Close, lock & open a journal

Closing and locking are different. Closing marks a journal finished: every word stays readable. Locking seals its entries behind a passphrase you choose, so they can't be read at all until you open it again.

#Close a journal

1. On the journal's page, tap ⋯. Under "change it", tap "close it".
2. The notice says "closed · every word stays, nothing new goes in", and the line under the journal's name gains " · closed".

A closed journal is still read, still in the sky, and still searchable. It takes nothing new: every way of filing says "this journal is closed — reopen it to add anything", and gravity passes it over. Bringing in a journal file adds nothing new to it either, and the line says why, such as "brought in · … · “<name>” is closed, so 1 new entry stayed out".

The entries already in it can still be opened in compose and edited. Closing stops only what is new.

Reopen it — the same line now reads "reopen it". The notice says "open again · it takes new entries".

There is no undo line; tap the other line.

#Lock a journal

1. On the journal's page, tap ⋯. Under "change it", tap "lock it" — "seal its entries behind a passphrase. sealed, they cannot be read at all". It shows only on a journal that isn't locked yet.
2. The page "lock <name>" opens. It says "its entries are sealed on this phone with a key made from your passphrase. they stay sealed in a backup, and the passphrase is never written down anywhere." Then it warns, on its own line: "a forgotten passphrase cannot be recovered."
3. Type it in "the passphrase", then again in "the passphrase again". Both show dots.
4. Tap "lock it". It says "working…", then the notice says "locked · n sealed on this phone".

It can stop here:

• shorter than six characters: "a passphrase of at least six characters, please."
• the two differ: "those two don't match."
• if one of its entries can't be read: "one of its entries couldn't be read, so nothing was locked."

Once locked

• Its entries leave the sky, the list and search.
• Their photos and files are sealed too, with the same passphrase.
• Its page says "n entries wait inside, sealed on this phone. open it above, with the passphrase." Nothing can be added while it is sealed.
• Bringing in a journal file adds nothing to it, even while it is open.
• Its extra headers still show, but none can be added, changed or removed until it is open.
• Its constellation widget says only "<name> is locked".

There is no button to take a lock off, or to change the passphrase. A locked journal stays locked.

#Open a locked journal

1. On the journal's page, tap ⋯. Under "change it", tap "open it" — "unseal it with the passphrase, for as long as the journal is open".
2. The page "open <name>" says "n entries wait inside. they open for as long as the journal is open, and seal again when the app is shut down."
3. Type "the passphrase" and tap "open it".

• Right: "open · n entries". The entries are back on the sky and in the lists, and you can read and write in them as usual.
• Wrong: "that isn't the passphrase for this journal."

Tapping a notice or the widget for an entry in a sealed journal opens this page instead of the entry.

While it is open, its menu shows "locked · open just now" — "its entries seal themselves again when the app is shut down". Tapping it says "its entries seal again when the app is shut down". "As long as the journal is open" means until the app is shut down — not the journal's "close it", which is a different thing.

#What stays yours

Ask the sky never locks or opens a journal, and never handles a passphrase. It can say which journals are locked, by name, and nothing more.

#See also.

Closed, put away, locked, burnt & hidden · A journal's page & its menu · The app lock