External Link Management with Multiple Users Accessing Files

Using External Links, the behavior of user collaboration on the file and external files is as follows (without a Data Management System):

Example Case: Main.ics is the main scene with an Assembly and two parts under the assembly. Part1.ics and Part2.ics are both externally linked files. 

Example 1: Main File with 2 Part Files that are Externally Linked.

1. If Main.ics is NOT opened on a machine. Users on different machines can open Part1.ics and Part2.ics independently to work on the files.
   
2. If Part1.ics and/or Part2.ics are opened on user machines, another user can open Main.ics and work on the content of that file. If the user tries to edit Part1.ics or Part2.ics in the Main.ics file, there will be a read-only warning that these have already been opened and edited. Note: Changes to Part1/2.ics from the original users will not appear in Main.ics when saved (Main.ics will need to be reopened to get the updates).
   
3. If Main.ics is opened first, users will get a read-only warning that Part1/2.ics are in use if they open them on another machine. The owning file of the external links will lock out the other files on open if they are not already open.

If you have a Data Management system, this behavior is different as these systems use Check-out concepts on the linked files. The opening order is not restricted like it is above. A data management system could be Synergy, DDM from CSI, or our CAXA EDM system. 

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