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This File Is in Use by Another Application or User [Fix]

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Updated onOctober 4, 2023

updated onOctober 4, 2023

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Different applications can sometimes use the samefilesand causeThefileis in use…erroron yourWindows 10PC. Thiserrorcan prevent you from accessingfiles, but fortunately, there are few ways to solve this problem.

In this article, we’ll be looking at various error messages based on the mentioned message, plus their troubleshooting steps.

How do I fixThe file is in use…error?

1. The file is in use

Users reported thiserrorwith Dropbox while trying to sync theirfiles. Dropbox can’t syncfilesthat are currently used by a different application, and if you try to do that, you might get thiserror.

This is normal behavior for Dropbox, and to fix this problem all that you need to do is tosave thefilethat you’re trying to sync and close the applicationthat is using thefile.

After that, Dropbox should be able to sync thefilewithout any problems.

2. The file is in use by another application or user

Disable problematic Add-ins

According to users, they are experiencing thiserrorwhen they close aMicrosoft Word. Apparently, this problem is caused by installed add-ins, and in order to fix it, you need to find and disable the problematic add-in.

Another way to disable installed Add-ins is to do the following:

If the problem still persists, you might want to disable all Add-ins and check if that fixes the issue. If that helps, enable Add-ins one by one until you find the one that is causing this problem.

Users reported that sometimes certain Add-ins won’t remain disabled, and if that’s the case, you need to uninstall the application related to that Add-in.

Check your antivirus

When you create afilein Word or in any other Office tool, your computer will save its copy on yourhard driveas a temporaryfile. When you choose to save your document, the temporaryfilewill be deleted and the document will be saved.

This is how saving should work, but your antivirus can sometimes scan the temporaryfileas you try to save it and that will causeThefileis in useerror to appear. One way to fix this problem is to use unobtrusive antivirus software or one that tests with the fewest false positives.

Also, be sure that you have the latest version of Office installed. If there are any Hotfixes available, be sure to install them as well.

In order to keep your files highly protected, you might need another antivirus program. No need to waste time finding one as you can choose from thebest antiviruses with the highest detection rates.

Check if yourfilesaren’t locked

Users reported that thiserrorcan occur if thefilementioned in the error message is locked, so be sure to check it. If it’s locked, you can unlock it by right-clicking it and choosing the Unlock option from Properties.

To make this process a bit more straightforward, you can also use third-party tools that will display all lockedfileson your PC so you can easily find them and unlock them.

Close Raiser Edge / Education Edge

Software such as Raiser’s Edge / Education Edge can sometimes interfere with Word and other Office tools and cause this problem to appear. To fix this issue, sign out and close Raiser’s Edge / Education Edge and restart your PC.

After your PC restarts, check if the problem is resolved.

3. The file is in use and cannot be accessed

Close all Outlook related processes

Users reported thiserrorwhileusing Outlook, and according to them, they would get this error message every time they try to start Outlook. The mentioned steps should be helpful.

Disable Cached Exchange mode
Repair your .pstfile

There can also be a problem with some corrupted Outlook files. In this case, we recommend using a dedicated file recovery tool –StellarPST Recovery Tool.

The tool is just the perfect thingto restore your Outlook mailbox data – including deleted and missing emails – lost due to PST file corruption.

The installation is pretty easy and using the tool, similarly simple. What’s more, the recovery process is done in just 3 simple steps, indicating the PST file that should be scanned.

⇒Get Stellar PST Recovery Tool

Restart your PC

Sometimes you can fix this problem simply by restarting your computer. According to users, thiserrorappears becauseOffice Communicatoris running alongside Outlook while using certain .dllfiles.

To fix this problem, simply restart your PC and try to start Outlook again.

Run ScanOST.exe

After the scan is completed, check if the problem is resolved.

Convert the OST file to PST

After you’re done, check if the problem still persists.

Create a new Outlook profile
Make sure that Run as administrator option isn’t checked

After turning off this option, try to start Outlook again and check if the problem is resolved.

9. Close Microsoft Lync or Skype

According to users, both Microsoft Lync and Skype can interfere with Outlook and causeThe file is in use errorto appear. To fix this problem, be sure to close these applications completely and try to start Outlook again.

Delete the .ostfile

If you’re still getting thiserror, you might want to consider deleting your .ostfile. It’s safe to delete the .ostfileif you’re connecting to your email account via Microsoft Exchange or IMAP because the .ostfilewill be recreated the next time your start Outlook. To delete the .ostfile, do the following:

Repair the Office installation

According to users, Outlook 2013 and Lync 2013 can’t run at the same time. Whenever you try to start Lync you’ll getThefileis in useerror message. One way to fix this problem is to repair your Office installation, and to do that, you need to follow these steps:

After the process is completed, start Outlook and then start Lync and check if the problem is resolved. If the problem still persists, repeat the process but instead of using the Quick Repair select theOnline Repairoption.

Check if the CNAME record is set properly

Users reported that this issue is caused by autodiscover CNAME record. If your CNAME record isn’t properly configured for the domain, you’ll most likely encounter thiserror. To fix this problem you need to change the CNAME record autodiscover toautodiscover.outlook.com. After making the necessary changes, theerrorshould be completely resolved.

4. The file is in use by another program

Move thefilesto a different folder

Users reported thiserrorwhile trying to attach afileusingOutlook Web App. According to them, this issue appears to be related to a certain folder on their PC and allfilesfrom this folder couldn’t be attached to an email message.

Users tried using different browsers, but the issue remained. One of the simplest ways to fix this problem is to open the problematic folder and move yourfilesto a different location. After doing that, try to attach them to an email message again.

Delete the PDF files from tmp folder

According to users, this problem sometimes appears when you try to open certainPDFfiles, but you can fix the problem by deleting the PDF files from the tmp folder. To do that, navigate toC:wfx32tmpfolder and delete all PDF files from this folder.

Be sure not to delete anyfilesthat are currently print previewed. After deleting thefiles, check if the problem is resolved. If you don’t want to delete thefiles, you can simply move them to a different folder and check if that solves the issue.

Thefileis in useerror usually affects Office applications, but you should be able to fix it by using one of our solutions from this article.

If you’re an Outlook user, you might be interested in our guide onMail Merge in Outlook. It’s a great feature for sending personalized emails that you should use.

Tell us which one worked for you!

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This File Is in Use by Another Application or User [Fix]#

How do I fixThe file is in use…error?#

1. The file is in use#

2. The file is in use by another application or user#

3. The file is in use and cannot be accessed#

4. The file is in use by another program#