Word unlock document for editing how to#

However, this isn’t the case since Microsoft Teams also manages its own check outs. Usually, users assume that SharePoint has ultimate control over file permissions. If you’re using SharePoint and Teams together, this method might work. The right way to exit the file gracefully is by clicking the “Close” button or the red “x” button of your browser, depending on the application (and version) that you’re using. Meaning, you may have left it out in the open and walked away or you may have put your computer to sleep mode with the file open. One of the likely causes is that you may have forgotten to properly close the file. Note that although some people coin the term “workaround fixes”, these methods are how you must use SharePoint (and some relevant apps like Teams) especially when dealing with Office files. To unlock a file, there are a few things that you can try.

Word unlock document for editing how to#

How to Release a Locked File in SharePoint Now, it’s important that you’re aware of the two types of locks so that whenever you face this issue, you already have an idea of why it happened (and which of the two locks you’re probably facing). Whenever a file is opened in any Office web apps, co-authoring will always kick in. That indicates the user is already done editing it and will release the lock.Ĭo-authoring file locks occur when the file allows co-authoring and if the client the users are using supports it. If that user saves the file after making changes on it and properly closes it (existing gracefully), the application will send the correct network traffic. If it fails (or cannot be set), the exclusive file lock kicks in.Īn exclusive file lock is set by the user’s session and will only enable the user to edit the file. But the gist of it is that when you open Office files, SharePoint will try and set a co-authoring lock on it first.

The type of lock that will happen primarily depends on key factors. Specifically, there are two types of locks that can occur - exclusive file lock and co-authoring file lock. When opening a Microsoft Office file (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) from SharePoint, it’s always a guarantee that a file lock will be set as that’s how the product works. The lock feature in SharePoint is a complicated issue that revolves around the network or client. How the Locking Feature in SharePoint Works In fact, you may even not be able to delete the file either.īut how does this happen? What are the possible reasons why a file is locked (and you as a global admin can’t do anything about it)? What possible fixes can you implement to regain admin access to the file? You’re the global admin and yet you can’t make any changes to a certain file or do anything admin-related to it.