Why do I have to 'unlock' files?

[jbrown]

Often when I have a document ( say a TextEdit doc ), and I wish to change it,
I have to unlock it?

 

[Intell]

Because the file was created or is owned by a user other then yourself. And the system is making sure you want to alter it. Its also a security feature to keep malicious software from causing harm.

 

[Mal]

Because the file was created or is owned by a user other then yourself. And the system is making sure you want to alter it. Its also a security feature to keep malicious software from causing harm.

Actually, in Lion, this is usually tied to the Versions feature. It happens because the file hasn't been changed within a set amount of time, and the system doesn't want to accidentally overwrite the file with a changed version. You can turn off this behavior in System Preferences.

jW