How To Lock a Document in Microsoft Teams

Data is sensitive and having multiple ways of securing your files guarantees the safety and privacy of your data. When working with Microsoft Teams, your files can be accessed by other members in the case of an organization.

In such a case, it begs the question of how you can lock a document in Microsoft Teams. Locking files guarantee that other members, depending on their permissions, can’t read or write unauthorized files.

We will begin by understanding the importance of locking documents in Microsoft Teams. Afterward, we will cover two ways of locking files and conclude with frequently asked questions. Well, let’s get started!

Why Lock Documents in Microsoft Teams?

Microsoft Teams allows an organization to work on projects and connect all team members easily. When you upload your documents on Microsoft Teams, any user can access them, view them, and even edit the file if it’s not locked.

While accessing files for other users is great if working on the same project, it’s not always that all your files should be accessible by other users. It could be that you are working on a confidential project or have sensitive files you don’t want others to access. In that case, locking your files is handy.

It gets better since Microsoft Teams allows the locking of files to restrict others from accessing them. Furthermore, you can decide how to privatize your document by making it inaccessible to other users or restricting permissions, such as editing or sharing files.

That said, read on to understand how to secure your files in Microsoft Teams.

How To Lock a Document in Microsoft Teams

On Microsoft Teams, users can edit files owned by others, especially when working on the same project. On the downside, others editing your file can get messy and cause problems. However, if you lock your file and provide access permissions to specific users, you get a better way of controlling your files.

Let’s discuss two effective ways of locking documents in Microsoft Teams.

Check Out Files

Using Check Out is an excellent option to deny others in the room to edit your file. Check Out removes the edit permissions from all users; only the file owner can edit the file. The others users can only access and view the file.

Here’s how to check out to lock a document in Microsoft Teams.

1. Open Microsoft Teams and access your Teams channel.
2. Click the “Files” tab at the top.
3. All files will display. Locate the file you wish to lock and click the “More” button on its right.
4. Next, click the “More” button at the bottom of the menu options.
5. Lastly, click the “Check Out” option.

Your Microsoft Teams document is now locked for editing; only you can edit it.

Using SharePoint

Instead of locking each file individually, you can consider creating a folder on SharePoint, adding all your files, then locking the folder. That way, you can conveniently manage the access permissions for your folder and its contents. SharePoint lets you define your access criteria and who can view, share, or edit your locked files.

Follow the below steps to lock your documents using SharePoint.

1. Open Microsoft Teams and access your Teams channel.
2. Click on the “Files” tab at the top.
3. Go to a particular file, hover the mouse over it, then click the three dots next to it.
4. Click the “Open in SharePoint” option from the menu that will appear.
5. You will get redirected to the SharePoint website.
6. Click the “New” button and create a new folder.
7. Select the newly created folder and tap the three dots on its right.
8. Click the “Manage access” option.
9. Scroll down the listed users setting the access level for each by tapping the drop-down button on the right.

Your documents in Microsoft Teams are now locked.

Conclusion

We’ve covered the steps for locking documents in Microsoft Teams. Using the steps presented in this guide; you can now use Check Out or SharePoint to lock your documents in Microsoft Teams.

Frequently Asked Questions