Locking applications

To protect your intellectual property, you can lock part or all of applications you create. This prevents others who install the application from changing it and guarantees that future updates will safely overwrite existing components. Applications, objects, and portals installed from locked applications can only be published and republished from the tenant in which they were originally developed. If an application is unlocked or partially locked, those installing it can selectively choose components to install or update.

Application lock options include:

• Unlocked: Administrative users that install the application can modify all components. Infinite Blue recommends this option if you do not intend to provide updates to this application, or if it is critical that your users be able to modify every aspect of the application.
• Partially Locked: Administrative users that install the application can modify all objects, menus, and portals except those that are marked as locked. Object subcomponents, such as fields and triggers, can be locked independently, leaving the parent object unlocked. We recommend selecting this option if you plan to provide updates to specific components of your app while letting your users modify other components as needed.
• Locked: Administrative users that install the application cannot modify anything. We recommend using this option if you need to maintain complete control over all aspects of the application from update to update, and want to prevent your users from modifying it.

The only way to modify a locked component in an application is to log into the tenant where the application is installed as Support Admin using the Login action from the master tenant. See Working with customer records for information about the Login action.

Once installed in another tenant, an application's lock status can only be modified if the publisher modifies or updates it. For example, the publisher can export the original application in an unlocked state, and an administrator for the other tenant can update the application using the updated application XML.