w:lock (Structured Document Tag Locking)

Specifies whether the structure, content, or both of a structured document tag can be edited by a user.

Parent elements

w:sdtPr

Description

w:lock controls the edit restrictions on an SDT. It can prevent the user from deleting the SDT container, editing its content, or both.

It is defined in ECMA-376 Part 1 §17.5.2.20.

Attributes

Attribute	Type	Possible Values	Description
`w:val`	`ST_Lock`	`unlocked`, `sdtLocked`, `contentLocked`, `sdtContentLocked`	Locking mode.

Values

Value	Description
`unlocked`	No restriction; the SDT and its content can be freely edited.
`sdtLocked`	The SDT container cannot be deleted, but its content can be edited.
`contentLocked`	The content cannot be edited, but the SDT container can be deleted.
`sdtContentLocked`	Both the container and content are locked — no editing or deletion is possible.

Examples

<!-- SDT that cannot be deleted, but its content can be changed -->
<w:sdtPr>
  <w:alias w:val="Approval Date"/>
  <w:lock w:val="sdtLocked"/>
  <w:date/>
</w:sdtPr>

using DocumentFormat.OpenXml.Wordprocessing;

var sdtPr = new SdtProperties(
    new SdtAlias { Val = "Approval Date" },
    new SdtLocked { Val = SdtLockValues.SdtLocked },
    new SdtDate()
);

Notes

w:lock locking is enforced by authoring applications; it is not a security mechanism. A determined user or code can remove the lock attribute.
For stricter protection of entire document sections, use document protection (w:documentProtection in settings.xml).