Collaboration and Locking
The Knowbly system allows users to collaborate on shared content. It has a locking mechanism so that only one user at a time can edit while other team members can see a read only view. In this manner, one user cannot overwrite another user’s work.
The locking mechanism is active for single pages in a course, for each widget, and for each editable theme. When a user tries to access one of these and another user is already editing it, they will get the “lock” notification. The lock shows that another user is currently editing that content. The lock will change when the original user makes changes so other users know to refresh their view. The lock will also change when the original user moves on, in order to inform the second user that the content can now be edited.
NOTE: Only editing users (admins, managers, contributors) can obtain a lock, but all users including Reviewers will see the locks (this way reviewers can still tell if content is actively being changed while they review). Comments can still be captured for content on a locked page.
Page Locks
For example, one user, Steve Smedes, is actively making changes to the first lesson titled “Introduction to Communication Skills”. When a second user tries to access that lesson in the course, they see the page is locked in both the structure navigation and at the top.
The icon in the structure navigation can give you a quick view into how many pages in the course are currently locked.
You can hover over either lock to see the name of the user who has the lock:
As the original user makes changes, the lock will change from Red to Green to show other users that the content on this page has changed. You’ll want to refresh the page to see the latest changes the other user has made - click the Green Lock to Refresh (or your browser refresh button).
Similarly, when the original users moves away from editing that content, the lock will also change from Red to Green to show Refresh Page (content should always be refreshed before editing begins to make sure you are using the most up to date version). Once you refresh, the previous user lock will disappear, which allows you to take the page lock and begin editing.
Widget Locks
The widget lock only appears at the top of the widget editor. It functions the same as the page lock. All setting and theme buttons for the widget will be grayed out until the lock is cleared.
Theme Locks
The theme lock only appears at the top of the theme editor. It functions the same as the page lock.