A work area is a location in your file system into which Rational Synergy writes a project when you check it out. A work area can reside anywhere in the network file system. The directory tree structure of a project in the work area is identical to the tree structure in the Synergy database.
Rational Synergy keeps the work area synchronized with the database. On UNIX systems, the files in a work area are linked to the database files. On Windows systems, the files in the work area are copies of the database files.
When you create or change a project, Rational Synergy updates your work area automatically and transparently. When you add members to a project, Rational Synergy updates the work area with the new files; when you remove members from a project, Rational Synergy removes the corresponding files from your work area. You also can update the work area manually by working on files directly in the network file system, outside of Rational Synergy's control.