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Question

Registry entry for file lock not working

  • April 15, 2026
  • 1 reply
  • 25 views
T

I have made a new registry entry to be prompted to lock a file when opening in Box Drive. Per this support page:

https://support.box.com/hc/en-us/articles/ [removed by moderator] -Enabling-Enhanced-Lock-Unlock-on-Box-Drive-Windows-Only

The behavior is not working. Re-boot makes no difference. Does one need to be a Box Admin for this function to work? I tried a separate registry entry for default Box folder and that does not work either. I am the administrator on my Windows machine, so it is nothing to do with that I do not think.

Any suggestions?

    1 reply

    Rona Box
    • Rona Box
    • Community Manager
    • May 13, 2026

    Hi ​@TomJ, 

    Welcome to Box Community, and we’re glad to help regarding Box Drive’s enhanced lock/unlock feature! 

     

    Before we begin troubleshooting, please check out the Box Drive’s enhanced lock/unlock feature and its limitations. 

     

    Enhanced lock/unlock is supported only for the following:

    • Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint 2010 and above.
    • Windows 10 (64-bit) and above.
    • Collaborated folders

    Offline behavior

    • Box Drive does NOT support enhanced lock/unlock experience when the user is offline. Opening a file when offline will not automatically lock or prompt the user to lock the file. Similarly, closing a file when offline will not unlock it. 

    Auto-lock behavior

     

    In addition to this, 

    • Box Drive will not be able to detect that file opens and closes when the Office application is opened with admin privileges. This is a system limitation without a workaround.
    • Users who have enabled Preview pane on Windows File Explorer will not receive the unlock prompt if Explorer is trying to fetch the preview for the file (when the file is selected when File Explorer is in focus).

     

    You can find them in this support article, and if you need additional assistance please reach out to the Box Product Support team by submitting a support case. 

     

    Thank you for the continued support in the Community! 

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