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Resources exist in one of four edit states: Editable, Versionable, Version Controlled, and Final (CERF follows the DeltaV versioning protocol and terminology).
Unless you specify otherwise, Resources that are submitted to CERF begin in a versionable state. You can create a user preference (Tools > Options) that specifies the edit state for a resource at the time of submission. And at the time of resource submission, you can select an edit state if you wish (through the Edit Resources dialog. Note, however, that this dialog is not launched if you have selected "Quick Add" in the Options dialog).
Resources are checked out from the CERF server for editing and the changes are made on a local copy. If the resource began as versionable, at check-in, you can allow the changes to overwrite (replace) the original (in which case, the edit state remains versionable) or you can change the edit state to version-controlled or Final. Note that the default business policy is set to create a new version when you use Check In 
(if you want to keep a resource as versionable, you would need to use Full Check In 
). To determine the Edit state of a Resource, select it in the Document Tree and look at the Info Panel (or choose View Resource Info from the right-click menu), and expand the Status pane.
| Edit State | Definition |
| Editable | An editable resource may not be put under version control. Collections are always editable because the metadata may be edited. |
| Versionable | Versions may be created for a versionable resource, but until a version is created and the resource is under version control, you can keep it versionable so that changes will replace the previous copy of the resource. A versionable resource may be made version-controlled or final. |
| Version Controlled | The original copy is saved and subsequent changes are saved as a new version (i.e., as a new instance of the Resource in CERF). Once a Resource is under version control, a version history is maintained. A version-controlled resource may not be made versionable, but it may be made final. |
| Final | A Resource in the Final state may not be checked out. Thus no changes may be made to the resource or its metadata. |