planned edit, keep the file checked out only while you are working, then check it in or discard the checkout so colleagues are no longer waiting for your turn to end.