Hello
I live by myself and no one can access my Computer but me. I have no need to have any of my Documents Locked. I am writing a book and it concerns me because I keep seeing these ‘ghost’ copies of my Document pages that start with the word ‘unlock’. I am worried that I wont even be able to access or edit my own pages.
Could you please give me guidance on how to insure that this doesn’t happen?
Thank you, Claudia
Typically, lock files exist to ensure that your documents will stay accessible. They are hidden files. If you have chosen to display hidden files, the icons for those files are usually a toned down color (ghost-like). From your description, I am guessing that it is those files you are seeing. Such locks are removed again when you close your document.
Without the creation of a lock file upon opening your file, you might accidentally open a file by two separate processes. When individual writes happen from two concurrent, independent processes, file corruption is likely.
I believe you can access advanced settings which govern the creation of file locks, but you really should not change this except in very special cases. It is more likely to harm the integrity of your documents than to make them more accessible.
What you need to make sure of is, if you open files from removable media (usb flash stick) that you close your file before you disconnect the storage. Otherwise, the lock file will remain in place. Please note that it is advisable to only use fixed storage (your “hard disk”) for work in progress. Using removable media for “active storage” carries a potential for error, partly for the reason mentioned above.
Not only a matter of closing the file, but unmounting/ejecting the removable drive. Buffers need to be properly flushed and closed to make sure your data is written to removable media.