METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ALLOWING MULTIPLE USERS TO EDIT A HIERARCHICAL DATA STRUCTURE

A method for locking elements of a hierarchical data structure to allow multiple users at various distributed clients to simultaneously edit unlocked portions of the data structure, and systems for same are disclosed. The method includes checking for permission, setting and releasing various kind of locks. The structured authoring system of the invention may be distributed and collaborative. The process of checking for permission to set a lock is unique for each type of lock.