Designer and Integration Server support the concept of system locking. When an element's server-side files are marked read-only on the Integration Server, the element is system locked. Files are generally system locked when a server administrator accesses the file through the server's operating system and marks the files as read-only. You cannot edit an element until the server administrator makes the element's server-side files writable and you reload the package in which the element resides.

When an Integration Server has the VCS Integration feature enabled, system locking is effectively disabled for elements that are checked into the version control system with the VCS Integration feature. The VCS Integration feature will override any read/write status changes applied manually by a server administrator.