Overview

This article documents how to lock files exclusively using Triofox check-out. 

Details

In Triofox, there are two ways to lock your files for editing from Triofox Client.

• Lock your file using your native apps (Microsoft Words, Excel, AutoCAD, etc.). When you open a file in the mapped folder/cloud folder in your client device with your native app, the system will detect your locks generated by your apps and produce a Triofox lock record, then sync the lock record to the Triofox server. This type of lock will be marked as a "Dynamic Lock" that will be expired automatically based on the lock life defined in the server settings. The two KB explains How the file locking Mechanism works and How To Configure Triofox File Locking for Mac Applications
• Lock your file using Triofox client-side "Check-Out" function. The system will generate a lock record directly in the Triofox client and sync it to the Triofox server without detecting your native app locks. This type of lock will be marked as a "Permanent lock". Caution: you have to check in the file after you finish it to release the lock so other users can continue to edit the file. No other users can save the same file to the server if the file is in the "Checked Out" state.

How to check out a file from a Mac device

On the Mac device (It should work the same way on Windows Client),

• Launch your Triofox Mac Client
• Go to the folder and right-click on a file that you want to check out.
• You will receive a "File Checked Out" notification in the upper right corner. 
• On your Mac Client Management Console, you can verify the check-out record in the "Pending check-in" section. The check-out record will remain until you check in the file after you finish it, Or, the check-out is removed by Admin. As a Triofox administrator, you can find all the locks in the web management console > report section and release any file locks when you have to.
• If a second user wants to check out the file or open it with a native app, an error notification message will pop up. 
• To unlock the file after you finish, you can right-click the file and select the "Check In". Once you do that, your "Pending Check-in" record in your Triofox Client and on your server will be removed as well. At this point, other users can check out the file for editing.