Understanding Save, Check In, and Get Latest Version in SOLIDWORKS PDM
SOLIDWORKS PDM is designed to help teams securely manage design files, track revision history, and prevent accidental overwrites between users. Understanding the difference between Checking Out, Saving, Checking In, and Get Latest Version is essential for maintaining healthy vault practices and protecting project data.
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How Often Should You Check In?
1) Checking Out File for Editing
In SOLIDWORKS PDM, the first step to modifying a file is to Check Out the file. This prevents multiple users from editing the same file at the same time.
When a file is checked out:
- The user receives ownership of the file for editing
- Other users can still open the file as read-only
- A local working copy is cached in the user’s local vault view
- The checked-out user becomes the only person who can modify and check in changes
It’s important to note checking out a file does not immediately create a new version in the vault. A new version is only created after the file is checked back into PDM.
2) Saving Checked Out Files
While a file is checked out, it is good practice to save changes regularly during the editing process.
When performing a normal Save inside SOLIDWORKS:
- The file is only being saved locally to the user’s workstation cache
- The updated file is not yet transferred to the PDM archive server
- Other users still cannot access those changes
- The vault version history is not updated to reflect any changes
Saving locally simply protects progress on the current machine in case SOLIDWORKS closes unexpectedly of the system reboots without warning. Local file alone should never be considered a backup strategy.
3) Checking In Files
The Check In operation transfers the modified local working copy back into SOLIDWORKS PDM vault and creates a new version of the file on the Archive. Previous versions can be accessed in the file’s history.
When a file is checked in:
- A new file version is created in the vault’s history
- The latest changes are stored on the central archive server
- Other users can retrieve the updated version to their local vault view
- The file ownership lock is released
Checking files in regularly is one of the most important habits for maintaining proper version control and data protection. MLC CAD Systems recommends checking files in periodically after meaningful milestones or completed changes instead of leaving files checked out for extended periods of time.
The Check In dialog also has options Keep Checked Out (retain ownership) and Overwrite Latest Version (replaces the version in the vault with this new copy). These options are often used together by users checking in copies of files that are still being worked on and not fully ready for release. This is common practice to avoid losing data if a local vault view or machine experiences unexpected behavior.
- Keep Checked Out allows the user to check in a copy of the file while retaining ownership to continue working.
- Overwrite Latest Version copies the local/modified copy of the file to the vault but does not create a new version of the file. The system instead replaces/overwrites the existing version in the vault with the new copy. This reduces the number of file versions stored on the archive while files are still being worked on.
4) Get Latest Version
The Get Latest Version command updates the user’s local cache with the newest numeric file versions stored in the PDM vault.
This ensures the user is working with the most current file data before beginning edits or opening assemblies.
The run Get Latest Version manually:
- Open the local vault view in Windows File Explorer
- Right-click the file or folder
- Select “Get Latest Version”
PDM also has Automatic Cache options that can be enabled by user or group in the SOLIDWORKS Administration tool.
NOTE: You can view a file’s version in File Explorer on the Version tab as shown below.
Left Number = local version / Right Number = vaulted version
7/7 = (local version 7 / latest version in the vault is 7)
-/7 = (no local version / latest version in the vault is 7)
How Often Should You Check In?
There is no universal rule for how frequently files should be checked in, but a good guideline is to check files in after every significant change you would not want to lose.
At a minimum, files should generally not remain checked out for extended periods such as weeks or months without being checked in.
The only reliable backup of the working version is the version stored inside the PDM vault archive.
Risks of Keeping Files Checked Out Too Long
If files remain checked out only on a local workstation, there is always risk of data loss due to:
- Hard drive failure
- Windows corruption
- Hardware damage
- Theft or loss of the computer
- Ransomware or malware
- Accidental deletion
If the workstation becomes inaccessible before the files are checked in, the work may be unrecoverable.
Example: Saving vs. Checking In
Consider the following example:
- Engineer-1 checks out a file to begin project updates
- The file currently exists as Version 4 in the PDM vault
- Over the next two months, Engineer-1 continues modifying the file and periodically saves locally
- However, the file is never checked back into the vault
- One day, the workstation experiences a catastrophic hard drive failure
- The locally cached working copy can no longer be recovered and the work is lost
Because the file was never checked in, the most recent recoverable version in the PDM vault is still Version 4. In this scenario, regularly checking the file into the vault (even weekly) would have created newer recovery points and greatly reduced the amount of lost work.
Summary
Understanding the difference between Check Out, Save, Check In, and Get Latest Version is critical for successful SOLIDWORKS PDM usage.
- Check Out gives a user ownership for editing
- Save protects progress locally on the workstation
- Get Latest Version refreshes the local cache with the newest vault data
- Check In permanently stores changes in the vault and creates version history
Following these practices helps teams maintain accurate version control, reduce conflicts, and protect valuable engineering data.
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