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>
> 1) A revision control system will tell you who is currently working on
> something- who has the file 'checked out'.
Only if it includes *access* control (which VSS does, by the way). When choosing a system, it's important to remember that access control is not necessarily a feature of a revision control system--the two features are independent.
>
> 2) Some revision control software is capable of diffing files against
> each other (which is not the case with VSS and word .doc files, but is
> the case with Word-generated HTML) two people can edit the same file at
> the same time, and when they both check in, both of their changes will
> appear in the new version.
It isn't just VSS that can't diff .doc files. As far as I know, only Word itself can provide useful info about specific changes. The revision-control system records the fact that a binary file has changed; you need some other mechanism (like Word's built-in Track Changes tool) to see the actual changes.
>
> 3) Revision control software is capable of maintaining several different
> revisions of the same file... It's a very handy thing when it works
> right.
Absolutely. This is the main benefit of revision control. (Access control has a different benefit, and change merging has yet another benefit.)
>
> ...if you have to maintain different versions of the same doc, or
> you want a historical record of how it changed over time, without
> saving hundreds of different versions of the thing.
If disk space is your concern, be aware that binary files probably have to be stored in their entirety. The benefit is that the revision control system keeps track of the versions, rather than you having to do it yourself.
HTML Indexer 4 is still the easiest way to create and maintain indexes
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