You can see locked elements in Canva by opening the design and checking the Layers panel; locked items usually show a small lock icon there. If you click the locked object directly, Canva also shows the padlock so you can unlock it.

Fast way

  1. Open your Canva design.
  2. Select an element on the page.
  3. Open Layers to spot anything with a lock icon.
  4. Click the locked item, then click the padlock to unlock it.

Mobile note

On mobile, Canva tutorials show the same idea: tap the page, open Layers , then look for the lock icon next to the element you want to edit. Once unlocked, you can move or resize it normally.

If it still won’t unlock

Some guides note that page-level locks may need the page itself unlocked first, and one commonly mentioned shortcut is Alt + Shift + L on desktop. If the lock option is missing or behaves oddly, the issue may be with the design/template permissions rather than the element itself.