This article discusses the available methods for editing project documents in Filevine. Each tool has different advantages, depending on your preference and what you want to accomplish within the document.
To avoid conflicting changes or loss of progress, documents become temporarily locked while a user is editing them using one of the methods described here.
Editing Methods
There are three methods available for editing documents in Filevine. You can use any or all of these tools interchangeably, as desired.
| Method | Summary & Benefits | Limitations |
|---|---|---|
| Edit-in-Place |
Open and edit project files in Microsoft Office. Changes are saved to the document within Filevine. Virtually no setup is required, provided you have the correct versions of Windows/macOS and Office. |
Only Microsoft Office file types are supported. |
| Doc Utility |
Open and edit project files using the native programs on your device. Changes automatically sync back to Filevine when the file is saved. The Doc Utility app is not limited to Office files. Instead, you can edit virtually any file type (PDFs, images, etc), as long as you have compatible editing software on your device. |
The Doc Utility app must be installed locally on every device where you intend to use it. Additionally, your preferred programs must be set as the default for the file type(s) you want to edit. |
| PDF Editor |
Open and edit .pdf documents directly within Filevine. No additional software is needed, other than your web browser. Additionally, users can also edit docs and image files using this tool. (Edited files must be saved as PDFs.) |
All files must be saved as PDFs, even if they were a different file type at first. |
Locked for Editing
When a user opens a document using one of the methods described above, the document is automatically locked for other users. This lock ensures the editing user’s changes will not be overridden by another user’s save.
When a document is locked, users will see a lock icon next to the document wherever it appears in the project.
Users can see which user is editing the document and what time they started. They can still preview and download the locked document if desired.
Unlocking and Overriding
A locked document will be automatically unlocked either when the editing user closes the document, or after 24 hours.
Alternatively, a project Admin can override a locked document and unlock it if needed. To manually unlock the document, select the document, expand the vertical ellipsis ⋮ menu, and then click In use by (name) at (time). In the modal that appears, click Unlock.
Heads Up!
Overriding a document lock may lead to inadvertent overwrites of document changes and saves, and should only be used when necessary. In the case that a document lock has been overridden by a project Admin, the last-saved changes on the document will overwrite any changes made and saved before.
If you have overwritten edits on a document, you can find older saved versions of the document in the Versions tab in the properties menu of the document.
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