Locked Layer Files can be edited

[L77]

We setup our data in Arc Map and are transitioning over to using ArcPro for our organization.

All of our data is in an editable geodatabase that only 4 users can edit, then we push a copy to a employee geodatabase and from that data we created layer files that are locked so nobody can edit them. They can change the symbology but they can't delete anything.

I added one of the locked layer files to ArcPro today and accidentally deleted a feature. Do you know how I can fix this issue so the layer files will stay locked in Arc Pro?

This is an example of the editable feature class:

This is the copy:

This is the layer file that should not  be editable:

[KimGarbade]

I'm guess the employee database is a file GDB.  Is that correct? Is the geodatabase the 4 users can edit also a file GDB or an enterprise GDB?

If it is an enterprise GDB you can create a "Viewer" (just a name I made up, any name will work) version and restricting who can edit it by setting its permissions (Protected ought to do it).  You can also control who can edit or view feature classes using the "Change Privileges" tool on enterprise GDB data. 

If you are using a file geodatabase it gets trickier.  As far as I know lock files only exist when a process is holding a feature class in the gdb open, if you can create permanent ones I don't know how.

You can compress the file GDB.  That will make it read only.

Compress File Geodatabase Data (Data Management)—ArcGIS Pro | Documentation

If that doesn't work their are other less obvious ways that might work but I've never used them like Licensed file GDBs which sound like they aren't for this purpose, but might work; or setting the Folder that represents the file GDB to read only (but this sounds risky and I wouldn't try it the first time without making a backup of your database).

[Robert_LeClair · Accepted solution]

In reviewing the non-editable layer file information, this feature class is has full editing enable (select, insert, update, delete privileges).  What I would do is create a database view of the layer in question.  By default, it's read-only.  Users can visualize, change the symbology, label and more but cannot edit the data.  As a database view, you can set its privileges to a database role and/or database user.