Currently, on locked pages, collaborators can use existing Select List values but cannot add a new one via “+ Add new option.” Support confirmed this is intentional because adding an option is treated as a column-format change.
This feels unnecessarily restrictive. Page locking should protect documents from accidental structural changes or data loss, while still allowing normal data entry - such as adding a new Select List value.
I can see your case, but I can also follow Coda’s argument here. It leaves the question open: is adding an item to a selection list still considered an edit? I’m not sure. Is this part of the maker function, or is it a real edit?
The same applies to relations. Once you add a new item to a relation, is that part of the edit logic, or is it part of the maker’s logic? In a very strict sense, I would say that adding these extra items is not edit logic at all—it belongs to the domain of makers.
Here we run into the almost unlogical logic of Coda, which discriminates between makers and editors on a very thin base. I would love to have a clear view on why an editor is currently still a “maker light”. Personally, I would like to see the editor role become even more limited than it is today, so they become a real, true editor.
Curious to hear your thoughts on this!
Cheers,
Christiaan
Hi Christian,
Thank you for sharing your perspective. I originally raised this with Support as feedback because I consider it a potential bug, but I started this discussion to hear the community’s views as well.
The broader question of access rights - including the distinction between Maker, Editor, Viewer, and any roles in between - is a much larger discussion; and I agree with you on that one. For now, I am focusing only on select lists.
In my view, Makers should control the document’s structure, configuration, and permissions. Since Makers already have the option to prevent new entries from being added to select lists or reference tables, they can decide how tightly the data should be controlled.
Editors, however, should be able to contribute to and expand the document’s content. This can include adding rows to tables or reference tables and adding new options to a select list when the field permits it. For example, if an Editor needs to select a value that does not yet exist, they should not need a Maker/docAdmin to intervene just to add that option, especially if the Maker already made a decision to allow that.
Therefore, the previously existing behavior make more sense:
Otherwise, restricting Editors from adding options by default seems inconsistent with the control Makers already have over that setting.
yes, your point seems valid to me, you have my support! 
The maker decides the option to add or not to add.
merci, cheers, Christiaan