Excel File Locked by Another User

C

Chuck Drobny

Upon reopening a spreadsheet file [FILENAME] that was
previously used and closed I get the message:

FILENAME is locked for editing by SAMEUSER.

The file is not in use by any other program or file.
There is no other ~filename.xls version of the file in
the directory.

If I reboot I am able to access the file without the
above warning, for viewing and editing.

Chuck Drobny
[email protected]
 
K

Kent

Could be a couple of things like:
The file sharing is turned on.
It's being saved to a server that either hasn't finished
saving it yet to relinquish the lock.
Virus checker still snooping it.
Big file with "track changes" turned on

Turn off the sharing if you're the one predominately
making the changes to it (Tools->Share Workbook->uncheck
the "Allow changes..." checkbox). If others only need to
view it, leave it like that. If others need to edit too,
turn it back on and let's look into other causes like slow
saves to network server... Hope this helps.

Mark Henri
Excel Support Technician
www.canhelpyou.com
 
K

Kev

Hi Chuck and Kent

I too have this problem from time to time, using Excel under Win 98
The file that is locked has that file sharing menu option greyed out, and in others that are ok the box is unchecked. No-one uses the pc other than me. Unlike Chuck, tho, I can't get rif of the damned thing by closing it, or even rebooting and going to the DOS prompt. It just wont allow access and the file, and its folder seem to be entrenched on my hard drive forever!

The problem usually occurs for me after a "page fault" occurs and shuts down Excel, and often the pc. I have just posted on this to "General questions".
 
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