Lock canvas objects

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

Object lock is an editing guardrail that prevents accidental movement, formatting, editing, and deletion inside an editable canvas. It is not access control. To decide who can open, view, comment on, or edit the canvas at all, use Share a canvas and workspace roles; use object lock to decide which objects stay fixed while people edit nearby content.

When to lock objects

A locked object stays visible, but common editing actions are unavailable until it is unlocked, so editors and external collaborators can share a canvas without dragging a frame, deleting a reference image, or moving a template background by accident. Broad actions like Select all can also skip locked objects depending on the action and state. Some non-mutating actions — copy a link, preview allowed content — can still remain available, depending on object type, permission, and canvas state.

Lock the infrastructure of the canvas, not every working object. Facilitators lock instructions, section labels, and background zones before a workshop and leave participant areas open; designers lock approved frames and source screenshots before stakeholder review and leave open-question areas editable; template creators lock reusable structure and leave sample content editable. Good locking is invisible; over-locking makes people think the canvas is broken.

Before you lock: choose the lock type

The lock selector has two choices. Use the product labels — support may call them a standard lock and a protected lock.

Use Anyone can unlock for most stable layout — it prevents mistakes without blocking teammates. Use Only you can unlock sparingly, when accidental change would be costly (especially in canvases shared with external collaborators); a canvas full of protected objects feels broken to everyone else.

Lock and unlock 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 choose Anyone can unlock or Only you can unlock.
• The element menu Lock applies an ordinary lock.
• The shortcut Alt+E applies an ordinary lock to the selection.

To unlock, select the object and use the visible lock or shield indicator, the element menu, or another available unlock action. ALLO shows Unlock only when you can unlock the object in the current state. Editors can unlock Anyone can unlock objects, make the change, and lock them again. For Only you can unlock objects, unlock may be unavailable to other editors — ask the person who protected it or the canvas owner, rather than rebuilding the object beside it.

For whole-page layout, use the Page menu: Lock all applies ordinary locks to lockable objects on the current page, and Unlock all unlocks objects on the current page that ALLO can unlock for you (protected objects you cannot unlock stay protected). The shortcut Alt+Shift+E unlocks every lockable object across the whole canvas, not just the current page, so use it carefully on large canvases.

Work around locked objects

Locked objects show a lock indicator on or near the object; protected locks use a shield, and ALLO can name who protected an object you cannot unlock. If an object will not move, edit, format, or delete, check for the lock or shield indicator before assuming the canvas is broken.

Some objects cannot be locked when you select them. Uploading files, generated outputs, and previews still processing keep lock controls disabled until the object is ready, and some types — lines, arrows, paths, and drawing-like objects — may not show lock actions at all.

Protected locks also guard destructive actions: if a page contains a protected object you cannot unlock or remove, page deletion can be blocked, and ALLO tells you the page cannot be deleted because it contains a protected object. Contact the person who protected it or the canvas owner, or fold the page to keep it out of the active flow while you resolve ownership.

Permissions and collaboration

Object lock does not hide content from people who can view the canvas, and it does not grant edit access to someone with only view or comment permission. The two controls work together: sharing decides whether a client, contractor, or guest can enter and with what role; object locks decide which pieces of an editable page behave like fixed reference material.

This is better than making the whole canvas view-only when the recipient still needs to comment or contribute. For a client review, set sharing permission first, then lock the approved screenshots and headers and leave the open-question notes unlocked so the page still feels alive. Canvas owners should reserve protected locks for sensitive structure when external collaborators have edit access — it prevents accidental edits without making the entire canvas read-only.

Troubleshooting

• Lock is missing. Check edit access, object type, and processing state; pending upload or generated objects may need to finish before they can be locked.
• Only you can unlock is unavailable or behaves differently. Check whether you are a guest, whether the canvas is writable, and whether the object supports protected locking.
• Unlock is missing. The object may be protected by someone else, or your role may not allow object edits. Ask the protector or the canvas owner.
• Unlock all did not unlock everything. Protected objects you cannot unlock remain protected, and the result depends on whether you used the page menu or the canvas-wide shortcut.
• A page will not delete. It may contain a protected object you cannot remove; resolve protected objects first or fold the page.
• Collaborators say nothing moves. Too many objects are locked — lock the canvas infrastructure, not every working object.