Abstract: A rotary file having an outer fixed cabinet and an inner cabinet rotatable on a vertical axis includes a locking mechanism comprised of a pair of simultaneously movable stops that can interfere with rotation of the inner cabinet in either direction. The stops are spaced from each other and are hinge-mounted to a fixed base of the outer cabinet so that they can be raised up to an interfering position with any one of the four sides of a square base member of the inner rotatable cabinet. One stop precludes rotation of the inner cabinet in a clockwise direction, while the other stop precludes rotation of the inner cabinet in a counterclockwise direction. An elongated bell crank member, rotatable on a horizontal axis by means of a user-activated locking handle, is connected to the hinge-mounted stops by a pair of vertically extending parallel links, movement of the bell crank member causing concurrent movement of the stops between their interfering and non-interfering positions.