Troubleshoot everyday issues

Common problems a designer hits, and how to clear them. For setup/connection problems see Sign in to GitM; for install problems see Verify the installation.

I can't save my file in SolidWorks

The file is read-only because you haven't checked it out. Check it out first. The read-only bit is what stops two people overwriting the same binary file.

If you're saving an assembly and the error names a child part or sub-assembly, you locked the assembly but not that part. Check out (or Open) the assembly and choose Lock All Available to lock its whole reference tree — see Checking out an assembly.

The file is dim and says ·placeholder·

Only a stub is on your PC. Make it available on this PC to download the real bytes, then open it.

A part keeps going back to placeholder mode

A known rough edge with how some operations interact with LFS skip-smudge. Make it available again. If it recurs reliably, note what action triggers it and report it.

"Check In" fails / push rejected

This usually means the remote moved ahead of you (a teammate published in the meantime).

1. GitM attempts to reconcile by pulling first, then retrying the push.
2. If it still fails, click Get Latest, resolve any conflict, then Check In again.

Out-of-band changes (for example part-number commits made elsewhere) can also push the remote ahead. Auto-assign of part numbers is off by default partly to reduce this — see Manage part numbers.

The lock flips to "Locked by Me" then back to "Not Locked"

The lock didn't confirm with the server. Check your connection and retry. Historically this symptom was also caused by an internal file-scan bug (since fixed); if every file shows "Not Locked" even when locks exist on the server, refresh, and report it if it persists.

A file shows "Locked by Other" and I need it

Coordinate with the person holding the lock. If they're unreachable, an admin can force-unlock — but that can discard their unpublished work, so it's a last resort.

My "L" badge won't go away after checking in

The L count is the number of local commits not yet on GitHub. After a successful check-in it should read zero. Refresh the task pane. (A stale-count bug that kept the badge after a clean check-in has been fixed.)

Right-click → Open doesn't show the file in SolidWorks

Make sure the file is available on this PC first. GitM opens and then activates the document; if it was a placeholder there's nothing to open.

A red message flashes and disappears

Transient status messages now appear as a floating toast and a notification bell rather than shifting the layout. They're informational; the bell keeps session notices you can review.

I lost my connection — what now?

Nothing breaks. An amber ⊘ Offline pill appears in the top bar; you can keep editing checked-out files and saving local versions. Cloud actions (Check Out, Check In, Publish Snapshot, Get Latest, etc.) pause with a short "You're offline" message until you reconnect. See Work offline for the full workflow.

Known limitations

• Conflicts on binary CAD files can only be resolved as use mine or use theirs — there is no CAD merge.
• Cloud actions (Check Out, Check In, push, LFS download) require a connection. When you're offline GitM pauses them gracefully — see Work offline — rather than failing with raw errors. On a poor (but live) connection they're slow rather than instant; GitM favors correct-but-slow over fast-but-wrong.