At times, a stream has a small error that only requires a "quick fix" to make the process run smoothly. For such times, you can use the stream's lock. You'll unlock the stream, make your changes, and then lock it again. 

 

At other times, a stream definition need to grow and evolve, like a living organism. But for extensive changes, you can't change a process or document definitions "in mid-stream", without breaking the system. On the other hand, any functioning organization generally has multiple records in-progress, with processes running on those records. That makes it hard to find a safe time to make changes. To resolve the dilemma, you make use of stream versions. 

 

​​Stream Locks

​When you visit a Stream Definition, you'll see an Unlock button in the upper right of the definition window. Use that button to enable editing. You can then make changes. When done, click the now-visible Lock button to use the modified definition.

 

While the stream is locked, it can't be modified. To make changes, you either have to unlock it or checkout the current version (explained in the next section). While it is unlocked, records-in-progress will continue to use the process they started with. No records will use your modifications until you re-lock the definition--so you don't have to worry about records using a process or other stream components that are only partially complete.

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Stream Versions

Suppose you were storing an email document in one document, and then decided it would make more sense to store it elsewhere. Or suppose you wanted to change the order in which tasks are carried out, or add branches to the process flow. Such changes would break processes that are already running on existing records.

 

The solution is stream versions. To make a change to a stream, the first step is to checkout the stream, to ensure that no one else is making changes at the same time. When you are done making changes, you checkin the new version of the stream.

 

When you checkin your modifications, a new version of the stream is created. All new records use that version of the stream definition. All existing records continue using the version they started with, until they run to completion.

 

Learn more: Checkout, Checkin, and Publishing