## Checking out a Project

There are two ways to start working on a project. You can either create a completely new project, or you can checkout a project from the CVS server. To see if there is a project for you to check out, please follow these steps.
1. Open the Ambient Checkout window by selecting Ambient > Checkout Basic Project or Ambient > Checkout Project. You may need to first change your Checkout preferences to have your login name stored. The first time you do this you will be prompted for a password.
*--NOTE--*
There is most certainly a difference between Checkout Project and Checkout Basic Project. The difference in Checkout Basic Project is that it will delete all previous project work on both the remote server (including your checkins) and also your local files. It will give you fresh start, but you must be sure that this is what you want because you cannot revert back. Checkout Project will bring you your latest checkin on the remote server, and if you havent ever checked in a project then it will get the basic (beginning) project.
2. Enter your NetID password and click OK.
3. A new window should open that will prompt you to select a project that you wish to check out.
4. Find your course's designated folder and navigate to the project you'd like to work on. Make your selection and click Finish. Checking out a new project may take some time depending on the speed of your computer and the network connection. Please be patient!
5. The window should disappear, and you should be returned to the Eclipse workbench, where you should notice a project in the Ambient Package Explorer.

### A word of caution

You will have to be careful if you want to work on the same project from home and at school. Let's say you start working on a project in school and submit it. Then you go home, check out the project again, work on it, and finally submit it again. So far no problem. However, if you want to keep working on the project in school the next day, you have to remember to check out the project again. This will ensure that you always work with the latest copy of your project. If you check out the project again it will ask you to overwrite the old project. Answering yes will allows you to work on the latest version.