I can't open a excel file because someone is using it

Question

So we are having a problem at our company with a file that is on our network, the file is used by alot of people at the company. When they try to open the file it says person "X" is using it but when i go to the person "X" computer they dont have the file opened i restarted the computer and tried again, still didn't work. I looked online and some people said to go on the folder where the file is and remove a temporary file with this name ~$filename.xlsx, i removed it but still didn't solve our problem.

Is there any fix for this ?

Answer 1

Boot into Safe mode and then try to open the file.

Answer 2

Hi @Pedro Moreira

Here is a similar thread, you can have a look, "Microsoft Office document is "locked for editing by 'another user'"". Hope it could be helpful.
(Please Note: Since the web site is not hosted by Microsoft, the link may changed without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this information.)

There are some suggestions, such as following:

• Use Computer Management to unlock file.
• Try turning off "Details" and "Preview" in Explorer.

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Answer 3

Hi,

Thank you for posting your query.

Kindly follow the steps provided below to resolve your issue.

Double-click the file you want to open. If the file still won't open, click “Browse” and search for the file. At the bottom of the “Open” dialog box, click the small arrow next to the “Open button”, then choose “Open and Repair” from the context menu.

Or if you are having trouble opening a file? It’s probably because it's been saved in a file format that this version of Excel doesn’t support. Check the table to see if that’s the case.

Go to this link for your reference and other troubleshooting procedures https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/why-can-t-i-open-my-excel-file-2daa6bd6-8db5-4521-9f37-7e23b3e4bdab

Do not hesitate to message us if you need further assistance.

If the answer is helpful kindly click "Accept as Answer" and up vote it.