The file is currently checked out or locked for editing by another user

2 December, 2008

The file is currently checked out or locked for editing by another user

Filed under: SharePoint — Tags: 0x81020036, Checked out, Folder, Locked, Rename — hristopavlov @ 12:52 am

This is a nasty one. If you try to rename a folder from the SharePoint UI sometimes you may get an error saying “The file is currently checked out or locked for editing by another user”. If you enable the callstack in the Web.config the full stack trace will be something like this:

[COMException (0x81020036): The file is currently checked out or locked for editing by another user.]
   Microsoft.SharePoint.Library.SPRequestInternalClass.AddOrUpdateItem(String bstrUrl, String bstrListName, Boolean bAdd, Boolean bSystemUpdate, Boolean bPreserveItemVersion, Boolean bUpdateNoVersion, Int32& plID, String& pbstrGuid, Guid pbstrNewDocId, Boolean bHasNewDocId, String bstrVersion, Object& pvarAttachmentNames, Object& pvarAttachmentContents, Object& pvarProperties, Boolean bCheckOut, Boolean bCheckin, Boolean bMigration, Boolean bPublish) +0
   Microsoft.SharePoint.Library.SPRequest.AddOrUpdateItem(String bstrUrl, String bstrListName, Boolean bAdd, Boolean bSystemUpdate, Boolean bPreserveItemVersion, Boolean bUpdateNoVersion, Int32& plID, String& pbstrGuid, Guid pbstrNewDocId, Boolean bHasNewDocId, String bstrVersion, Object& pvarAttachmentNames, Object& pvarAttachmentContents, Object& pvarProperties, Boolean bCheckOut, Boolean bCheckin, Boolean bMigration, Boolean bPublish) +411

[SPException: The file is currently checked out or locked for editing by another user.]
   Microsoft.SharePoint.Library.SPRequest.AddOrUpdateItem(String bstrUrl, String bstrListName, Boolean bAdd, Boolean bSystemUpdate, Boolean bPreserveItemVersion, Boolean bUpdateNoVersion, Int32& plID, String& pbstrGuid, Guid pbstrNewDocId, Boolean bHasNewDocId, String bstrVersion, Object& pvarAttachmentNames, Object& pvarAttachmentContents, Object& pvarProperties, Boolean bCheckOut, Boolean bCheckin, Boolean bMigration, Boolean bPublish) +556
   Microsoft.SharePoint.SPListItem.AddOrUpdateItem(Boolean bAdd, Boolean bSystem, Boolean bPreserveItemVersion, Boolean bNoVersion, Boolean bMigration, Boolean bPublish, Boolean bCheckOut, Boolean bCheckin, Guid newGuidOnAdd, Int32& ulID, Object& objAttachmentNames, Object& objAttachmentContents, Boolean suppressAfterEvents) +3032
   Microsoft.SharePoint.SPListItem.UpdateInternal(Boolean bSystem, Boolean bPreserveItemVersion, Guid newGuidOnAdd, Boolean bMigration, Boolean bPublish, Boolean bNoVersion, Boolean bCheckOut, Boolean bCheckin, Boolean suppressAfterEvents) +636
   Microsoft.SharePoint.SPListItem.Update() +194
   Microsoft.SharePoint.WebControls.SaveButton.SaveItem(SPContext itemContext, Boolean uploadMode, String checkInComment) +1806
   Microsoft.SharePoint.WebControls.SaveButton.SaveItem() +111
   Microsoft.SharePoint.WebControls.SaveButton.OnBubbleEvent(Object source, EventArgs e) +476
   System.Web.UI.Control.RaiseBubbleEvent(Object source, EventArgs args) +50
   System.Web.UI.Page.RaisePostBackEvent(IPostBackEventHandler sourceControl, String eventArgument) +32
   System.Web.UI.Page.ProcessRequestMain(Boolean includeStagesBeforeAsyncPoint, Boolean includeStagesAfterAsyncPoint) +3215

It turns out that SharePoint will not allow you to rename a folder if there is a file under it which is currently checked out. The trouble is SharePoint doesn’t tell you which is the file.

To find out which is the file you can use SharePoint Designer to rename the same folder. Then the error message returned by SharePoint Designer will include the file name being checked out and the user it is checked out to.

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Comments (7)

7 Comments »

I think you meant to say:

“It turns out that SharePoint will *not* allow you to rename a folder…”

Comment by Matthew Chestnut — 2 December, 2008 @ 11:38 am

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[...] The file is currently checked out or locked for editing by another user [...]

Pingback by Links (12/4/2008) « Steve Pietrek - Everything SharePoint — 5 December, 2008 @ 1:52 am

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You can also go to “Content and Structure” from the site settings page; navigate to this folder and using the edit menu; select “All Checked out files” (notice the typo ALL?)

Comment by Raj — 19 May, 2009 @ 3:30 pm

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- This problem also comes up when a file is opened in edit mode
  
  Comment by Raj — 20 May, 2009 @ 1:11 pm
  
  Reply
Hi, In our company sharepoint server having lot of folders & files and many users are checked out and forget it. How to find all the checked out files from various folder in simple way in admin level.HOw to list out all the checked files from sharepoint server 2007? Please let me know how to find out the checked out files.I am new to sharepoint server. please explain in detail.

Thanks in Advance.Velmurugan

Comment by Velmurugan — 28 October, 2009 @ 6:40 am

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Velmurugan,

You can see all files checked out in a SharePoint library like this:
Library root > Settings > Document library settings > Permissions and Management > Manage checked out files

Comment by Arjuna Krishna-Das — 20 October, 2010 @ 2:36 pm

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- Hi Arjuna Krishna-Das,
  thanks very much for your hint.
  Despite the fact that my last Link here in SharePoint 2010 is called “Manage files which have no checked in version” , everything was fine.
  I had the error that files wre claimed to be checked out, but they were invisible.
  I found them by your path and a claim to check them out to me (have been checked out to someone else) made them visible.
  And I could Check-in and delete.
  
  by,
  stefan
  
  Comment by Stefan — 6 December, 2011 @ 4:38 pm
  
  Reply