Where a document stands, and who is holding it

A document can carry a state — draft, in review, approved, or superseded — so a reader can tell at a glance whether to rely on it. Ask your assistant to set one (set_document_state), or use the State field in the document panel. The four states are the same in every workspace and can't be renamed, because other people rely on them. A state is a label, not a lock: a document marked "draft" is visible to the same people who could already see it. Checking a document out is different: it does block changes. Ask your assistant to check one out (check_out_document) before you start rewriting it, and nobody else can publish a new version while you hold it; they are told who holds it. Reading, renaming, moving and commenting still work. Release it (check_out_document again, or the Release button on the document panel) as soon as you are done. The panel shows how long a check-out has been held. A check-out belongs to a person, so it works only when your assistant is connected as you (an OAuth connection), not with a workspace access key. An admin can release a check-out if its holder is unavailable.