Lock a map, topic, image, or resource

Before you can modify a map, topic, image, or resource, you must lock it.

Prerequisites:

The map, topic, image, or resource must be in the unlocked state.

Note: Any map, topic, image, or resource can be locked.

Locking a document prevents other users from accessing the file and makes it available for editing. Authors lock files to edit them or merely to prevent other users from modifying them. Any changes are saved on your local hard drive until the file is released. The Lock function is available from all views. For images and resources, it is also available from the Show/Edit dialog.

To lock one or more document objects:

  1. Search to locate the map, topic, image, or resource you want to lock.
  2. Select one or more document objects.
  3. Right-click and select Lock.
    Tip: If you are in DITA Map view, to lock all children of a given topic, select the topic, right-click, and select Sub-tree > Lock.
    The selected documents are now locked for your exclusive use. The locked documents are displayed in blue in the views, and the Locked By column (if selected for your setup) displays the ID of the user who locked them.
  4. Double-click a document object to open it for editing.