Windows Server 2008: How to manage open files?

Open files have traditionally been a “pain point” for IT folks.  We’re often contacted by users receiving an error message regarding file access, or we’re attempting to do maintenance on a server only to find that a user has failed to close a document and we receive a message indicating that a file is open. 

There are dozens of ways to go about figuring out who has what file open.  In this tip, I’ll show you how to use Windows Server 2008’s Share and Storage Management administrative tool to accomplish this goal.

To start the tool, choose Start > Administrative Tools > Share and Storage Management.  You’ll get a screen like the one below.

To see what files are open on your system, from the Action pane of the tool, choose Manage Open Files.  A screen opens up that provides you with a list of the files and folders that are open on your server. The list provides you with information regarding the user that has the file open as well as the file’s location.

You can easily close the open file by either choosing the file and clicking the Close Selected button, or by clicking Close All.  Note that users will lose any unsaved work if you close their files.