Excel file issue: 'Someone else is working' error preventing saving updates

Question

I have an Excel file stored on a file server. Four users have access to it. The file updates correctly for three users, but one user encounters an error saying, "Someone else is working on the file," and "document not saved" when they try to save it. As a result, their updates are not being saved. I have checked everything, including updating the Office version and Windows, but the issue persists. I have verified that all users are inactive except for the one experiencing the error, and I have deleted all temporary file (Excel Version 2019 Standard)

Answer 1

Hi Ali Ahmer,

Are you working this file from local drive or share drive.

• if its in share drive somebody using this file. may be a cause you received this error message. so first find person asking them to close the file.
• suppose no body using or working then, from 'TaskManager' remove all excel files. then try to open.
• restart you system then try to open the excel file.

Answer 2

Hi Ali Ahmer

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A forum and sharing your issue.

You may try the following steps to see if they help resolve the issue: 

1.Close any lingering Excel processes 

If no one has the file open, there may still be an Excel process locking the file. 

On the machine that may have accessed the file, open Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc), look for any running Excel processes, and end them (right-click > End Task). 

2.Release the file from the server 

If the file is hosted on a server, open Computer Management, go to Shared Folders > Open Files, locate the file, then right-click and select Close Open File to release the lock. 

3.Try saving with a different name or location 

Use Save As to save the file with a new name or in another location to determine if the issue is tied to the current file. 

4.Review access permissions 

Ensure you have the necessary permissions to edit and save files in the shared folder. If unsure, please contact your IT administrator to confirm read/write access. 

5.Restart Excel and the system 

Restart Excel and your computer, as this can help clear any remaining locks or cached sessions. 

If the issue still persists after these steps, you may consider the following workaround: 

Registry path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Excel\Options 

Create or modify the value: DisableRobustifiedUNC (DWORD) = 1 

Reference: Someone else is working in <T:\Folder\File> right now. Please try again later  

Please let me know how it goes. 

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