Killing a Lock

When a user is working on a CMS object, this object is locked to prevent two users from working on the same object at the same time. CMS assigns a short-time session lock to the object when a user modifies it. Other users can work with a locked object in read-only mode; however, administrators and channel managers can override the lock. The objects include channels, pages, template galleries, templates, resource galleries, and individual resources.

NOTE: A session lock is different from the ownership lock assigned, for example, when an author creates a page. The author automatically becomes the owner of the page, and the page is locked while it goes through the publishing workflow to prevent other authors from changing it before it has been approved. The lock is removed when the page is published, and the locking ownership is assigned to a CMS pseudo-account called Everybody. A pseudo-account is an internal CMS entity that is not mapped to any Windows account. Setting page locking ownership to Everybody allows all CMS users with appropriate rights to edit the page. However, the short-time session lock does not change the locking ownership.

If a user's machine crashes or is turned off while the user is working with a CMS object, the object may remain locked after the user's machine has been rebooted. If a user is not able to work on an object they have rights to, you may need to remove a session lock placed on an object by CMS.

Administrators and channel managers can use the Kill Lock command, available from the Tools menu in the Site Manager, to end the session lock. You can also right-click an object, such as a channel or a page, and select Kill Lock. Before you use the Kill Lock command, make sure no user is currently working with the page you are killing the lock on; otherwise, the latest edits may be lost.