Outlook note - error on 2nd open

Question

Years ago, in Outlook I created a note and saved it as a .msg file on my drive with a desktop shortcut to that.

It contains various bits of useful text & I use it many times a day to copy & paste to other things, I usually open & close it whenever I need to do that

Since then I have had various upgrades of Office & am now on Microsoft 365 - 16.0.16626.20068

Now, after I open & close the note from the shortcut, I get an error when I try to re-open it: "We can't open <filename>. It's possible the file is already open, or you don't have permission to open it".

After getting that error I have to close & restart Outlook to be able to open the note.

I created a new Note in Outlook and did Save As into the same folder on my drive as before - I can open it once & then I get the same error on re-open

Answer 1

Dear Richard Warner2,

Good day! Hope you are doing great,

Kindly note that this issue has been reported resolved in the Service Health Dashboard. End time: Tuesday, August 8, 2023 at 3:00 AM GMT+8 with ID EX648854.

Title: Users may be unable to open email messages saved as a file more than once in the Outlook desktop client

User impact: Users may have been unable to open email messages saved as a file more than once in the Outlook desktop client.

**More info:**This may have affected users that had enabled the Microsoft Teams Meeting Add-in for Microsoft Office. Impacted users could’ve closed and reopened the Outlook desktop client to open email messages saved as files. Once an email message saved as a file had been opened, it couldn’t be opened again until the Outlook desktop client had been closed and reopened.

Final status: We’ve confirmed that our fix is complete and determined by reviewing service telemetry that this issue is resolved.

Scope of impact: Any user with the Microsoft Teams Meeting Add-in for Microsoft Office enabled that attempted to access an email from a file more than once in the Outlook for desktop client may have been impacted.

Start time: Thursday, July 13, 2023 at 3:36 AM GMT+8

End time: Tuesday, August 8, 2023 at 3:00 AM GMT+8

Root cause: A recent update introduced a code regression that caused email files to be locked by the Microsoft Teams Meeting Add-in for Microsoft Office, resulting in impact.

Next steps: - We’re reviewing our validation and update procedures to detect and prevent issues like this prior to deployment in the future. This is the final update for the event.

I look forward to your update. Please feel free to let me know if there are any questions. I will keep assisting you based on the information you provide. I sincerely appreciate your patience and cooperation.

Thanks for your precious time. Have a nice day.

Sincerely,

Libeamlak | Microsoft Community Moderator

Answer 2

I had these to start

I disabled all & did not get error

I enabled just 1 at a time (with restart of Outlook) & only got error for Microsoft Teams...

I enabled all except Microsoft Teams... & restarted Outlook - no error

I added Microsoft Teams... & restarted Outlook - error came back

Teams version is

Answer 3

Dear Richard Warner2,

Many thanks for your kind response and cooperation,

Yes, it helps. You are using Exchange email account. Since you can open and reopen your notes without error in safe mode, the error might be caused by one of your Outlook add-ins. Therefore, please kindly Open your Outlook -->go to File -->Options -->Add-ins -->At the bottom of the View and manage Office Add-ins, make sure the Manage box shows COM Add-ins, and then choose Go.

1. As a precaution, when the COM Add-ins listing of your current add-ins opens, do one of the following:
   • Manually record the title of every selected add-in listed under Available Add-ins. or
   • Take a screenshot of the property sheet and save the image to a location of your choice.
2. After you've captured the titles of the selected add-ins, clear all selected check boxes, and then choose OK.
3. Choose File > Exit (close your Outlook) and then, restart your Outlook and open your notes, then check if the issue persists.

****If your notes open properly, it's likely that one of your add-ins is the source of the error and you need to identify which one. To determine which add-in is the problem, enable one add-in at a time.

1. In the upper-left corner of Outlook, choose File > Options > Add-ins.
2. Select the check box next to an add-in you want to re-enable, and then choose OK.
3. Repeat all steps until you've re-enabled all of the original add-ins and revealed the source of the error.

**Important:**Remember, if Outlook opens in safe mode, you've revealed the add-in you just enabled as a source of the error.

- Restart Outlook again and disable the add-in you enabled that produced the problem, and then start Outlook.
- Make sure you go through the restart-disable-restart process for *every* add-in that was originally enabled in Outlook. An error could be caused by more than one add-in.

In addition, if you are using any Anti-virus software, please kindly disable for temporary bases and check if there is any difference.

We look forward to your update. Kindly note that the information update required for further analysis and troubleshooting of your situation. Your patience and cooperation are much appreciated.

Thanks for your precious time. Have a nice day.

Sincerely,

Libeamlak | Microsoft Community Moderator

Answer 4

This error just started today, there was a pop-up when I started Outlook this morning, something like "you are now on latest version". The last time that I tried was Wednesday 12th July 2023, the error did not occur

I can open & reopen multiple times from the original location without error if I do not start Outlook itself

I cannot see which type of account - does this help?

Safe mode

I can open & reopen my note without error

Add Ins

The only Add-Ins that I have are Admin managed, I cannot disable them

Different location on drive

Note: Original location = "C:\Users\richard.MAR-KOV\OneDrive - Mar-Kov Computer Systems Inc\My Stuff\Documents\Thing1.msg"

Tried C:\ = reopens without error

Tried C:\Users\richard.MAR-KOV\OneDrive - Mar-Kov Computer Systems Inc\A-transfers = gives error on reopen

Tried network drive = same error

Copy as .eml

Just opens as an empty email

Error message:

Outlook version

Answer 5

Dear Richard Warner2,

Good day! Thank you for posting to Microsoft Community. We are happy to assist you.

As per the description you have shared, we understand that you have a concern with opening saved notes in Outlook.

To better understand the issue and provide possible solution, we need more details from you, please kindly provide us the following information. Thanks in advance!

• May I please know if you are using Exchange, IMAP or POP mail account?
• May I please confirm if tried to start your Outlook in safe mode? if not, please kindly start your Outlook in safe mode and check if some add-ins are causing this issue. To start your Outlook in safe mode, you can refer to Open Outlook in safe mode - Microsoft Support
  • Right-click the Startbutton, and click Run.
  • Type **Outlook.exe /safe,**and click OK.
  If saved notes open properly in safe mode, please kindly disable your Outlook add-in and enable one by one and check which add-in is causing the issue.
• May I please confirm if you tried to copy and paste on different location in your drive? if not, please kindly copy and paste on different location and try to open your notes to see the difference.
• May I please also confirm if you tried to rename your notes from .msg to .eml? if not, please kindly copy and paste, then rename your notes and save with .eml, and open the renamed notes, then check if there is any difference.
• Could you please provide us with the screenshot of the error message are receiving?
• Could you please provide us with the screenshot of your Outlook version details? See What version of Outlook do I have? - Microsoft Support

We look forward to your update. Kindly note that the above requested information is required for further analysis and troubleshooting of your situation. Your patience and cooperation are much appreciated.

Thanks for your precious time. Have a nice day.

Sincerely,

Libeamlak | Microsoft Community Moderator