Help Centre

Multi-user file locking for daily transactions
Multi-user file locking ensures that changes cannot be made in some windows while related data is being changed by another user in another window.
For example, a situation could arise where a user is recording information in a sales transaction window while another user is changing details of the customer card being used in the sales transaction. In such a situation, multi-user file locking prevents changes being saved in one of the windows until the changes have been saved in the other window.
If you would like to be able to know when another user has changed data in a window, go to the Setup menu, choose Preferences, click the System tab and select the Automatically Refresh Lists When Information Changes option. Now, if another user changes information you are viewing, your software closes your window. When you reopen it, the data is updated.
If you have been prevented from accessing the company file, you can identify which user is locking you out. To do this, go to a computer that has access to the company file and view the list of active users (by going to the File menu and choosing Active Workstations).
Single-user file locking for special tasks
Only one user should have access to the company file during file maintenance procedures such as backing up, checking and optimising. For example, optimising a company file rearranges its internal structure, so you do not want someone else accessing the file while this process is taking place.
Other single-user tasks are part of bookkeeping practice. For example, when you print a report, you do not want anybody to change data that will appear in the report while it is being printed.
To check whether any other users are currently using the company file, before you set a single-user lock, go to the File menu and choose Active Workstations.
Single-user file locking prevents all but the first logged-in user from accessing a shared company file—other users cannot even log in. To enable single-user access, start your software and click Single-user access in the Sign-on window.
Problems with lock files
To let you know when another user is already accessing a shared company file, your software displays the File is busy; access denied message when you try, at the same time, to save a transaction or otherwise write data. When you see this message, wait a few moments for the other transaction to finish and for your software to delete the lock file, and then click Retry.
If the power fails, or you switch off your computer while your company file is open, or your system crashes, your software is unable to delete the lock file and you need to delete the lock file manually. The following situations can cause lock files to accumulate in the folder where the company file is kept, resulting in various error messages when you try to open a company file:
Someone else is using the company file with your user ID or a lock file from an irregularly ended session is present.
There are more than ten lock files—the maximum permitted—in the folder where the company files are kept. This can occur legitimately if there are more than ten company files in the folder, ten of which are open simultaneously, so that an eleventh open file would create an (illegal) eleventh lock file.
It is unlikely that ten company files in a single folder will be open simultaneously. More likely, ten lock files have accumulated in the folder owing to crashes and other problems.
Any of the above messages may mean that there are old lock files cluttering the folder where you store the company file. You need to delete the lock files to enable your software to function correctly.
To delete lock files
Any of the above messages may mean that there are old lock files cluttering the folder where you store the company file. You need to delete the lock files before your software will function correctly.
2
Go to the File menu and choose Active Workstations to check whether any users are still logged in. If there are, ensure they have logged out before continuing.
4
Navigate in Windows Explorer to the folder where you keep the shared company file.
5
Delete all lock files. The lock file are named Lock####.flk, where #### represents a number from 0001 to 0010.
Related Topics

Click to show more information

Top of page