Note that deleting the owner file without also deleting .tmp files in the
Windows Temp folder will just change the error message from "This document
is already being used by <your name>" to "This document is already being
used by another user." It is usually necessary to reboot Windows before you
can delete all the .tmp files (and this also usually clears the messages,
making it unnecessary to delete the temp files, but you need to do it anyway
to keep your HD tidy).
garfield-n-odie said:
Hi, Peter. When you open a Word file, Word automatically creates a
temporary "owner" file in the same directory as your Word file and named the
same as your Word file except the first two letters of the filename are
replaced with ~$ (i.e., if the document is named filename.doc, then the
temporary owner file is named ~$lename.doc). Word is supposed to
automatically delete the temporary owner file when you close the document.
But if Word crashes while you are working on the document, or if the
document is not closed properly, then Word might not delete the temporary
owner file, and the next time you try to open your Word document, Word may
think the document is already open because of the existence of the temporary
owner file. In the directory where the Word document with which you're
having problems is saved, you should look for files with names beginning
with ~$ and delete them. Hope this helps.
