Lock and Unlock Items
It is important to understand the Lock and Unlock process with Sitecore. When editing an existing item, you must Lock (check out) the item to edit it, except when creating an item where it opens automatically locked.
Items that you publish will automatically be checked in (Unlocked) to the System.
NOTICE: An item can be unlocked by a System Administrator, regardless if locked by a Content Author, Approver, or another System Administrator.
Locking Individual Items
When editing an existing item, you can unlock it from the Content Editor by selecting the Lock and Edit link from the yellow message bar.
Unlocking Individual Items
You can unlock a single item by selecting the Edit 
icon from the Content Editor Ribbon on the Home tab then the Check In 
option from the drop down.
Unlocking (Check In) Multiple Items
You can see all of your checked out (locked) items from the My Items 
icon located on the Review tab in the Content Editor Ribbon.
- Select the My Items icon.
- The My Items dialog box will appear.
- Select the pages you wish to Unlock. Selected pages will have a blue highlighted background.
- Select the Unlock button to Unlock only those pages selected.
- Select the Unlock All button to Unlock all pages listed.
- Select the Close button to exit from the My Items dialog box.
TIP: If the dialog box continues to show pages in the list after you have selected them to be unlocked, select the Close button, then reopen the My Items dialog box. There should be no pages listed now.