Doc159: Locking Files

Title: Locking Files

While the primary capability provided by WebDAV in Traction is document versioning, there is also a capability to manually lock a file. This makes it possible for a user to grant themselves exclusive edit access to an attachment in order to make sure that other users don't try to make changes at the same time.

Note: This is separate from the Lock option in Page and Comment Moderation

Two caveats:

The locking option is only available if your "Show Lock Option for Files" setting is set to Yes in the Personal Setup | Preferences - Files tab (see User Preferences | Files Panel - Edit in Office and File Options to learn how to make the lock option available.
for more information) AND your server is using WebDAV for file management.
The lock operation applies to WebDAV controlled files only, but it applies regardless of whether or not a file is version controlled.

When you want to make sure you have exclusive access to a file, you may lock it manually. If you edit a file directly in Microsoft Office, the editing application (e.g., Microsoft Word) automatically obtains a lock in the name of the user logged into Windows. Please see Autoversioning and Editing Microsoft Office Files from Windows with IE for more information.

Note: This article explains how locking works in the File Details dialogue for article attachments. The interface in Project Share Folders is different. Please refer to Using the Document Management Interface (DMI) for information on how the locking and unlocking capability is integrated into the share folders.

The following explains how the locking capability is utilized in the File Details view.

Lock Information

If a file is not locked, its File Details view reports "Status: Unlocked." If the file is locked, the display looks instead something like this:

The status tells us the identity of the lock owner (admin) and how much time remains on the lock (23 hours, 58 minutes and 12 seconds). (In this case, the lock is held by the same person viewing the lock information, so the unlock button is available; see below for more information.)

Manual Locking and Unlocking

Supposing the lock option has been made available, a lock may be obtained manually for a given file from that file's File Details view simply by clicking the "lock" button:

The lifetime for manual locks is 24 hours. When you are finished editing a file, unlocking it is as easy as clicking the "unlock" button:

If a lock must be rescinded, it is possible for a server administrator to take it over; please see Unlocking Files Locked by Others.

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referenced by (6)

Doc516: Page and Comment Moderation Doc358: Sharing and Managing Files in TeamPage Doc329: How is WebDAV Used in Traction TeamPage Doc284: User Preferences | Files Panel - Edit in Office and File Options Doc138: Inspecting and Managing Files via the File Details View Doc32: Checkout Checkin

Article: Doc159 (permalink)
Date: March 22, 2008; 4:07:13 PM Eastern Daylight Time

Author Name: Documentation Importer
Author ID: importer