Working when the Network is Down

If you can’t get to the net, and discover you need to check out a file, all is not lost, but you will have some additional work.  Here are the steps to follow:

1. Change the read-only attribute on the file to writeable using attrib, or Windows Explorer.
   
   
2. Make your changes to the file.
   
   
3. When you get back onto the network, use the History dialog box (via Tools, Show History) and the diff button to determine what numbered version of the file you took home.  You can do this by doing a diff against successively older versions until you find a diff that only contains the changes that you made.
   
   
4. Check out that numbered version of the file from the History dialog box, using the Don’t get local copy option.  (You may need to hold down the shift key to see this option.) This option is also available from the command line. 

   Now, the file is in the exact state it was before network disconnection and you can proceed safely. 

Note The VSS Administrator must enable multiple checkouts before you are allowed to check out old versions of files.  If multiple checkouts is not enabled, you can check out the latest version of the file by selecting the Don’t get local copy box, but you must manually merge in any changes that happened since you left.

5. You may need to do a merge before you check in.  Make sure your merge does not destroy the work of anyone who checked in since the network went down (or you left the office).