# Locking a Journal

Each journal can lock with a password to hide its contents. To lock a journal, use the "Lock Journal" menu item in the Journal menu. If the journal does not have a password set, you need to set one first. Now the journal will be locked. You won't be able to see any of the entries or journals inside that journal without unlocking. Searching also will not find anything inside. To see the contents of the journal again, you must unlocking it by using the "Unlock Journal" menu item in the Journal menu and then entering your password.

Using the Security Preferences, you can tell MacJournal to lock journals with a password automatically at certain times, such as when quitting or when the machine goes to sleep.

For increased security, you can also encrypt the contents of a locked journal.

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