This is a complimentary tip available to SPSS Direct subscribers.
QuestionI know that locking a project can prevent others from accidentally overwriting sensitive work, but keeping my projects locked indefinitely can be counterproductive. Checking files in and out properly can save a lot of time and effort, but I worry about losing my work—either because someone else overwrites my file with a different version, or because I may begin my work in the wrong version of a file without realizing it. How can I learn to check in and check out safely?
AnswerRules for checking files in and out may vary depending on the number of people involved in a project’s development.
You can check the status of a project’s files by opening the Files activity in DimensionNet. If a file is marked private, it exists in your user folder but not in any other folder. If a file is checked in, the file exists in the shared folder. When you check out a file, it is copied from the shared folder into your user folder.
From the Files activity, choose to check files in and out using the Actions menu. You will see there is the option “Undo Check Out” which will delete the selected files from your user folder. Files in the shared folder will remain untouched. You can also see the date and time that each individual file was last modified.
Figure 1: The Files activity has the Actions menu and can show whether files are checked in or checked out.
Activities that create questionnaires, like the Build activity, always look for files in your user folder first and will open those files if they exist. If an activity cannot find the needed files in your user folder, it will automatically copy them from the shared folder. If the activity cannot find the files in either your user folder or in the shared folder, then it will create a new file will in your user folder. The activity will use the new file in your user folder.
Regularly check your files back into the shared folder to keep the shared files current
When you have finished working on a project and have checked in all your files, unlock the project so that other users know they can use the files. If you leave the project locked, no one else will be able to access the files in the shared folder.
Certain options may create files in the shared folder as well as in your user folder. For instance, if you activate a questionnaire from within Build, the project files are checked in to the shared folder as part of the activation process.
You can check files in and out of the shared folder whenever you wish using the Files activity. If you are the only person working on a project, it isn’t essential for you to check files in; you will always have the files you need in your user folder. However, if you are part of a team, it is important that you check your files in and out regularly—and at the appropriate points in the project's development cycle—as this ensures that each user has access to the latest versions of the project files.
When you start an activity, the project will automatically be locked and other users will not be able to access the files. If you are ready to work on a project but cannot start an activity right away, lock the project to prevent other users from checking out the files.
Always check in your files before unlocking a project
If you unlock a project that already has some files in the shared folder, be certain to check in your latest files right away. If you don’t, another user might check out the old files from the shared folder—and accidentally overwrite any work you’ve subsequently checked in when checking back in their copy of the file.
This example illustrates how a questionnaire designer, a scriptwriter, and a translator work safely together on one project:
Day 1The questionnaire designer creates the project and runs the Build activity to create the basic questionnaire. It takes the designer two days to complete the first draft of the questionnaire. He automatically locks the project, so the scriptwriter and translator cannot access any of the files that the Build activity creates.
The questionnaire designer tests the questionnaire, which automatically copies files from the user folder into the shared folder. Because the project is still locked, no one else can access these files.
The questionnaire designer continues the cycle of testing and modifying the questionnaire. No one else has worked on the project at this point. Since the Build activity always uses the files in the user folder, there is no need for the questionnaire designer to check in the files during this process.
Day 2The questionnaire designer has finished working on the project and is ready to let the scriptwriter make the final changes before translation. The designer uses the Files activity to check in the user folder’s files into the shared folder. Then he unlocks the project. All the files in the shared folder now become available to both the scriptwriter and the translator.
The scriptwriter checks out the project files from the shared folder and checks them in to the user folder. Because the scriptwriter will not be able to work on the files right away, she locks the project to make certain that no one else can check out the shared files and make changes.
Later, the scriptwriter makes some additions to the questionnaire and runs some final tests. She doesn’t check in the files regularly because the project is locked and no one else can access the shared files. When the scriptwriter is satisfied that the questionnaire is finished, she checks in all the project files from the user folder to the shared folder, and the project is unlocked. The files in the shared folder become available to other users.
The translator checks out the files and locks the project, even though mrTranslate™ cannot be used through DimensionNet. Next, he downloads the files onto his PC for use in mrTranslate. When the translations are complete, he uses the Files activity to upload the translated files into the user folder. He then checks in these files to the shared folder, and unlocks the project.
Day 3The scriptwriter checks out all the project files and moves them into the user folder. She runs some final tests to ensure that the script appears correctly in each translation. Since she began working on the project as soon as the files were checked out, DimensionNet locked the project automatically.
Next, she uses the Launch activity to make the project active. The project is now available for live interviewing. If the scriptwriter made any changes to the questionnaire, she checked in the files when activating the project.
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