Documentation Center

Resolving a lock

For a variety of reasons, the item you are trying to edit may show you a lock icon in its border. If this happens, you can find out why you are unable to edit the item, and how you may be able to make it editable.

Procedure

  1. On an editable webpage, start editing by clicking the pencil button in the top right corner.
  2. Click on a part of the webpage that shows a lock on its border, and click the lock icon.
    You are informed why the item is locked, and provided with options to proceed. Depending on the type of lock and on your security clearance, you might be able to resolve the lock, or you might have to ask your Tridion Sites application administrator to unlock the item for you.
  3. If you feel that you should be able to modify the item, take action to unlock it.
    OptionDescription
    Localize the itemLocalize an item to turn a shared content item into a localized content item. Localizing an item creates a distinct copy of that item. Any changes to the original item are no longer reflected in your localized copy, and vice versa. A typical reason for localizing content is to translate it. Localizing an item unlocks it.
    Edit the item on all websitesYou may be able to unlock a locked item by explicitly selecting to edit it on all websites. You can then modify it on the webpage. Note that your changes will appear on other websites as well. To see if an item appears on other websites than this one, check the BluePrinting Status property in the Properties dialog of the item.
    Start an ActivityIf an item on your webpage shows a lock border button and says that the item is assigned to you, it means that the item was assigned, possibly along with other items, to your user group through workflow. You can start Activity on the item. Doing so unlocks that item, and all other items associated with the Activity.

    For detailed steps, see the related topic.

    Take ownershipClicking a locked item may reveal a message: "This item contains changes that are not yet published". This means that modifications made by you a.nd/or other users are waiting to go into workflow and will not be published until that Workflow Process finishes.
    Check the dialog to find out the following information:
    • How many unpublished changes the item contains
    • Which user last changed the item

    If you want to take ownership of the item, including ownership of all unpublished changes, click Take ownership and edit.

    Taking ownership also means that if you discard changes (by selecting Cancel Editing or Undo Check-out), Experience Manager discards all unpublished changes to the item, including those made by other users before you.