How do I lock or unlock an Act! database?

Question: How do I lock or unlock an Act! database?

Product Details:
Product Family: Act!
Product: Act! Pro, Act! Premium, Act! Premium (access via web), Act! Premium Cloud

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Answer:

Note: If you are using Act! Premium (access via web), you must be using Act! v16 or later in order to lock or unlock a database from the web browser

Locking the database will allow you to temporarily block access to the database from other users, as well as integrations with the database while you perform maintenance tasks on the database. This protects the database from becoming damaged by being accessed while maintenance is running.

Locking a database

1. Login to the database as an Administrator user
2. Click Tools > Database Maintenance > Lock/Unlock Database…
3. If prompted, set the desired amount of time before all users are automatically logged out of the database (minimum is 3 minutes) and, if desired, choose a lock reason and enter any comments about the lock
   
   Note: If you are using a single user database, it is most likely that your database will lock without this prompt and without a wait. This is normal.
   
   
4. Click Lock
5. Wait for the top-left corner of the Act! window to display (Locked) next to the database name before proceeding with any maintenance tasks

Unlocking a database

1. Ensure database maintenance tasks are complete
2. Click Tools > Database Maintenance > Lock/Unlock Database…

Unlocking a database using Act! diagnostics
If you are unable to open the database, you can use Act! diagnostics to unlock it by following the steps in the knowledgebase article below:

How do I unlock a database by using the Act! Diagnostics utility?



Note: If you are an Act! Premium Cloud user and you are unable to unlock the database, it will be necessary to contact Technical Support for further assistance by using the contact form found at http://www.act.com/contact-us