Lock canvas objects

Lock canvas objects when important layout should stay in place while people work around it. Good candidates include background shapes, section headers, facilitator instructions, imported reference screenshots, final review frames, approved diagrams, and page structures that should not shift during a live session.

Object lock is an editing guardrail. It helps prevent accidental movement, formatting, editing, and deletion inside an editable canvas. It is not a replacement for canvas sharing permissions. To control who can open, view, comment on, or edit the canvas at all, use Share a canvas and workspace roles.

What object lock protects

When an object is locked, ALLO treats it as intentional layout. The object can stay visible, but common editing actions are unavailable until the object is unlocked. This helps editors and external collaborators work in the same canvas without accidentally dragging a frame, deleting a reference image, changing a prepared heading, or moving a template background.

Locked objects can also be skipped by broad editing actions such as Select all, depending on the action and object state. The point is to keep stable objects from joining ordinary editing flows by accident.

Some safe actions can still remain available. For example, a menu may still let someone copy a link, preview allowed content, or open actions that do not mutate the locked object. The exact menu depends on object type, permission, and current canvas state.

Object lock is not access control

Object lock does not hide content from people who can already view the canvas. It also does not grant edit access to someone who only has view or comment permission.

Use sharing permissions when the question is "Who can access or edit this canvas?" Use object lock when the question is "Which objects should stay fixed while people edit nearby content?"

This distinction matters for external review. If a client, contractor, or guest should not edit the canvas, set their canvas permission accordingly. If they should edit some areas but not disturb approved frames or reference material, use object locks on those stable objects.

Lock choices

The object lock selector has two choices. Support may describe these as a standard lock and a protected lock, but the product labels are the clearest terms to use.

Use Anyone can unlock for most stable layout. It protects against mistakes without blocking teammates.

Use Only you can unlock when accidental change would be costly, especially in canvases shared with external collaborators. Use it sparingly. A canvas full of protected objects can feel broken to everyone else.

Use the lock selector intentionally. A normal lock is enough for most layout protection; a protected lock is for content that should survive accidental edits during high-stakes reviews, workshops, or external collaboration.

Example: prepare a client review page

Imagine a design team preparing a page for a client review. The page has three approved screenshots, a comparison table, a section header, and a row of open questions where the client should leave comments. The approved screenshots and the section header are not part of the discussion anymore; they are reference material. The open questions are the working area.

In that case, lock the approved screenshots and the section header. If the internal team may still make small corrections, use Anyone can unlock. If the page has already gone through legal, brand, or executive approval, use Only you can unlock for the objects that must not move during review. Leave the open-question notes unlocked so the review still feels alive.

This pattern is better than making the whole canvas view-only when the client needs to comment or contribute. Sharing controls decide whether the client can enter and what role they have. Object locks decide which pieces of the editable page should behave like fixed reference material.

Example: protect a workshop template without freezing the room

For a workshop, lock the room architecture: title, agenda, instructions, section labels, background zones, and example notes that explain what good input looks like. Leave the participant areas open. People should be able to add sticky notes, move their own ideas, vote, and write inside the parts of the canvas meant for contribution.

A good workshop lock setup feels invisible. Participants do not accidentally drag the agenda off the page, but they also do not spend the session asking why nothing works. If a facilitator keeps unlocking objects one by one during the meeting, the lock boundary was probably too aggressive.

Who should use object locks

Facilitators should lock instructions, section labels, voting frames, background shapes, and reference screenshots before a workshop. Leave participant areas unlocked.

Designers and reviewers should lock approved frames, final diagrams, source screenshots, and comparison layouts before stakeholder review. Leave open-question areas editable.

Template creators should lock structure that every future canvas should keep: headers, background zones, instructional labels, and non-editable reference examples. Leave sample notes or placeholders unlocked when users are meant to replace them.

Canvas owners should use protected locks for sensitive structure when external collaborators have edit access. This prevents accidental edits without making the entire canvas read-only.

Lock selected objects

Select one or more supported objects, then lock them from the Inline toolbar, the Element menu, or the keyboard.

The inline toolbar lock button opens the lock selector, where you can choose Anyone can unlock or Only you can unlock. The element menu action Lock applies an ordinary lock to the selected objects. The shortcut Alt+E locks the selected objects through the ordinary lock path.

Use selected-object locking when only part of the page is stable. For example, lock the background and instructions for a workshop page, but leave sticky note areas, voting dots, and working notes editable.

Unlock selected objects

Select the locked object and use the visible lock or shield indicator, the Element menu, or another available unlock action. ALLO shows Unlock only when the selected object can be unlocked by you in the current state.

For objects locked with Anyone can unlock, editors with edit access can unlock the object, make the needed change, and lock it again.

For objects locked with Only you can unlock, unlock may be unavailable to other editors. Ask the person who protected the object or the canvas owner to unlock it. Do not rebuild the same object beside it unless you are intentionally creating a new version.

Unlocking an object can make the inline toolbar and normal editing actions appear again. If you unlock something only for a small correction, lock it again after the change so future collaborators understand it is still stable layout.

Lock or unlock every object on a page

Use the Page menu when the whole page is meant to behave as a stable layout.

Lock all locks lockable objects on the current page using the ordinary lock path. It is useful before a facilitated meeting, external review, presentation rehearsal, or handoff where the page structure should stay fixed.

Unlock all unlocks locked objects on the current page when ALLO can unlock them for you. Protected objects that you cannot unlock may remain protected.

The keyboard shortcut Alt+Shift+E unlocks all locked objects in the canvas that ALLO can unlock for you, not just objects on the current page. Use the page menu when you mean only the current page. Use the shortcut carefully on large canvases because it can make stable layouts editable across the canvas.

Protected locks and page deletion

Protected locks affect destructive actions. If a page contains a protected object that you cannot unlock or remove, page deletion can be blocked. ALLO may tell you that the page cannot be deleted because it contains a protected object.

This is a safety guard. Contact the person who protected the object or the canvas owner before deleting the page. If the page should stay out of the active flow while you resolve ownership, fold the page instead of deleting it.

Pending and unsupported objects

Some objects cannot be locked at the moment you select them. Uploading files, generated outputs, image or file previews that are still processing, and other pending objects may keep lock controls disabled until the object is ready.

Some object types may not show lock actions. Lines, arrows, paths, drawing-like objects, or specialized objects can have different edit behavior from ordinary sticky notes, text, shapes, images, files, and embeds.

If a lock action is missing for a specific object, check whether the object is still uploading, whether it supports locking, and whether you have edit access.

How collaborators recognize locked objects

Locked objects show a lock indicator on or near the selected object. Protected locks use a shield-style indicator. When another collaborator cannot unlock a protected object, ALLO can identify who protected it in the lock message.

Locked object behavior is also visible through missing or disabled actions. If an object will not move, edit, format, or delete, check for the lock or shield indicator before assuming the canvas is broken.

Practical workflows

For a live workshop, prepare the page first, then lock backgrounds, instructions, section labels, and reference screenshots. Leave contribution areas unlocked. If the session includes external collaborators, use Only you can unlock only for objects that would disrupt the session if moved.

For a client or leadership review, set sharing permissions first, then lock approved frames, final diagrams, reference images, and source material. Use object locks to protect the pieces that should not drift during review.

For a dense page, use Lock all after arranging the final layout, then unlock only the areas that still need editing. This keeps accidental drag operations from turning a polished page into cleanup work.

For a template, lock the reusable structure but leave user-owned content areas editable. A template where every object is locked slows people down.

For cleanup after a session, unlock only the objects you need to change. Avoid unlocking the whole canvas unless you are intentionally returning it to an editable draft state.

What can go wrong

If Lock is missing, check your permission, object type, and processing state. You need edit access, the selected object must support locking, and pending upload or generated objects may need to finish before ALLO can lock them.

If Only you can unlock is unavailable or behaves differently, check whether you are a guest, whether the canvas is writable, and whether the selected object supports protected locking.

If Unlock is missing, the object may be protected by someone else, or your current role may not allow object edits. Ask the person who protected it or the canvas owner to unlock it.

If Unlock all does not unlock everything, protected objects you cannot unlock may remain protected. Unlock all also depends on the current page or shortcut path you used.

If a page will not delete, it may contain a protected object you cannot remove. Resolve protected objects before deleting the page.

If collaborators say nothing moves, too many objects may be locked. Lock the infrastructure of the canvas, not every working object. Good locking makes the session calmer. Over-locking makes people think the canvas is broken.

If an external collaborator edits something that should have stayed fixed, use sharing permissions and protected locks together next time. Ordinary locks prevent many mistakes, but editors can still unlock them.