Locking an item stops anyone else from changing it while you work. It is the simplest way to avoid two people editing the same process at the same time and overwriting each other.
1. What locking does
When an item is locked:
- Only the person holding the lock can edit it.
- Other people can still open and view it, but cannot save changes or delete it – they see a message that the item is locked.
- The lock applies until it is released, or until its time limit expires (see below).
2. Lock an item
- Open the item you want to protect.
- Choose Lock. You need at least write (Editor) access to lock an item.
- Optionally set a time limit, in minutes. If you set one, the lock releases itself automatically when the time is up – handy so a forgotten lock does not block your colleagues indefinitely. If you do not set one, the lock stays until you release it.
3. See who holds a lock
If an item is already locked, Automize shows who locked it, when, and when the lock will expire (if a time limit was set). This tells you who to ask if you need access.
4. Unlock an item
- Release your own lock – only the person who holds a lock can unlock it normally. Choose Unlock when you are done.
- Admin force-unlock – a company admin can force-unlock an item locked by someone else, for example when that person is away and the lock is blocking work. See Roles and administrators.
Expired locks are cleared automatically, so a lock with a time limit never gets permanently stuck.