By default, you cannot edit a design that’s under editing control of another user. If you open such a design, ProtoShare informs you of its read-only status via a pop-up dialog and a special icon in the Editor tab. However, you can explicitly take editing control of a read-only design at any time.

Taking editing control allows you to make changes to the design, but will cause any unsaved changes made by the current editor to be lost. Therefore, you should take this action only if the current editor is unable to close the design and thereby release control.

To take editing control of a design, follow these steps:

1. Select File > Take Editing Control.
A dialog opens and provides you with the name of the current editor. Before taking control, you might want to contact that person and coordinate editing tasks.

2. Take editing control.
Click the Take Editing Control menu item. The design is automatically refreshed so you have the latest saved changes.