A Data Lock prevents records from being saved when their date falls before a defined lock date. This is useful for protecting historical data from being modified after it has been reviewed or approved.
How Data Locks Work
A Data Lock has a name and a lock date, and is assigned to one or more objects. Each object can be associated with only one Data Lock. When a record is saved, the platform compares the value of the object's designated locking date attribute against the lock date. If the record's date is earlier than the lock date, the save is rejected.
The Data Lock screen is typically made available in the end-user application, since lock dates often need to be updated regularly by business users rather than administrators.
Configuring a Data Lock
Step 1 — Create the Data Lock
Navigate to Configuration \> System \> Lock Date.
If the screen is not available here, please contact support.
Create a new record.
Enter a name and the current lock date.
Save the record.
Step 2 — Assign the lock to an object
Navigate to Configuration \> Objects \> Objects.
Locate the object to protect and open it for editing.
In the Lock Date attribute, select the Data Lock name.
Save the object.
Step 3 — Mark the locking date attribute
Open the object's attributes.
Locate the date attribute that will be used for the lock comparison, or create one if needed.
Edit the attribute and set Lock Date to true.
Save the attribute.
Only one attribute per object should be marked as the locking date.
Limitations of the Built-In Lock
The built-in locking mechanism applies to all records in an object — it cannot restrict only a subset. For example, you cannot lock records for one set of values while leaving others editable.
Where more granular control is needed, you can implement custom locking logic using on-save processes to validate user edits, or process logic checks to prevent writes from automated processes. A custom lock object with additional attributes can be used to carry more specific criteria. This approach requires more configuration but gives precise control over which records can be modified and under what conditions.