Use co-authoring when several people need to work on a document at the same time, and use check out when one person should edit it at a time and every change should come with a note. Checking a file out locks it to you, colleagues keep seeing the previous version while you work, and checking it back in asks for a comment that’s saved in version history.
The question came up in the comments on one of my videos: someone wanted a lightweight audit trail for changes to documents. Check in and check out has been in SharePoint for a very long time and it does exactly that, but in a modern library it’s tucked behind a second menu, so plenty of people who use SharePoint every day have never seen it.
Check out vs co-authoring at a glance
| Check out and check in | Co-authoring | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can edit at once | One person, the one who checked it out | Everyone with edit access |
| What others see while you edit | The last checked-in version | Changes as they’re made |
| Record of what changed | A check-in comment saved against the version | Version history shows who and when, with no comment step |
| How it starts | Each person checks the file out, or the library requires it | On by default for .docx, .pptx and .xlsx files |
| Library setting | Optional Require check out under Versioning settings | Nothing to set up |
| Main risk | A file left checked out blocks everyone else | Edits land without anyone saying why |
| Best for | Policies, procedures, templates, controlled documents | Drafts, proposals, working documents |
Where is check out in SharePoint?
In my policies library it’s behind the three dots. Select the three dots next to the file, choose More, and Check out is in that submenu. It isn’t in the first list you see, which is why it gets missed. Once the file is checked out an icon appears next to its name (a small red arrow in my library), and pointing at the file shows who has it.
Check in works the same way: More, then Check in. If you opened the file and changed nothing, choose Discard check out instead so you don’t create a new version. Microsoft’s steps are in Check out, check in, or discard changes to files in a SharePoint library.
One editor or many
Checking a file out gives you the document to yourself. In my demo I checked out the code of conduct policy, opened it and used Copilot in Word to rewrite the introduction in a more formal tone, picking the third of the three drafts it offered. The change saved, and anyone else opening the library still saw the version from before I checked it out. Nothing I did was visible until I checked it back in.
Co-authoring works the other way round. Everyone with edit access can be in the file together and see each other’s changes. It needs a modern file format (.docx, .pptx or .xlsx) and doesn’t work on files protected with Information Rights Management, according to Microsoft’s document collaboration and co-authoring guidance.
A note on every change, or none
The check-in comment is what turns check out into an audit trail. When I checked the policy back in, the dialog asked for a comment and I wrote “I rewrote the intro to be more formal”. In version history that note sat against version 5, alongside who made the change and when.
Co-authoring keeps the versions but skips the note. Version history tells you that someone changed the file on a given day, and you open the version to work out what they did and guess why. The comment is optional on check in, though, so the trail only exists if people write one.
Make it the library’s rule, or leave it to people
Checking out a single file is a choice each person makes. If you want it to happen every time, a library owner can turn it on for the whole library: Settings, Library settings, More library settings, Versioning settings, then set Require documents to be checked out before they can be edited? to Yes. You need Full Control or Design permission to change it, and Microsoft’s setup steps are clear that people can’t work on documents at the same time once it’s on.
With it on, choosing Edit checks the file out to you, new files stay checked out to whoever added them until they check them in, and property changes only apply after check-in. If the library tracks major and minor versions, check in also asks which kind of version you’re creating.
Which one I’d pick
Co-authoring stays the default for almost everything. Proposals, meeting notes, project documents and anything still being drafted should be open to the whole team at once, and putting a lock on them only slows people down.
I’d switch to check out for documents where the process matters more than the speed: policies, procedures, controlled templates, and anything a compliance team has to show the history of. Those are usually in their own library already, and that’s where I’d turn on Require check out, so the rule belongs to the library instead of depending on who remembers. I wouldn’t turn it on in a general team library. As a hypothetical, picture someone checking out a shared spreadsheet on a Friday and then going on two weeks’ leave: nobody else could edit it until an administrator forced it back in.
The setting doesn’t make anyone write a useful comment, so most of the work is user education: tell the people who edit those documents when to check out, that every check-in needs a comment, and what a good one looks like (“Rewrote section 1 introduction for formal tone” beats “updates”). If you need to know when a controlled document changes as well, a rule on the library can email the owner whenever a file is modified.
Check out gives you a light audit trail. If a regulator needs formal approval before a change goes live, look at content approval and retention on that library as well.
Frequently asked questions
Can someone else edit a file I’ve checked out? No. While it’s checked out to you, Check out and Check in are unavailable to everyone else, and they can see who has it by pointing at the file. If someone leaves a file checked out, an administrator can force a check-in, but the person should check it in as soon as they’re done.
Does check out work with Copilot in Word? In my demo, yes. I checked out a policy, rewrote its introduction with Copilot in Word, saved it and checked it in, and the change appeared as a new version with my comment.
