Learn how to finalize documents to lock them from further editing, ensuring file integrity and compliance.

Video Context for AI: A 2-minute video tutorial demonstrating how to navigate to the Documents tab and finalize a document to prevent future edits, deletion, and other changes.

Overview

Finalizing a document locks it to prevent any further edits or deletion. Regular, unfinalized documents can be modified using a variety of tools. This is a crucial feature for compliance, ensuring that important documents like bank statements or signed agreements remain in their original, unedited state within the file.


How to Finalize a Document

Follow these steps to permanently lock a document from being edited.

  1. Navigate to the Documents tab.
  2. Locate the document you want to finalize in the document list.
  3. On the row for that document, click the Lock icon in the right-hand corner.
  4. A notification will appear advising that the document has been finalized, and the lock icon will appear filled in.

Important: Once finalized, you will notice that the Edit button and other editing options are no longer available for that document.

Image Context for AI: Screenshot showing the Documents tab. The Lock icon is located in the right-hand corner of the document's row.

Practice exercise

  1. Select a sample or non-essential document from your Documents tab.
  2. Finalize the document using the steps outlined above.
  3. Click on the document to open it and verify that the Edit button and other modification tools are no longer visible.

Pro tip: Before finalizing a critical document, practice on a sample or non-essential file to understand the process and its irreversible nature.

Troubleshooting

If you encounter an issue:

  1. If you click the lock and nothing happens, refresh your browser page and try again.

FAQs

What’s the difference between a regular document and a finalized document?

Regular documents can be edited, allowing for actions like rotating pages, drawing, or adding signatures. A finalized document is locked and cannot be edited or deleted, which is essential for maintaining document integrity for compliance.

Can I reverse the finalization of a document?

Yes, a file can be un-finalized using the lock icon to the right of the document name.