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Language Foundation

check in

To check in a document is to return it to a document management system after editing or other work so that it becomes the managed copy in the system again.

In plain English

This means putting a document back under the system's control after someone has worked on it. Once it is returned to the document management system, that returned version is the managed copy there again.

In context

Here, "check in" labels the action of returning a checked-out document to the document management system so it becomes the managed copy there again.

Situation
Creating, saving, sharing, versioning, and restoring files
What it communicates
labels the action for returning a checked-out document to the shared library.

Meaning limits

This sense is only about returning the document to the system as the managed copy again, not about describing what work was done on it.

Examples

“After revising the report, Omar checked it in, making that version the managed copy in the document system again.”

Core meaning

“The specification is still on her laptop because she hasn't checked it in yet.”

In context

  • check out Opposite

    In document management, checking out takes a document out for work, while checking in puts it back as the managed copy.

  • return Broader Term

    Checking in is a kind of returning of a document.