What program has my file open?
Ever had the annoyance of trying to delete, move or rename a file or folder on Windows but some process has still got it open? You’ll no doubt be familiar with the resulting error dialog: “Error Deleting File or Folder. It is being used by another person or program”
How can you find the culprit?
There are purpose designed programs out there, but if you don’t want to install anything you’re unsure of, or that contains ads, then try the free Process Explorer tool from Sysinternals (acquired by Microsoft in 2006). It’s basically a more powerful Task Manager. Here’s some simple steps to follow:
- Download Process Explorer (by Microsoft)
- Unzip it and run procexp.exe
- Type Ctrl+F (or from the menu bar choose Find -> “Find Handle or DLL”)
- Search on the file name. You should then see the processes which have an open handle to it. Make a note of the offending process’ PID
- Assuming you know what the process does, and that it’s safe to kill it, close the search window, locate the correct process and hit the delete key (or select “Kill Process” from the right-click menu)
That always works for me!
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