Sometimes, SooSL will warn you that another user is working on a sign or on the whole dictionary⎯but that's not true! You've checked, and no one else has SooSL open. That happens because sometimes the locking mechanism breaks. Things can stay locked even after a person is done editing the file.
Here's how you can fix the problem.
- IMPORTANT: First, make sure that no one else on the network has SooSL open before you start this procedure.
- Find the project folder where the dictionary's files are stored. If you open SooSL, the location is displayed at the bottom of the SooSL window.
- Using File Explorer (Windows), the Finder (Mac), or your file manager (Linux), navigate to the project folder. It will have subfolders with these names: "_extra_pictures", "extra_videos", "_sentences" and "_signs", plus a couple other files. That will help you be sure you are in the right place.
- Set the program so that you can see the file extensions.
- In Windows File Explorer, you can do this from the View menu. In the View ribbon there is a checkbox for "File name extensions". Make sure it has a check in it. Also, switch to "Details" view.
- In Mac Finder, it can help to display the files as a list.
- In a Linux file manager, display the files as a list or as details.
- If you opened SooSL to find the location of the project folder, close it now. It should be closed when you do the following.
- Then, look for and delete certain files in the project folder:
- Be careful not to delete any other files!
- Look for files with names like "project.lock" or "full_project.lock". If you find them, delete them. (In Windows, these will also be identified in the "Type" column as "LOCK File". Click on the column header "Type" to sort the list by type, so you can find them easily.)
- Look for any files with a ".user" extension. If you find any, delete them.
- In the "_signs" subfolder, look for files that have a ".lock" or ".json.lock" extension. They will be very small, probably 1KB or less in size. If you find any, delete them.
- Open SooSL again. You should be able to edit the dictionary now.
Created with the Personal Edition of HelpNDoc: 5 Reasons Why a Help Authoring Tool is Better than Microsoft Word for Documentation
