Preventing overwrites with locking
In a collaborative environment, many editors may be working simultaneously on the same item, which opens the possibility of one editor overwriting the edits of another editor. To prevent conflicting edits, Brightspot locks content in one of two ways:
Content locking locks content at the item level. When the first editor (locking editor) opens an item in the content edit form, all fields are locked to any other editors until the item is released by the locking editor.
Field-level locking locks only the fields modified by an editor, allowing other editors to modify other fields in the content edit form. The editor who locks a field first is the locking editor, preventing other editors from accessing the field. For example:
Action
Result
Andy is modifying the headline
Headline field is locked to Alice and Arthur
Alice is modifying the image
Image field is locked to Andy and Arthur
Arthur is modifying tags
Tags field is locked to Andy and Alice
Enabling content or field locking
From the Navigation Menu, expand Admin, and select Sites & Settings.
In the Sites widget, select Global. The Edit Global widget appears.
Under CMS, under UI, scroll to Content Locking.
Toggle on to enable content locking, or toggle off to enable field-level locking.
Figure 103. Content locking enabled
Figure 104. Field-level locking enabledClick Save.
Caution
Content and field locking also impact locking on the Edit Global and Edit Site widgets. For details, see Enabling site widget- or field-level locking.
Unlocking a locked item
Editors belonging to a role with the Content Unlock permission can unlock a locked item. (For information about setting this permission at the role level, see Editing roles and Limiting access to locking.)
In the lock message (see the illustration Lock message with option to unlock), click Unlock. Brightspot displays a confirmation message.
Click OK. Brightspot unlocks the item for you, and locks the item for other editors.
Edit the item as necessary.
Complete your site's workflow and publish the item.
Content locking
Content locking locks content at the item level. The message area indicates that the item is locked and by whom. When an item is locked, only the locking editor can change the item. If another editor belongs to a role with permission to unlock a locked item, then the lock message includes an option to remove the lock.
 Figure 105. Lock message |  Figure 106. Lock message with option to unlock |
Brightspot allows editors to remove another editor's content lock after a period of inactivity. For details about configuring the duration of inactivity, see the table Global settings—CMS tab.
Field-level locking
Field-level locking locks only the fields modified by an editor on a first-come, first-served basis. For example, Joe opens an article and makes an edit in the sub-headline field. At this point, Brightspot locks the sub-headline field in favor of Joe. When Alice opens the same article, she sees a highlighted avatar in the editorial toolbar, indicating that another editor, Joe, is also working on the same item.
Whoever modifies a field first is the locking editor for the field, preventing the other editor from modifying it. For example, Alice tabs into the sub-headline field, and sees that the field is locked by Joe.
When Joe saves or publishes the item, Brightspot releases the field lock, and Alice can then edit the sub-headline field.
If another editor belongs to a role with permission to unlock a field, then the lock message includes an option to override the field lock (see previous illustration).
Note
You can turn off the role permission for unlocking field locks. If the permission is turned off, then the unlock option is excluded from the pending-edit message.
Unlocking a field
In the locked field (see illustration Field-level locking with option to unlock), click Unlock. Brightspot displays a confirmation message.
Click OK. Brightspot makes the field editable.
Edit the field.
Complete your site's workflow and publish the item.