Managing Record Locks

When you open a record in the staff client or in Leap, Polaris locks the record so that no one else can change it. When you close the record, the system unlocks the record and no longer prevents other users from changing it.

Note:
If your library uses shared staff member accounts, be aware that two users sharing an account cannot access the same record at the same time. Polaris locks the record when the first staff member opens it.

Polaris locks a record by adding an entry to the Object Locks database table and unlocks the record by removing the entry.

Occasionally, a record might remain locked if it did not close correctly (for example, if your computer shuts down unexpectedly while you have a record open). In this situation, you can unlock the record by removing the appropriate entry from the Object Locks table.

Polaris removes object lock entries automatically in the following situations:

• When the Polaris staff client closes unexpectedly - The system clears your object lock entries when you sign back in to the staff client.
• When Microsoft SQL Server stops and restarts - The system clears all object lock entries when the client reconnects to the server.

You can also configure Polaris to automatically clear object lock entries that are more than a certain number of hours old.

This section covers the following topics:

• Manually Remove an Object Lock Entry

• Configure Polaris to Automatically Clear Object Lock Entries

Manually Remove an Object Lock Entry

To manually remove an object lock entry

Important:
Do not use this procedure for records that are currently being edited.

1. In the Polaris shortcut bar, select Administration > Explorer.
2. Select an organization level (System, Library, or Branch).
3. In the Administration Explorer tree list view, double-click the organization name to expand the list.
4. Double-click Database Tables to expand the list.

5. Select Object Locks.

   Polaris displays the list of object lock entries. You can select a column heading to sort the list.

6. Select an object lock entry.

7. Select Delete .

   Polaris removes the object lock entry.

Configure Polaris to Automatically Clear Object Lock Entries

When enabled, the Clear Object Locks SQL job runs hourly and removes entries from the Object Locks database table that are older than the number of hours specified in the Automated object lock clearing: Age of lock to clear profile.

You can edit the Automated object lock clearing: Age of lock to clear profile to specify which object lock entries the SQL job removes.

To configure Polaris to automatically clear object lock entries

1. In the Polaris shortcut bar, select Administration > Explorer > System.
2. In the Administration Explorer - System tree list view, double-click the system name to expand the list.
3. Select Profiles > Staff Client.

4. Double-click the Automated object lock clearing: Age of lock to clear profile, and set the Value option to a number of hours between 1 and 72.

   By default, the profile is set to 12. If you set the profile to 0, the Clear Object Locks SQL job does not remove any object lock entries.

   Note:
   Be aware that setting this profile to a smaller number, such as 1 or 2, increases the likelihood that the Clear Object Locks SQL job might remove an object lock entry for a record that a staff member is actively editing.

5. Select Save .