Managing locks in the geodatabase

This topic applies to ArcGIS for Desktop Standard and ArcGIS for Desktop Advanced only.

Geodatabase administrators can see who is holding schema, version, and state locks held in a geodatabase using the Locks tab of the Geodatabase Administration dialog box. This dialog box is opened from the database connection in the Catalog tree in ArcGIS for Desktop.

The geodatabase administrator can use the Locks tab on the Geodatabase Administration dialog box to help manage common maintenance tasks in a geodatabase. By viewing all the locks in a geodatabase, the administrator can see which users may be blocking specific datasets and versions from a maintenance task, such as reconciling data or compressing the geodatabase. The administrator can use the list of locks to judge whether it is safe to disconnect any users to allow those processes to run.

Data owners can view schema and version locks that are held on their data and versions. They can access the list of locks from the Manage item on the context menu of their dataset. This lets data owners see who is holding a lock that could prevent them from altering the schema of their dataset or deleting their version.

How you access the list of locks depends on whether you are the geodatabase administrator or a data owner. The following steps explain how to open the list as either user:

Steps:

1. Start ArcMap or ArcCatalog and connect to the enterprise geodatabase for which you want to see the locks.

   Connect as geodatabase administrator	This allows you to see all schema, version, and state locks in the geodatabase.
   Connect as a data or version owner	This allows you to see the schema locks held on specific datasets and versions you own.

2. Click the Locks tab of the Geodatabase Administration dialog box.

   Geodatabase administrator	Right-click the database connection in the Catalog tree, point to Administration, click Administer Geodatabase, then click the Locks tab.
   Data/Version owner	Right-click your dataset, point to Manage, then click Locks.

   The Locks list opens. If you are connected as the geodatabase administrator, you will see all locks on all objects in the geodatabase.

   If you are connected as a data owner, you only see the objects and versions you own. The list is initially filtered to show locks only on the dataset or version to which you are presently connected.

3. If you are connected as the geodatabase administrator, you have the option to disconnect a user session, thereby dropping the locks held by that session. To do this, right-click the lock and click Disconnect User.
   Caution:

   It is recommended that you avoid disconnecting active sessions, especially if the connected user is in the process of editing. You should only disconnect users to drop locks if a session was left open even when not being used (for example, over the weekend), if a session is orphaned and locking an object, or if a deadlock situation occurs.

   Disconnecting users from the Locks tab is similar to disconnecting them from the Connections tab and requires the same database privileges and has the same restrictions. See the topic for your DBMS that discusses disconnecting users.