To edit a CERF Resource, you must check it out.  When you check out a Resource from the CERF server, a local copy of the document and its metadata are created.  Multiple users cannot check out the same Resource at the same time.  When a Resource is checked out, a red checkmark icon is displayed in the Document Tree next to the Resource and the option to check out is replaced by Uncheckout on the right-click menu. You can still view a Resource that is checked out, however.  Note: When you edit metadata for a Resource, the Resource becomes unavailable for check out and the check out option will not be on the right-click menu.

There are several ways to check out a Resource from CERF for editing:

1. Double-click on the Resource to check it out and open it for editing (if your preferences are set to the default, where double-clicking checks out and opens the document).
2. Select the Resource and click on the Checkout and Edit button   in the main toolbar.
3. Right-click on the Resource and select Edit > Checkout and Edit. 
4. Right-click on it in the Document Tree and select Edit > Check-Out.  The document is shown in the Checked Out Documents pane.  Use the Edit button in the Checked Out Documents Toolbar to open the document for editing. 
5. Drag the document from the Documents Tree to the Checked Out Documents pane.  Use the Edit button in the Checked Out Documents Toolbar to open the document for editing.

Check Out & Edit with Specified External Applications

CERF allows you to specify external applications with which you would like to open certain file types. In order to open a resource in a specific application, right click on the resource and select "Check Out and Edit With...". This will prompt you to select an appropriate application from a dropdown list. You can add more than one application for use with specified file types if you like. The "Check Out and Edit With..." feature may be especially useful for those who prefer to work with CERF Notebook .txt entries in a favorite external text editor, rather than using the CERF Notebook inline .txt editor. External applications can be registered and associated with specific file types in the "Applications" tab of the CERF > Preferences (Mac OS) or Tools > Options (Windows). You can read more about CERF client application preferences here.  

TIP: The "View With..." and "Check Out and Edit With..." options will only appear in your right-click menu if you have explicitly registered an external application for use with that file type in the CERF client preferences area AND you have a suitable access role for the selected CERF resource. If you have not registered any specific applications(s) in the CEF client preferences, then files should open in the system default application for that file type when you choose "Check Out and Edit".

Editing Notebook Resource Entries

Select entry to display the Entry Toolbar and click on the Check out and Edit button .  Alternatively, you can right-click on the entry selection bar (as shown below) and select Entry Content|Edit|Check out and Edit.  The checkout procedure is the same whether the resource is displayed as a link or inline.

The file will open in the application in which it was created, which must be installed on your computer.  You will be working on a local copy of this document.  Edit the document, save it in the application, and close it.  The file is still checked out from CERF and will have a red check mark next to it.  If entry headers are shown, the check mark will also be displayed on the header.  A checked out entry that is not selected will display a yellow header/selection bar. 

Note:  to display the headers, click on the Show Headers button  on the Notebook Page Toolbar (note that this toggles from the Hide Headers button ).

Once you have saved and closed the document, the buttons for Check In, Full Check In, and Uncheckout will be enabled (circled below).  Click the Check In button  to save the changes to the server.  This bypasses the steps to change Edit State and edit metadata (requires Full Check In).

The resource will now be edited and the edited copy will be displayed and available for check out.  If you created a new version, the previous versions are available in the Version History. Click the Info button to see the Version History.

Note that you can check out and edit a document that is displayed inline (in PDF display mode).  It will check out in the application in which it was created, and when you check it back in, the display mode will be the the same as before checkout (i.e., if it was displayed inline in PDF view before checkout, it will be displayed the same way after check in).
 

Editing Notebook Text Entries

Select the Entry header and click on the Check Out and Edit button  on the Entry toolbar (circled in the next image).  If your preferences are set for the system default, double-clicking on the text entry will also check it out for editing.

The text editor now displays the editing toolbar. When you have finished editing, click on Save and Check In (circled in red in the next image).  Note that the Checked Out icon on the header shows the Entry status.

Note that clicking on Save closes the text editor, so that you are no longer in editing mode, and saves changes locally. The Entry is still checked out, however, and your changes will not be saved to the server until you check this Entry in.  You may either check in    the text entry as is, or uncheckout .  If you wish to continue editing, double-click on the Entry to open the text editor.

Clicking on Cancel launches the Confirm Cancel dialog.  If you click Yes, your changes will be discarded, the text editor is closed, and the Entry remains checked out.  You may either check in the text entry as is, or uncheckout.  If you wish to continue editing, double-click on the Entry to open the text editor.

If after editing you begin another action, such as adding a resource to this page or opening another page instead of clicking on Save and Check In, or Save, or Cancel, the Entries Changed dialog will launch, giving you the same choices as explained above.

Editing Resource Pages

Previous versions of CERF offered some ability to edit some types of microsoft files inside CERF Resource Pages using a technology called OLE which is no longer well supported by Microsoft. Since the OLE technology is now obsolete, CERF Resource Pages are currently not supported in CERF 5 or higher.