Opening and closing articles in InDesign using Smart Connection

While working on a placed article in InDesign, you can:

• Open the article for editing (check-out)
• Close the article and save all made changes (check-in)
• Close the article without saving the changes (abort check-out)

Opening an article for editing (check-out)

An article that is stored in Enterprise and placed on the layout needs to be checked-out before it can be edited in InDesign. This unlocks the article for you and locks it for other users so that they cannot make any changes to the article until you have checked it in again.

Step 1. Select the article by:

• Selecting one of the frames of the article on the layout.
• Selecting the article or one of its components in the Elements panel.
• Right-clicking an article in the Smart Connection panel or Dossier panel and choosing Go to Placement.¹
• Left-clicking an article in the Smart Connection panel or Dossier panel while holding down Ctrl+Shift (Windows) or Cmd+Shift (macOS) on the keyboard.¹

¹ This feature requires Smart Connection version 14.3.0 for Adobe CC 2019 or any higher version of version 14 (see How to check which version is installed).

Step 2. Check-out the article by doing one of the following:

• From the menu, choose Smart Connection > Check Out Article.

• Click the Check Out Article button in the Elements panel.

Show me a screenshot

• From the flyout menu of the Elements panel, choose Check Out Article.

• Right-click an article or article component in the Elements panel and choose Check Out Article from the context menu.

• Right-click the text frame on the layout and choose Check Out Article.

Opening all articles simultaneously

To open all placed articles in one action, click the 'Check Out All Articles' button in the Elements panel. No articles or frames need to be selected for this to work.

Closing an article and saving all made changes (check-in)

When finished working on the article, it needs to be saved to Enterprise and closed. This process is referred to as 'checking-in' the article and makes the article available to other users for editing.

Two methods exist: with and without the Check-in dialog box appearing.

Method #1: Check-in using the Check-in dialog box

Use this method if you want to change any of the properties of the article.

Step 1. Select one or more articles by:

• Selecting one of the frames of the article on the layout.
• Selecting the article or one of its components in the Elements panel.
• Right-clicking an article in the Smart Connection panel or Dossier panel and choosing Go to Placement.¹
• Left-clicking an article in the Smart Connection panel or Dossier panel while holding down Ctrl+Shift (Windows) or Cmd+Shift (macOS) on the keyboard.¹

¹ This feature requires Smart Connection version 14.3.0 for Adobe CC 2019 or any higher version of version 14 (see How to check which version is installed).

Step 2. Check-in the article by doing one of the following:

• From the menu, chooseSmart Connection > Check In Article....

• Click the Check In Article... button in the Elements panel.

Show me a screenshot

• From the flyout menu of the Elements panel, choose Check In Article....

• Right-click an article or article component in the Elements panel and choose Check In Article... from the context menu.

• Right-click the text frame on the layout and choose Check Out Article.

The Check-in dialog box appears.

Step 3. (Optional) In the Name box, modify the article name or leave the original name.

Note: See also Using duplicate file names in Enterprise 10 and Invalid file name characters in Enterprise.

The settings for Brand and Issue cannot be changed.

Step 4. (Optional) Change any of the remaining properties.

Step 5. Click OK.

When multiple articles were selected, a Check-in dialog box for the next article is displayed until all articles are checked-in. Repeat steps 3 to 5 until no more dialog boxes appear.

Method #2: Check-in without using the Check-in dialog box

Use this method when you know that you do not want to change any of the properties of the article. During this process, the Check-in dialog box will not appear. This makes the process very quick, especially when checking-in multiple articles.

Note: This process checks-in all articles that have been opened for editing; it is not possible to check-in individual articles while leaving others open for editing.

• Click the 'Check In All Articles' button in the Elements panel. No articles or frames need to be selected for this to work.

Closing an article without saving the changes (abort check-out)

Use this method when:

• You have opened the article for editing by mistake or decided that you do not want to work on it.
• You want to close the article without saving any changes that you have made.

This method is known as the 'abort check-out' action. It closes the article and returns it to the state it was in before it was checked-out.

Step 1. Select one or more articles by:

• Selecting one of the frames of the article on the layout.
• Selecting the article or one of its components in the Elements panel.
• Right-clicking an article in the Smart Connection panel or Dossier panel and choosing Go to Placement.¹
• Left-clicking an article in the Smart Connection panel or Dossier panel while holding down Ctrl+Shift (Windows) or Cmd+Shift (macOS) on the keyboard.¹

¹ This feature requires Smart Connection version 14.3.0 for Adobe CC 2019 or any higher version of version 14 (see How to check which version is installed).

Step 2. Abort Check-out the article by doing one of the following:

• From the menu, choose Smart Connection > Abort Check Out Article.

• From the flyout menu of the Elements panel, choose Abort Check Out.

• Right-click an article or article component in the Elements panel and choose Abort Check Out from the context menu.

• Right-click the text frame on the layout and choose Abort Check Out.

A message appears:

Are you sure you want to close this file without saving the made changes?

Step 3. Click Yes.