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basic_concepts:folder_options:locking_the_format
Locking the Format
Opus lets you lock the format in the file display. When the format is locked, automatic changes to the format are disabled - the display format won't change at all as you navigate from one folder to another, unless you manually change it using the Folder Options dialog.
Toggling the format lock
Right-click the 
information icon on the status bar, and choose Format Lock from the context menu to toggle the lock. You can also use the Format Lock command from the Folder drop-down menu in the default toolbars.
Padlock icon
When the format is locked, the information icon on status bar turns into a 
padlock icon instead.
When the format lock is on the current folder format is preserved. You can still make manual changes using the Folder Format dialog (or by clicking the column headers in details mode, etc.), but it won't automatically change again until after you turn the lock off.
Turning off the lock
Click the padlock icon, or use the Format Lock menu commands, to unlock the format.
Showing the padlock all the time
If you find you use the format lock feature a lot, you can turn on the Enable format lock padlock icon option on the File Displays / Status Bar Preferences page. The icon will change to show the padlock permanently, and you can toggle the lock on and off simply by clicking it.
The status bar icon can be removed
The information icon (or its padlock equivalent) are generated on the status bar using the {fl} code. Since the status bar is configurable via Preferences, it's possible this code can be removed - in which case the icon won't be visible any more. You can still use the format lock using the menu commands mentioned above.