<TITLE>Opening Files for Edit</TITLE>
<P> A file can be opened for edit if: 
<p> 
<ul>
  <li>The file is synced in your workspace 
  <li>You have permission to open the file 
  <li>The file is not already opened in your workspace 
</ul>
<P>When Perforce puts files in your workspace, it normally gives them read-only 
  permission to start with. (See the <a href="sync?help">sync</a> command to find 
  out how to get files into your workspace.) The <b>open for edit</b> command 
  makes files writable so you can edit them, and puts them in a pending changelist 
  so you can submit them later. The <img src="/edit?icon"> icon indicates that 
  you have files open for edit. 
<p>
You can open files for edit by:
 
<ul>
  <li>Choosing <b>Open for edit...</b> from the pulldown menu on the Files tab. 
    This menu option displays the <b>Open for Edit Options</b> page, described 
    in more detail below. 
    <p>
  <li>Selecting the file and clicking the <b>Open for edit</b> button, which opens 
    the selected file for edit in the default changelist without changing its 
    filetype. 
</ul>
 
<p>
<h3>The Open for Edit Options page</h3>
 
<p> Selecting <b>Open for edit...</b> from the pulldown menu displays the <b>Open 
  for Edit</b> page, where you can select the following file options. 
<ul>
    <li><b>Put opened files in changelist: </b>If your client workspace has more 
      than one pending changelist, this option enables you to select the changelist 
      into which opened files appear. </li>
    <P> 
    <li><b>Specify filetype: </b>Use this option to change the <a href="help_filetypes?help">filetype</a> 
      of Perforce-managed files. Click the checkbox and select the filetype and 
      filetype modifier(s). When you submit files opened this way, the new revisions 
      in the depot will have the new filetype. </li>
    <p> 
    <li><b>Restricting files</b>: If you came to this page by clicking a directory 
      and then choosing <B>Open for edit...</B> you can <a href="restrictfiles?help">restrict</a> 
      the files to be opened. </li>
  </ul>
  
<p> After you have selected your options, click <b>Open for edit</b>. 
<h3><a name="remote"></a>Editing files when P4Web is running on a remote machine</h3>
<p>P4Web mediates between a Web browser and a Perforce server. 
  P4Web can run on a machine that is separate (remote) from both the browswer 
  and server machines. The important thing to understand is that <b>your client 
  workspace resides on the machine where P4Web is running</b>. To edit files, 
  remote users (users who are browsing from a machine other than the one where 
  P4Web is running) must download the files to their local machine after checkout. 
  To check the edited files in, remote users must upload them to the P4Web machine 
  before. To edit files when working remotely, perform the following steps:</p>
<ol>
  <li><a href="sync?help"><b>Sync</b></a> the file.</li>
  <li><b>Open the file for edit</b> as described above.</li>
  <li><b>Download the file</b> from the workspace on the P4Web 
    machine to your local machine: choose <strong>Download file from Workspace</strong> from the <strong>Action</strong> menu.<br>
    Because you're 
    working locally on a copy of the file from the workspace, it doesn't matter 
    where you save it on your local machine. When you upload it in step 5 below, 
    you replace the workspace version with your edited version.</li>
  <li><b>Edit the file</b>.</li>
  <li><b>Upload the file</b>: Choose <b>Upload File to Workspace</b> 
  from the <b>Action</b> menu, specify the file to be uploaded, and click <b>Upload</b>.</li>
  <li><b><a href="submit?help">Submit</a> the file</b>.</li>
</ol>
<p>If you're editing text files, you can edit them directly in 
  the browser, instead of downloading them and opening them with a text editor. 
  To edit a text file in the browser, choose <b>Edit Workspace File in P4Web</b> 
  from the <b>Action</b> menu. Edit the file and choose <b>Save</b> to save your 
  changes. </p>