Is there a way to unlock a locked ContentBlock? 

Shared Content Blocks appear to remain locked and cannot be unlocked from the user interface. The UI shows the item as locked by a user and displays the lock timestamp, but no unlock option is available. This can occur even when the affected user should be able to unlock the item and when permissions allow everyone to unlock content.

In multisite implementations, the problem occurs more often with translated content and other content stored in site-specific content providers. The standard unlock approach may not locate the locked item because it searches only the default provider.

This issue is relevant to both single-site and multisite configurations. In multisite environments, Shared Content Blocks may be stored in site-specific providers such as custom Generic Content providers. When the locked item is stored outside the default provider, code that uses only the default provider context does not find the master item and the unlock operation does not complete.

Single-site approach 
Use the following code in a single page web form (.aspx page) to unlock the ContentBlock. 
 

<%@ Page Language="C#" %>
<%@ Import Namespace="Telerik.Sitefinity.GenericContent.Model" %>
<%@ Import Namespace="Telerik.Sitefinity.Modules.GenericContent" %>

<script runat="server">

protected void UnlockContentBlock(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
var man = ContentManager.GetManager();
var cb = man.GetContent().Where(c => c.Title == txtTitle.Text && ContentLifecycleStatus.Master == c.Status).FirstOrDefault();
if (cb != null)
{
man.Lifecycle.DiscardAllTemps(cb);
man.SaveChanges();
}

}

</script>
<!DOCTYPE html>

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">;
<head runat="server">
<title></title>
</head>
<body>
<form id="form1" runat="server">
<div>
<asp:TextBox runat="server" ID="txtTitle" />
<asp:Button runat="server" ID="btnRun" Text="Unlock" OnClick="UnlockContentBlock" />
</div>
</form>
</body>
</html>

 If needed, Republish the Content block after running the above code sample.

Multisite approach

1. Get the list of all registered content providers for the current context.
2. Iterate through each provider.
3. Query each provider for the locked master item by its content ID.
4. When the master item is found, discard all temporary items and save the changes.

var providerNames = ContentManager.GetManager().GetContextProviders()
    .Select(p => p.Name).ToList();

foreach (var providerName in providerNames)
{
    var manager = ContentManager.GetManager(providerName);
    var master = manager.GetContent()
        .Where(c => c.Id == id && c.Status == ContentLifecycleStatus.Master)
        .FirstOrDefault();

    if (master != null)
    {
        manager.Lifecycle.DiscardAllTemps(master);
        manager.SaveChanges();
    }
}

Alternative SQL approach for bulk cleanup

1. Back up the database.
2. Delete the temporary records from sf_content_items where status is 1 (Temp) or 8 (PartialTemp).
3. Delete related records from foreign key dependent tables for the same temporary items.
4. Reopen the item in Sitefinity and confirm the lock no longer appears.

-- =============================================
-- UNLOCK ALL CONTENT BLOCKS (all sites/providers)
-- =============================================
BEGIN TRANSACTION

SELECT content_id INTO #unlockIds
FROM sf_content_items
WHERE status IN (1, 8)

-- Verify count (should be ~1730)
SELECT COUNT(*) AS ItemsToUnlock FROM #unlockIds

-- Clear all FK dependencies
DELETE FROM sf_cntent_items_sf_permissions WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_cntnt_tems_sf_language_data WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_cntnt_tms_pblshd_trnsltions WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_sf_commnt WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_category WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_tags WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_ar WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_az WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_dz WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_es WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_fa WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_fr WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_hi WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_hu WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_hy WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_idn WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_it WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_ja WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_ka WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_kk WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_ko WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_ky WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_lo WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_mk WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_mn WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_ne WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_ps WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_pt WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_ro WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_ru WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_sr WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_tg WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_tr WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_uk WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_uz WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_vi WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)
DELETE FROM sf_content_items_zh WHERE content_id IN (SELECT content_id FROM #unlockIds)

-- Delete all Temp/PartialTemp records
DELETE FROM sf_content_items WHERE status IN (1, 8)

-- Verify: should return 0
SELECT COUNT(*) AS RemainingLocks FROM sf_content_items WHERE status IN (1, 8)

DROP TABLE #unlockIds

COMMIT