This is probably a "dumb question", but I need to know for sure and I have no means of testing it with only one copy of InDesign.

On a network where multiple users have access to the same document, if the document is opened in InDesign by one user, is it 1) completely blocked from being opened by another user; or 2) opened only as "read only" (as MS Word does); or 3) I can't believe this would happen, but I try not to assume anything--nothing happens and both users are allowed to open and edit the document?

Thanks, Peter. I'm not sure that it answers the concern I have, but it may be a non-issue anyway.

Here's the situation: I'm writing a VB app to automate document creation. It creates an XML document, then opens InDesign, opens the document, and merges the XML. If the document is already open in InDesign, it just merges the XML. That's fine if there's only one user with the document open. But if someone else were to have it open, it might be unsettling for them to be working with (or even just viewing) the document and have it suddenly change.

It should, I would think, only affect a copy of InDesign running on the same computer as the VB app, but again I don't like to make assumptions.

If there's no clear answer on this, I'll just have to deal with it in the event that it arises.

Only one person can have the actual original document open. Any copies opened will start out as "untitled" and must be saved with a name and location. The lock file prevents that name and location from being the same as the original, though you could save with the same name in a new location, or a new name in the same location. If your XML would flow into the new document, you might have an issue, but if the path is part of the VB app, you should be all set.

Peter