What is a file lock and what does it mean?
This support note applies to:
- AE System Release (AU)
File locks are a mechanism built into Microsoft Windows so that software written for Windows that shares a file may control access to all or part of a file.
These work by only allowing one user at a time to acquire a lock over any part of a file. Once a lock has been acquired, the owner is able to access and update that part of the file without interference from other users. If a lock cannot be acquired because another user already has a lock, then the software will usually advise the user of this circumstance. This most commonly occurs when another user tries to access a file someone else is already using, but can also be caused by tools such as Anti-virus scanners, which check file contents. The way in which file locks behave can be dependent on the Windows operating system settings.