In the following section, the term layer file refers to shapefiles, PGDB layers, raster files and CAD files.

In ArcMap, it is possible to modify, add, or remove certain features of a shapefile through the Editor toolbar.

With the ProjectWise extension to ArcMap, the Start Editing, Stop Editing and Save Edits commands have been extended in the following manner:

• When using the Start Editing command, if the edited layer is stored in ProjectWise, the user is prompted to do a check out of the edited file, if it is not already checked out by this same user. In the case of the layer from a PGDB, the PGDB file that contains the layer edited is checked out if it is not already checked out.
  Note: To commit the changes in ProjectWise, it is essential to do the desired changes on a checked out layer file, otherwise it will not be possible to commit the changes back into the ProjectWise datasource.
• When using the Save Edits command, if any of the edited layer files in the current edit session were checked out, the user is prompted to perform an update server copy. As a reminder, updating the server copy of a checked out file consists of checking in the open document from the editing application, without changing the document's checked out status on the server.
• When using the Stop Editing command, if a checked out layer file’s content was modified, users are prompted to check in the file. Thus, the changes to the layer file are permanently committed to the ProjectWise datasource. On the other hand, if no changes were recorded to a checked out layer file, the user is prompted to free the edited file.