Summary
Short answer:
Enable this feature only when you need some employees to keep manually updated field values while all other employees continue receiving automated updates from Entra ID, Active Directory, Google Directory, or other synced sources.
This feature is intended for more advanced scenarios. It allows Xink to respect manually updated field values for specific employees without stopping automated imports for everyone else.
Please make sure you understand how the feature works before enabling it.
When do you need it?
This feature is designed for more complex scenarios.
For example, you may need to allow only some employees to set their own value for a field and ensure that their manual value is not overwritten by automated imports.
At the same time, you may still want all other employees to continue receiving that field value from automated imports.
In that case, you cannot simply remove the Property Name from the field, because that would stop automated updates for the entire account.
How does it work?
This feature adds a value lock when a field is changed manually. A manual change can be made by an admin or by an employee if the field is marked as editable.
It does not lock the field for the entire account. It only locks the specific employee field value that was manually changed.
When the feature is enabled, the Xink import engine checks whether a field value is locked before updating it. If the value is locked, the import does not overwrite it.
The automated import engine does not create or remove locks. It only checks for locks and respects them.
Any update that does not come from an automated import will create the lock. This includes:
- Employee updates from the Contact Details dialog
- Admin edits in the Xink web interface
- Excel imports
- API updates
Example
Imagine your organization uses Entra ID (Azure AD) as the source for employee data in Xink.
Your employees include Joe Red (joe.red@example.org), Mary Green (mary.green@example.org), Ginger Yellow (ginger.yellow@example.org), and thousands of other employees.
All employee records are synced automatically from Entra ID, and you do not want to maintain them manually.
Mary travels frequently and uses a different mobile number depending on location. You want her to update her own Mobile field and make sure that her value is not overwritten during the next automated sync. At the same time, you still want all other employees to continue receiving their Mobile value from Entra ID.
First, go to Preferences > Fields, edit the Mobile field, and check Editable by the employee. Save your changes.
Now employees can see and edit the Mobile field in the Contact Details dialog. However, without the lock feature enabled, the next automated import will still overwrite those manual changes.
Next, go to Preferences > Automated Imports and enable Do not update fields that were set or changed manually. Save your changes.
Now the import engine respects lock flags.
Mary can update her Mobile field in Contact Details. Once she saves it, Xink locks her mobile value. From then on, automated imports will not overwrite her mobile value.
Joe, Ginger, and all other employees will continue receiving their Mobile values from Entra ID as usual.
The lock applies only to Mary’s Mobile field value, not to the whole field and not to other employees.
Of course, any other employee who manually updates their own Mobile field will also have that value locked.
How to remove the lock
Only an account admin can remove the lock from an employee field value.
To remove a lock:
- Open the Employees section in the Xink web application.
- Find the employee.
- Click the gear icon on the right.
- Select Reset manually edited flags.
- Choose the field or fields you want to unlock.
Important notes
Xink treats updates as either:
- Automated Import
- Anything Else
That distinction matters.
Once this feature is enabled, any update that does not come from an automated import will lock the field value. This includes:
- Admin changes in the web application
- Employee updates
- Excel imports
- API calls
Please use this feature carefully and only when you need employee-specific manual values to remain unchanged during future automated imports.
