Say how the room is used and see which lock function suits it, in plain English and before any part number. All seven answers are on the page; scripting only narrows them to the one you picked.
Pick the description closest to your room.
A store room or plant room nobody should find open
Usually suits a Storeroom function.
The outside lever is always locked and a key retracts the latch without unlocking anything. The inside lever always opens for egress. Because the outside lever never unlocks, nobody can leave the room open by accident, which is the usual reason a store room ends up unsecured.
Where this sits. Function is settled before any part number, then graded to the traffic the opening actually sees. Commercial Door Hardware Installation.
A room that gets locked and unlocked through the day
Usually suits a Classroom function.
A key on the outside locks and unlocks the outside lever, and the inside lever always opens. The state is deliberate and stays where it was set, so a room can be left open for a session and secured afterwards without anyone touching a thumbturn.
Where this sits. Function is settled before any part number, then graded to the traffic the opening actually sees. Commercial Door Hardware Installation.
An office the occupant secures from inside
Usually suits a Office or entry function.
A thumbturn or push-button inside locks the outside lever, and the inside lever always opens. It suits a room whose occupant decides when it is secured. It is also the function most often fitted where a storeroom function was actually wanted, which is why offices get found unlocked.
Where this sits. Function is settled before any part number, then graded to the traffic the opening actually sees. Commercial Door Hardware Installation.
A corridor or lobby door that is never locked
Usually suits a Passage function.
Both levers always retract the latch and there is no locking at all. It holds the leaf closed against a closer without pretending to secure anything. Fitting a lock here and leaving it permanently unlocked wears out a component for nothing.
Where this sits. Function is settled before any part number, then graded to the traffic the opening actually sees. Commercial Door Hardware Installation.
A rest room or changing room
Usually suits a Privacy function.
An inside push-button or thumbturn locks the outside lever, with an outside release that opens it using a coin or a small tool. It is privacy rather than security, and it is not a substitute for a lock on a room that holds anything worth securing.
Where this sits. Function is settled before any part number, then graded to the traffic the opening actually sees. Commercial Door Hardware Installation.
A rear or side door that must always let people out
Usually suits a Exit device, sometimes called panic hardware.
Pushing the bar retracts the latch in one motion with no prior knowledge, no key and no tight grasping. Outside trim decides whether it can be entered from outside. Where the opening is part of the means of egress this is a code question first and a preference second.
Where this sits. Function is settled before any part number, then graded to the traffic the opening actually sees. Commercial Door Hardware Installation.
A main entrance that runs to a schedule
Usually suits a Exit device with dogging, or an electrified lock.
Mechanical dogging holds the latch retracted so the door pushes open freely during trading hours, then is undogged to secure it. Where the schedule has to be automatic or tied to a card system, an electrified lock or electric latch retraction does it — and the electrical side belongs to the licensed trades, not to us.
Where this sits. Function is settled before any part number, then graded to the traffic the opening actually sees. Commercial Door Hardware Installation.
