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# What does locking and unlocking shifts mean?

When you open a shift planning board and assign a shift manually, you will see that **a lock icon appears inside the shift cell**:

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/helpdesk-haddock-images/haddock-hr/artificial-intelligence-and-shift-planning/what-does-locking-and-unlocking-shifts-mean/images/01-what-does-locking-and-unlocking-shifts-mean.png)

This lock means that **manual shift planning** has been done and that, because it is locked, if someone performs shift wheel planning (blue "planning" button) it will not be overwritten.

To lock or unlock shifts, you have 3 options:

### Right-click on a shift

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/helpdesk-haddock-images/haddock-hr/artificial-intelligence-and-shift-planning/what-does-locking-and-unlocking-shifts-mean/images/02-right-click-on-a-shift.png)

## Lock and unlock selected shifts

Right-click **the shifts you want to lock or unlock**:

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/helpdesk-haddock-images/haddock-hr/artificial-intelligence-and-shift-planning/what-does-locking-and-unlocking-shifts-mean/images/03-lock-and-unlock-selected-shifts.png)

Now, **click the lock icon** you will find in the upper-right corner of the screen.

Finally, click one of the two options:

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/helpdesk-haddock-images/haddock-hr/artificial-intelligence-and-shift-planning/what-does-locking-and-unlocking-shifts-mean/images/04-lock-and-unlock-selected-shifts.png)

## Unlock shifts in bulk

Finally, **if you want to unlock all shifts** you can do it from the same lock icon:

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/helpdesk-haddock-images/haddock-hr/artificial-intelligence-and-shift-planning/what-does-locking-and-unlocking-shifts-mean/images/05-unlock-shifts-in-bulk.png)

**Important 🎯**: be especially careful when using the "Unlock all shifts" action because you will also be unlocking the absences and vacations that were planned manually.