When you edit a file, it automatically gets checked out to you. In some situations, you may want to check out a file and optionally lock it to make sure that no one performs a check-in operation before your changes are checked in.

To manually perform a check-out operation, right click on the file/folder in Solution Explorer and click on the context menu item Check Out for Edit..., as shown in the following screenshot:

This will open the Check Out dialog, which will allow you to optionally lock it. From the Lock type dropdown, you will be allowed to select either of the following options:

• Unchanged: Keep any existing lock
• Check in: Allow other users to check out but prevent them from checking in

And when you are ready, click on the Check Out button. This will change the status of your selected files/folders for modification.