How to Fix ‘File Is Open in Another Program’ Error in Windows?

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By Fleming in Technology
Updated 9 months ago

When you try to open a file on your Windows computer, you may sometimes get an error message saying that the file is open in another program. This can be a very frustrating situation but don't worry, as this issue can be fixed. In this article, we will discuss the steps to resolve the ‘File Is Open in Another Program’ error in Windows.

1. Check if the File is Actually Open in Another Program: The first step is to check if the file is actually open in another program. To do this, press the Ctrl+Alt+Delete keys together and then select the Task Manager option. This will show you all the programs that are currently running on your computer. Look for the file in the list and if it is there, then it means that the file is open in another program.

2. Close the Program: Once you have identified the program that is currently using the file, you need to close it. To do this, select the program in the Task Manager and then click on the End Task button. This will close the program and free up the file.

3. Check for Any Leftover Processes: Even after closing the program, there may be some leftover processes that are still running in the background. To check for any leftover processes, open the Task Manager again and look for any processes that are related to the program you just closed. If you find any, then select them and click on the End Task button.

4. Restart the Computer: Finally, restart your computer and try opening the file again. This should resolve the issue and you should be able to open the file without any issues.

In this article, we discussed the steps to fix the ‘File Is Open in Another Program’ error in Windows. The steps involve checking if the file is actually open in another program, closing the program, checking for any leftover processes, and restarting the computer. With these steps, you should be able to resolve the issue and open the file without any issues.