How to make changes to a locked record

Making changes to a locked record

Why a record locks, how to tell, and how to reopen it so you can edit

Contents

• 1. Introduction & Context
• 2. Key Features & Functions
• 3. Requirements
• 4. Step-by-Step Guide
  • Reopening a locked record
  • Checking and changing which statuses lock
  • Locked is not the same as Closed
• 5. Common Issues & Troubleshooting
• 6. Related Articles

1. Introduction & Context

If you cannot edit a record, the most likely reason is that it is locked. A record locks because of the status it is in, not because of anything about your account. Move it to a different status and it becomes editable again.

A worked example. A finding has been signed off and moved to Closed. Closed is configured as a locking status, so nobody can change the finding while it sits there. A week later the wording needs correcting. Rather than editing it in place, the owner presses the reopen button on the workflow, which moves the finding to an open status, makes the change, then closes it again.

Who is it for? Anyone who has hit a record they cannot edit. The last part of the guide is for system administrators who need to check or change which statuses lock.

What does it impact? Locking applies to the record as a whole while it is in that status. It is a deliberate control, so reopening a record is a real change to its state and will be visible to others working on it.

2. Key Features & Functions

• Locking is a property of the status, not the record. Every record in a locking status behaves the same way.
• No changes are possible while locked. The record is held as it was when it entered that status.
• The way out is a workflow button. A transition moves the record to a different status, and the lock lifts with it.
• Locked blocks editing and deleting. While a record sits in a locked status it cannot be changed or removed.
• Locked is listed per status in Admin. The Statuses list has a Locked column reading Yes or No, so an administrator can see at a glance which statuses lock.
• Locked is not the same as Closed. Closed is the status type and controls whether items show in list views. A status can be one, both or neither.

3. Requirements

• To reopen a record: access to the workflow button that moves it out of the locking status. This is normally held by the record owner, an approver or a system administrator.
• To check or change which statuses lock: system administrator permissions, since the workflow view sits in the Admin area.

4. Step-by-Step Guide

Reopening a locked record

1. Open the record and check its current status.
2. Look for a workflow button that moves it out of that status, for example a reopen or return button.
3. Click that button. The record moves to the new status and the lock lifts.
4. Make your changes.
5. Move the record back to the closing status once you are finished, so it returns to its intended state.

Checking and changing which statuses lock (administrators)

1. Go to Admin, then Workflow, and open the workflow used by the record's module.
2. Find the Statuses list. The Locked column shows Yes or No for each status.
3. To change it, open the status to bring up the Edit Status panel.
4. Set Locked to Yes or No. The panel confirms that items cannot be edited or deleted while in a locked status.
5. Save, then check the Transitions list to confirm there is a route out of that status and that the right people can use it.

The Statuses list in Admin, with the Locked column showing which statuses lock records.

The Edit Status panel, with Locked set to Yes on the Closed status.

Locked is not the same as Closed

These two settings are easy to mix up because they often apply to the same status, but they do different things.

Hovering the icon in the Actions column tells you which type a status is.

Hovering the Actions icon on a status shows its type. Green reads Open. Blue is Draft.

The same icon on another status reads Closed. This is the status type, not the lock.

5. Common Issues & Troubleshooting

Best practices:

• Move the record back to its closing status once you have finished. Leaving it reopened undoes the control the lock was there to provide.
• Add a note explaining why the record was reopened, so the change has a reason attached to it.
• Lock only the statuses that genuinely represent a finished state. Locking mid-process statuses creates work rather than control.
• Make sure at least one route out of every locking status is available to somebody, or records will strand there.

6. Related Articles