What does "locked for Shared Use" mean, exactly?

Anonymous
2018-01-25T16:34:28+00:00

I've got a file in a SharePoint library that I'm trying to move to a new folder in the same library. But no matter how I try to move it, I get a message that "this file is locked for shared use," by me. But I didn't do anything to lock the file.

How did it get locked, and more importantly, how do I unlock it? Properties, Details, and similar have been unhelpful, and the old turn it off and turn it on again didn't work either.

Microsoft 365 and Office | SharePoint | For business | Windows

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

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  1. Anonymous
    2020-01-10T23:57:11+00:00

    I even saw this today when I tried to change meta data properties in quick edit mode on a file THAT ISN'T OPEN OR LOCKED ANYWHERE!! Endless frustration with this product that purports to "enhance productivity" but actually kills it.

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  2. Anonymous
    2019-10-09T15:02:36+00:00

    I had a similar issue (user has a spreadsheet that they want to do concurrent authoring with another user).  It only allowed the first person to edit the file and locked the workbook.  What I discovered is that while the file was saved with a .XLSX extension, it was actually saved as a Strict Open XML Spreadsheet (*.xlsx).  Saving the file back as Excel workbook (*.xlsx) removed the artificial lock and allowed for concurrent authoring.

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  3. Anonymous
    2020-01-22T23:09:17+00:00

    I have an excel file in my One Drive that will not delete because it is "locked for shared use" by my own account. I can't figure out how to unlock or delete this 2 year old excel file that I no longer need.

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  4. Anonymous
    2019-05-19T22:58:51+00:00

    Tough to get that message across to thousands of users plus it's not our responsibility. Best option is to submit a service request to substantiate a refund request. Money talks ....

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  5. Anonymous
    2019-03-15T00:15:03+00:00

    Keep the tickets coming ----- Msft will not listen or react unless they get deluged with complaints. And even then they may not .....

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