Articles on: Page Manager

How do I lock or unlock a Sides file?

Lock mode tells Scriptation to treat a Sides file's pages as Native script pages instead of inserted ones. Locking is required for Lining, Auto-Highlight, and Note Transfer to work on Sides.

📝 NOTE: Lining and Auto-Highlight are Industry Pro features.

Why Sides need to be locked

Scriptation handles two kinds of pages:

Native — the official script pages from the imported PDF, in their imported order;
Inserted / Added — pages added in the Page Manager, like Sides, Facing Pages, and copy-pasted pages.

By default, a Sides file is recognized as entirely Inserted pages. This gives you maximum flexibility for reordering pages into shooting order. But several features — Lining, Auto-Highlight, and certain Note Transfer workflows — only read the text of Native pages.

Locking a Sides file flips that recognition so Scriptation treats every page as Native, unlocking those features.

How to lock a Sides file

With your Sides file open, tap the Page Manager icon on the Top Toolbar:

Tap Edit:

Tap and drag each page to move them into the desired shooting order:

With pages in the correct order, tap Lock:

Tap Save.

The Sides file is now locked. Playback, Lining, Auto-Highlight, and Note Transfer will now recognize the pages as Native and work as expected.

How to unlock a Sides file

To unlock a Sides file, repeat the process — tap Page Manager → Edit → Unlock → Save.

⚠️ HEADS UP: Once Lining or Auto-Highlight has been created on Locked Sides, we don't recommend unlocking those pages. Unlocking after annotating may cause unexpected behavior with the existing notes.

✅ TIP: If you need to reorder a Sides file after locking, unlock just long enough to rearrange, then re-lock — but only if you haven't yet added Lining or Auto-Highlight to the file.

What's Next

How do I create script sides?

How do I get Lining to work on Sides? Lock mode.

How do I use Auto-Highlight in sides?

Updated on: 17/06/2026

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