What Does Check-in/Check-out Mean?

Check-in and check-out are common terms in many document management systems, including SharePoint.

Their purpose is to prevent conflicts in an environment where multiple people might want to edit the same piece of content (in SharePoint, list items or files) at the same time. The term check-in describes the process of adding a new or modified item or file to a document library or a list to replace the previous version.

The term check-out describes the process of getting a version of a document or list item in a list or library. By checking out an item or a file, a user can prevent others from editing that content. By checking in the item, the user can allow others to edit the content, without needing to worry about overriding changes that others have made.