"This tag is inside a locked parent tag" in Drafts Word
How to unlock outer tags so you can add, change or remove tags inside them.
Applies to: Drafts Word
What you see
When you try to insert, remove or change a tag, you get one of these messages:
- Cannot delete: This tag is inside a locked parent tag. Find the highlighted outer tags below and unlock them first.
- Cannot delete: This tag may be inside a locked section. Find the highlighted outer tags below and unlock them first.
- Action blocked: This tag is nested within a locked section. Unlock the outer tag to make changes.
- Unable to insert tag due to Word API exception. This is most often caused by an outer tag being locked.
- Unable to delete tag due to Word API exception. This is most often caused by an outer tag being locked.
Why this happens
Tags can be locked to protect the tagged text from being changed or deleted by accident. A lock also covers everything inside the tag. If you work on a tag that sits inside a larger locked tag, for example a text block or a chapter tag, Word won't let the add-in change anything in that area.
How to fix it
- Look at the tag list. The outer tags that are blocking you are highlighted.
- Click the lock icon on each highlighted tag to unlock it.
- Try your action again.
- When you are done, lock the outer tag again if you want to keep the text protected.
If you unlock many tags at once, the add-in asks you to confirm. Unlocked tags lose their edit protection, so the tagged text can be changed or deleted in the document.
If you see We couldn't change the lock state. Please try again., wait a moment and click the lock icon again.
Still stuck?
If nothing is highlighted and you still can't change the tag, contact support and tell us which tag you were working on.