This action cannot be completed because the file is open in another application - Adobe PDF

Question

I have about 190 Adobe PDF files that contain Cisco CCNA Labs. I have the files in a folder on my desktop called "CCNA Labs". For some reason, I can rename the files without any issues, but as soon as I try to delete any of the files in this directory I get the following error in Windows Explorer

The thing is, I do not have any of these files open in Adobe Acrobat. Acrobat is closed, and the executable is not running when I look at my process viewer. I have checked the permissions on the folder containing the PDF Documents

Anyone have any idea why I keep getting this error in Windows 10 when I try to delete these PDF documents that I can rename but not delete due to the "file is open in another program" error?

Answer 1

It turns out that I could not delete the PDFs because they were open - in the file preview window in Windows Explorer! Turn off file previews in Windows Explorer if you run into this issue with PDFs that you cannot delete.

Answer 2

To find and close the process that has the file open, do this:

1. Open resource monitor (Windows +R to open Run then type Resmon.exe)
2. Open the CPU tab in the monitor
3. Select all processes (not sure if this is needed, you can probably just search for the handle)
4. Expand "associated handles"
5. Search for the file you need
6. Close the process that has the handle

Answer stolen from here https://www.reddit.com/r/AdviceAnimals/comments/2dvbva/the_action_cant_be_completed_because_the_folder/cjtmywc

Answer 3

I'm no expert, but I have found that the message occurs when I have a mapped folder where the file or folder that I wanted to rename was within the mapped one. I disconnected the mapped folder and was able to rename, delete or move the files normally, then I remapped the same folder. It worked!