SharePoint: Locking a Completed Task

 

Yet another JavaScript and CEWP trick!

 

Goal: Prevent a completed task from being edited.

Tools:

• Content Editor Web Part (CEWP)
• JavaScript that:
• Finds table cells with the word “Completed”
• Finds the parent row and then the second cell in the row
• Replaces that cells contents with the name of the task and a hyperlink to a message

Steps:

• Display the task list view to modify (each view will need its own web part and JavaScript)
• Add a Content Editor Web Part:
• Go to Site Actions, Edit Page
• Add a Content Editor Web Part and move it below the task web part
• Click in the web part, click Edit, Modify Shared Web Part, and in the Appearance section change "Chrome" to "None".
• Add the JavaScript:
• Click the Source Editor button
• Type or paste the JavaScript (example below)
• Note that this example assumes that the cell with the link and dropdown list is the second cell in the row (cell 1).   i.e. “childNodes[1]”

The JavaScript:

<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">

  // for info: http://techtrainingnotes.blogspot.com
  var x = document.getElementsByTagName("TD") // find all of the TDs
  var i=0;
  for (i=0;i<x.length;i++)
  {

    if (x[i].className=="ms-vb2") //find the TDs styled for lists
    {

      if (x[i].innerHTML=="Completed")
      {
        var theTargetNode = x[i].parentNode.childNodes[1]

       // The following is all one line:
        theTargetNode.innerHTML = "<a class='ms-vb2' href='javascript:TaskHasBeenCompleted()'>" + theTargetNode.getElementsByTagName("TD")[0].childNodes[0].innerHTML + "</a>"
      }
    }

  }

function TaskHasBeenCompleted()
{
  alert('This task has been completed and cannot be edited.')
}

</script>

 

Watch-outs:

• Remember to add this to your rebuild / disaster recovery plan documentation!
• Users will be able to get to the task and edit it through a direct URL to the task edit page or through any other views you have not modified.

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