Is there any update on when this should be implemented?

get it done already

As a new Box customer, this has been a challenge for some of my users - especially since coming from a platform that had automatic file locking. Further compounding the issue is that file locking IS automatic if you open a file from Box for Office. However, opening from Box Drive or Box Tools, the locking is manual, which my users often forget, leading to conflicting versions.

TL/DR - Automatic file locking and notifications would be a big help.

It's quite baffling that a cloud based platform cannot tell when someone has opened a file from their cloud server, and that if that file has been opened by two separate people, it should be locked or a warning message received for the second person editing the file.

This could complement or possibly eliminate the need for the idea that I just posted, however, as an interim, please consider voting for this idea that would enable a user to be notified when another user unlocks a file.

https://pulse.box.com/forums/909778-help-shape-the-future-of-box/suggestions/38866738-notify-me-when-a-file-is-unlocked-by-another-colla

Similar to what Loren posted, it would be beneficial if Box Drive were to simulate what users are "used to" in the Windows file share world, where a file is 'automatically' locked when opened by someone with Editor permissions.

As an alternate, perhaps a popup that asks the user if they want to lock when opening the file and then reminds them to unlock when they close the file.

THIS IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM I HAVE IN BOX. It has wasted my team literally hours and hours! Please please please fix this. I am so incredibly surprised that my old outdated shared network handled this issue better than Box.

Agree - it is the single biggest item preventing us from seriously considering a move away from a NAS and toward a local laptop/PC centric environment using the cloud as a direct server for 80% of work (typical MS Office apps like word and spreadsheets). Some apps requiring NAS-based license servers and particular partial file locking (like Revit) won't ever move to Box i think, but a large part of our workflow could. File locking is a must-have for that to happen.

This would be very helpful in our day to day operations.

I agree with Simon. Finance does the most cross document collaboration and have the most issues with this.

Why is this not on the roadmap already? Most users working on file servers are familiar with a pop up that someone is using the file, and this happens automatically with ~documentname.docx on SMB shares.

I'm really surprised Box hasn't created an equivalent for this behavior. Customers are suffering.

This is a huge pain point for our Finance team, and lack of this feature has essentially put our broader Box Drive rollout on hold. This is very similar to https://pulse.box.com/forums/909778-feedback/suggestions/35983087-enhanced-locking-experience-on-box-drive

Another feature that would help would be to implement something in Box Drive that is similar to what happens when you open a file in the Web App. If you open a file from the Box Web App, you are asked if you want to lock the file. If Box Drive could do the same and then provide an easy button for locking the file, users would be more likely to lock files than if they have to remember to right-click the file and lock it first before opening it.

This feature is already in place in Google Drive.
https://gsuiteupdates.googleblog.com/2018/09/real-time-presence-in-microsoft-office.html

Good start, but I would think a better option would be to automatically lock the file if opened in a user's local app.