Posting and locking

Contenta has locking mechanisms to maintain the integrity of data being modified, and data modified in a ContentRoutingProject or Project but not yet posted back to the configuration.

The following table describes locks that Contenta may place on objects.
LockDescription
Edit LockPlaced on an object when it is open for editing
Project LockPlaced when an object in a ContentRoutingProject or a standard Project has been modified but not yet posted

A project lock is also applied to an object in a ContentRoutingProject when the object is forwarded.

User LockPlaced by the Contenta user to control and maintain a long-term lock on an object
The following sections describe these locks in greater detail.

Edit lock

When an object is open for editing, an edit lock is placed on the object. Users do not have write access to an object with an edit lock, but can open the object in read-only mode. When the object is closed after editing, the edit lock is removed. Note the following about edit locks.

  • If the object is in a ContentRoutingProject or Project, the object is placed on a post list and a project lock is placed on the object. Only project team members (users assigned to tasks in the ContentRoutingProject or Project) with edit permissions can write-access the object after the edit lock is removed.
  • If the object is not in a ContentRoutingProject or Project, users with write permissions can write-access the object after an edit locked is removed.

Project locks

Project locks are placed on objects that have been modified within a ContentRoutingProject or standard Project; the object appears in the Post List for the ContentRoutingProject or Project. Project locks are transferred to the next user in the workflow when an object in the ContentRoutingProject or the Project is forwarded. The user (with edit permissions) on whose desktop the ContentRoutingProject or Project resides, owns the lock and can edit the data.

Contenta locks an object and marks it for posting under the following circumstances.

  • The object is in a ContentRoutingProject or standard Project and a project team member modifies the data in the object, changes the Property Sheet data, or attaches a global note to the object.
  • The object is in a ContentRoutingProject and has been forwarded to another task.
  • The object is created in the ContentRoutingProject or standard Project.
  • An object is added or deleted from a container object. The container then appears on the post list.
Note the following about project locks.
  • A ContentRoutingProject or standard Project may be posted to the configuration, and a standard Project may also be posted back to the parent Project.
  • If the ContentRoutingProject or Project is posted to a configuration, the user has write-access to the data because the project lock is removed when the ContentRoutingProject or Project is posted.
  • If the Project is posted to the parent Project, the parent Project holds the project lock and users do not have write-access to it. To enable a user to edit the data, the current owner of the parent Project must remove the lock.

User locks

Use the Lock option on the Edit menu to place a user lock on an object. A user lock is maintained until the user unlocks the object with the Unlock option on the Edit menu. If an object has a user lock on it, other users do not have write-access to it.

For example, a user may lock an object to make certain that no one modifies it while he or she works on it outside the Contenta application. When all modifications are done, the user would unlock the object and replace it with the modified one.

To access the user lock option.

  1. Click the Contenta object you want to lock.
  2. Click the Lock option on the Edit menu. Contenta locks the selected object and writes your username in the Owner Lock field in the object display area.