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Help Topic: Lock Records


Overview

Tracker Pro and Enterprise only.

Locking a record protects it from being opened by users who should not access it, for example, while it is in a sensitive state.

Authorised users can lock and unlock records manually from the Action Menu, and administrators control exactly who can lock, unlock and view locked records through User Group Privileges.

Any of the following record types can be locked: Candidate/Resource, Company, Contact, Lead, Job/Opportunity, Placement and Assignment/Project.

In this article you will learn how to:

  • lock a record and record the reason for doing so

  • unlock a record

  • understand what other users see when a record is locked

  • set up the privileges that control who can lock, unlock and view locked records

 

Before you begin

Locking is controlled by two separate privileges. Both are switched off by default for every user group, so an administrator must enable them before anyone can use the feature (see the Setting up permissions section below).

Lock/Unlock Records allows a user to lock or unlock any record from the Action Menu. Without it, Lock Record and Unlock Record are hidden from every record's Action Menu.

View Locked Records allows a user to open locked records as normal. Without it, the user sees the Oops! screen when trying to open a locked record.

The two privileges work independently. A user can be allowed to lock records without being able to view locked records, and the other way round, so check both when setting up a user group.

 

Locking a record

You can lock a record in a few clicks, provided your user group has the Lock/Unlock Records privilege.

  1. Open the record you want to lock (Candidate/Resource, Company, Contact, Lead, Job/Opportunity, Placement and Assignment/Project).

  2. Open the Action Menu from the sidebar on the right-hand side of the record.

  3. Select Lock Record. It sits at the bottom of the Action Menu, below Audit History.

  4. Enter the reason the record is being locked when prompted, then confirm.

The lock takes effect immediately. The Action Menu option changes to Unlock Record, and the lock is written to the record's Audit History.

 

What happens when a record is locked

What each user sees depends on their privileges.

Users with View Locked Records can open the locked record and see it as normal.

Users without View Locked Records see a full-page Oops! screen in place of the record.

Users with Lock/Unlock Records permissions see Unlock Record at the bottom of the Action Menu while the record is locked.

Users without Lock/Unlock Records permissions see neither Lock Record nor Unlock Record in the Action Menu.

The Oops! screen appears whenever a user without View Locked Records navigates to the locked record, for example from a link, a search or a list. They cannot view or edit the record until it is unlocked.

Every lock and unlock is recorded in the record's Audit History, so you can always see who changed the state and when.

 

Unlocking a record

Any user with the Lock/Unlock Records privilege can unlock a record, including one locked by someone else.

  1. Open the locked record. You need the View Locked Records privilege to do this.
  2. Open the Action Menu from the sidebar on the right-hand side of the record.
  3. Select Unlock Record at the bottom of the Action Menu.

The record is unlocked immediately, the option switches back to Lock Record, and the unlock is recorded in the Audit History.

Note: To unlock a record you must be able to open it. If your user group has Lock/Unlock Records but not View Locked Records, you will see the Oops! screen on a locked record and cannot reach the Action Menu. Ask an administrator to enable both privileges for the users who manage locks.

 

Setting up permissions

Administrators enable the two privileges per user group. Both are unticked by default.

  1. Go to Administration > User Groups.
  2. Select the user group you want to update.
  3. Scroll to the User Group Privileges section.
  4. Tick Lock/Unlock Records to let users in the group lock and unlock records. Leave it unticked to hide Lock Record and Unlock Record from every record's Action Menu.
  5. Tick View Locked Records to let users in the group open locked records. Leave it unticked to show them the Oops! screen instead.
  6. Save your changes.

In most teams, the people who manage locks need both privileges, while users who only need to work on unlocked records need neither. Consider which groups should be able to see locked records before enabling View Locked Records widely.

 

Automatic Lock on Linked Project During Placement Approval

When a Placement record meets the requirements to be submitted for approval and is submitted, any Assignment/Project record linked to that Placement is locked automatically. The lock is removed automatically when the Placement is approved or rejected.

This means linked Project records are protected from changes while a Placement is pending approval, and are released automatically once the approval process concludes.

Automatic locking is controlled by a system-level setting that is off by default, please contact us if you would like this enabled.

 

Frequently asked questions

I can't see Lock Record in the Action Menu. Your user group does not have the Lock/Unlock Records privilege. Ask your administrator to enable it.

A user sees an Oops! screen on a record. The record may be locked and the user's group does not have View Locked Records. Ask an administrator to check the privilege, or have someone with Lock/Unlock Records unlock the record.

Can I lock any type of record? Yes: Candidate/Resource, Placement, Contact, Client, Lead, Job/Opportunity and Assignment/Project records can all be locked.

Can I unlock a record that was locked automatically? Yes. A record locked by the placement approval process can also be unlocked manually by a user with the Lock/Unlock Records privilege.

Where can I see who locked or unlocked a record? In the record's Audit History.