Sharing WordPress Posts: Post Locking, Autosave, and Revisions for Multiple Authors
Like this article? We recommend
Like this article? We recommend
Like this article? We recommend
Quite often these days, multiple authors will work together on posts for use online—and when you have tight deadlines or sudden fits of inspiration, you might forget to check whether you're the only one editing. The latest WordPress update provides some very useful features for preventing and reconciling conflicting changes when you share authorship of your posts with someone else. The post locking, autosave, and revision features are essential to help you maintain a singular vision for your live posts.
Post Locking
When someone else is working on a post, the post will be locked. You'll be able to spot locked posts right away in the All Posts screen of your WordPress admin; it displays a lock icon next to the locked post's title. The name of the person currently editing the post appears below the post's title, as shown in Figure 1.
)
Figure 1 A locked post.
Still want to edit the post? Click the post's title. The post will open with a modal window offering options to go back, preview the post, or take over editing. Click Take Over to begin making your own edits to the post (see Figure 2).
)
Figure 2 Click Take Over to edit the post.
Once you take over the post, the person who had been editing previously will see a modal window indicating that you're now editing the post (see Figure 3).
)
Figure 3 If someone takes over a post you were editing, you'll receive notification.
By locking a post during editing, WordPress ensures that authors no longer have to worry about losing their work when another user makes changes.
But what if you get kicked out of a post or accidentally close your browser tab before you've saved your edits? Not to worry: WordPress has you covered.