

Now you should be able to open the file for editing without any problem. An easy way to do this is to use Details listing format and order the files by Name–it will pop to the top of the list. Navigate to the newmisserver folder where the document is stored.įind the errant ownership file, which starts with “~$” and has the name of your document.
#Excel file locked for editing mac Pc
If no one has the file open, on a PC (not a Mac), open up “My Computer” (Windows XP) or “Computer” (Windows 7). So they go in, make their changes, save out and close the file. user2 goes to open that same file, and does NOT get a message that the file is locked for editing message. If this happens to a file you’re trying to access, it’s easy to fix:įirst, double check with your colleagues that they don’t actually have the file open. Situation: user1 opens up an excel file that is on server1 and starts to work. Whatever the cause, in these cases the ownership file is left behind, and no one is able to open the file for editing. Sometimes a network connection may be disrupted manually–if you pull the Ethernet cable out of the computer, say, without first closing the file and disconnecting from newmisserver sometimes there may be a glitch in the network, causing a temporary disconnection at just the wrong moment.
#Excel file locked for editing mac mac
If, however, Word or Excel crash or the connection to the network is interrupted, the ownership file may not be deleted. Files Locked for Editing Microsoft Office Word Excel Mac MaI just moved some files to a new folder on a server that I was accessing on my Mac via VPN. This is a good scheme, as long as the document is closed normally and Word or Excel gets the chance to delete that file. If you try to open a file that has an existing ownership file, you get a message that the file is locked for editing. When you close the document or quit the application, Word and Excel delete the ownership file. This file would be visible if you looked for it on newmisserver\public from a PC, but on a Mac it’s invisible. The file contains the name of the person editing the document. For instance, if you were opening the file “myfile.doc” on newmisserver\public, an ownership file named “~$myfile.doc” would also be created on newmisserver\public. That doesn’t make for good office relationships!Īs a safeguard, Excel and Word create a temporary “ownership file” in the location of the document, giving it the name “~$” followed by the name of the document. There could be a problem with that, because if your colleague saves their changes and then you later change yours, you’ve just overwritten your colleague’s changes. If you open a Word or Excel file on the server it could potentially be in use by another person at the same time.

How Word and Excel Handle Files on the Server We’ve had several calls recently about newmisserver files being “locked for editing”, although no one has them open at the time.
