Lock phases and steps

Locking steps and phases prevents further changes to the data from being made in a step and/or phase. As an admin, you may want to lock a phase/step so no additional changes or entries can be made by other users. Please note that locked phases and steps can still be signed by users with signature rights. To prevent signing, the record will need to be locked.

1. Set lock rights

Before locking phases and/or steps, you must have the appropriate rights to lock records for that institute. 

1. Navigate to the 'Users' tab.
2. Click on the cogwheel located in the row with the name of the user that needs to have lock rights.
3. Ensure that the 'Lock' column is checked for the correct institutes. This enables the user to lock and unlock phases and steps for records belonging to that institute.
4. Click 'Save' to save your new rights settings and close the dialog window.

For more information of rights, see User Management Rights.

2. Open a record

Next, you must open the record for which you want to lock the phase or step. Open a record by double clicking on it. You can also hover with your mouse over the record, and then click on the eye icon. If you don't have any records, create a new one.

1. Navigate to the 'Records' tab.
2. Open a record by double clicking on it.

3. Lock a phase

If you only want to lock a step, scroll down to '4. Lock a step'. After opening a record, you will automatically be taken to the Study tab. You can lock a phase via the navigator on the left side of the data entry view.

1. Click on the three dots next to the phase you wish to lock, this will open the phase menu. 
2. Click on the option 'Lock this phase'.

4. Lock a step

You also have the option to lock individual steps. Hover with your mouse over the right side of the step in the navigator. If you have sufficient rights, you can click on the option to 'Lock this step'.

Note: steps, phases or reports with pending queries cannot be locked.

5. Showing locked phases and steps

After you lock the phase or step, entering the record will display as below:

1. In the navigator, the phases and steps will show a small padlock on the right side.
2. In the study data entry view, a message will display indicating that the step is locked. It will specify the date and time it was locked as well as the name of the user who locked the step.
3. The fields will be faded out and no interaction can be performed, indicating no additional data-entry is possible for this phase.

You can also see the locked status of the steps/phases by viewing the records in different view modes. 

1. Navigate back to the record list.
2. Change your view mode to 'Phase' or 'View'. 
3. A padlock symbol will appear for  the locked phase(s) or step(s). If  only one step of a phase is locked, the phase will not display as locked in the 'Phase' view mode.

Unlock a phase/step

To unlock phases or steps, open the record again. Unlocking the phase or step will enable data entry and will be logged in the audit trail. There are two ways in which you can unlock a step.

1. Click on the three dots next to the locked phase or step in the same way you did when you locked it. Click 'Unlock this phase/step'. 
2. Alternatively, navigate to the step you want to unlock. Then click on 'Unlock' on the right side of the data entry view.