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Cannot Release Lock on SharePoint Online File
SharePoint thinks a user still has a lock on. I can't adminsitratively do anything with the file online. This has been going on for almost a day. We've cleared cache, closed Excel on his comput...
Locks is a complex topic and technically a client or network issue. SharePoint supports co-authoring locks unless you have Check In/Out enabled on the library. Client side locks will occur if Office cannot negotiate a co-author lock falling back to an exclusive lock. As others have pointed out, the upload center can contribute to locking and is one of the first things you should check. You can trace the calls via Fiddler on the client.
This is the technical explanation from PSS:
When a user attempts to open an Office file hosted on SharePoint in the Office client, there is an expected set of network calls we should be seeing unless there is a problem. Once a user clicks that Office file to open in client, code on the SharePoint page and (if using Internet Explorer) the Office 365 browser addon sends a command to initialize the client application (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). Once the Office client application starts launching, Office will start a HTTP conversation with SharePoint. If the Office call is already authenticated, the Office will be returned the file content. However, if not already authenticated, which is usually expected to be the case, Office will negotiate for Authentication with SharePoint. This process happens through two networking calls called OPTIONS calls. The first OPTIONS call is anonymous and expected to be rejected by SharePoint as to establish what types of authentication SharePoint will accept. The second options call will include the requested authentication information to SharePoint. If SharePoint accepts the second options, call, it will return a METHOD call, identifying what network verbs can be used to communicate with it (OPTIONS, GET, LOCK, PROPFIND, and POST are all examples of verbs for this process). Once the verbs are established the Office client will make a POST network call that requests the metadata for the file, adds the user’s session lock state (coauthor lock or exclusive lock) and to request to open the file from the CellStorage web service in SharePoint. If the Office client has never accessed the document before, the entire document will be downloaded from SharePoint and cached in the Office Document Cache. If the Office client has opened the file before, then it is already cached and only the changes will be downloaded. At this point, the Office file will open in the Office client. This entire process happens between a few milliseconds to a few seconds.
I have same problem for Office 365 group site. in my case:
- Creating file online example 'WORD' and save from browser itself.
- Share file with someone within organization
- copy file to other folder in same site
and then I have use case to remove file.
I am getting error message the file is locked by other user and can't delete it.
Please let me know if someone got exact solution of this issues.
This is what worked for me. After syncing the library and finding the lock symbol on all the files in the library displayed in my File Explorer, this is what I did:
- Remove all required column status from all fields. Be sure to include the default Title field. You might have to drill into the Document and/or Item Content Types to get to it. (I have found that it seems to be set as a required field by default in the standard Document content type)
- Enable version control inclusive of drafts, be sure it is set for 'anyone who can read'. Save. Then return and disable it.
- Enable Content Approval and save. Then return and disable it.
The key one, for whatever reason, was #3. When I did that, a message box popped up on my monitor saying something like 'you can now edit your files in OneDrive'. When I checked my File Explorer, the locks were gone. I verified today that other users who are syncing this library to their File Explorer are also now able to edit the files (the lock was gone for them, too).
Below is my original post.... LOL.... I was pretty excited to see that this worked. I hope it does for you, too.
Out of desperation, I enabled Content Approval and then disabled Content Approval and.....
Low and behold I got a pop up from ODB saying 'You can now edit your files'. I opened my File Explorer....yes...wait for it....and the LOCK WAS GONE! OMG, I spent hours on this to find that it was one check box for a feature I'd never enabled for the library. Why it was affecting its performance, I haven't a clue, but it worked. WHEW!
I had the same issue and this worked for me:
Close Excel
Open the document library where the file is located. Select the file and delete.
Go to the recycle bin and restore the file.
Open the file again and nos I can edit.
It looks like there are different solutions or should I say workarounds for the same problem.
Wouldn't it be nice if Microsoft came out with a clear and concise and permanent solution!?
I can understand that sometimes a file is locked by a different user for, what I think, are obvious reasons.
What I do not understand is that the file is locked by myself for editing. Yet when I try to access it for this exact purpose SharePoint won't let me.
Having to wait for a short period for the file to unlock is just not good enough and that doesn't always work anyway.
