HELP : Excel document crashed while opening it from NAS with READ ONLY msg

The in use by another person message can happen for many reasons, some of the most common are:

• File is actually open by someone else
• The temp file created when opening the file didnt get deleted properly
• Despite closing the file/Excel, Excel visibly closed but is actually still running
• The network device has locked the file for some process (backup, virus scan, error checking, etc)
• If using software to sync the file between devices, it may have gotten stuck uploading/downloading the file
• The file is corrupt (unlikely with just this happening)

The first thing to do is check on each client machine that Excel really is closed. First save and close any other work in Excel on each machine. Make sure there are no other Excel files open. Open task manager and look under processes for Excel.exe. If there, end task on it. if not, thats a good thing.

I would then check for the temp files created when opening a file. To do this, you must be able to see hidden files/folders. In Windows 10 this is a check box on the View tab in File Explorer. Excel temp files start with a "~" (no quotes) and generally have truncated names down to about 7 characters + 1 character for the ~. The temp file should be in the same folder as the original file. If you do not see it in this location from Windows, you may need to check from the NAS, which I dont know my way around so cant tell you how to look for the file and delete it. If you find it on Windows, you may actually be able to open it (useful if it crashed long after your last save) in which case you may be able to save it (maybe not over the original but with a slightly different file name). If this isnt required just delete it. If you do open it and do save it, after closing Excel ensure it went away, otherwise delete it manually.

If no temp file, check on your NAS to see if there is any lock on the file. Again, not knowing my way around your NAS OS, couldnt begin to tell you how. If you arent too savy on the NAS, you may consider just rebooting it (at your own risk!).

If you use software to sync, check each client and make sure the file isnt stuck in an upload/download cache. If so clear the cache.

Try making a copy of the file, with a different name and opening it. If it still doesnt open may be corrupt (maybe with a different error). You can also try copying the file to a local place on your computer then opening it. If it opens from a copy, keep the copy and you may try further troubleshooting the original. If you do not use any kind of revisions/file history you may consider deleting the original and replacing with the working copy.

Good luck