Error saving an HTML file in Windows 7 with Notepad++?

Recently, I was editing an HTML file for a little site I put together called school photo frames. I was using Notepad++ and kept receiving an error when trying to save it.

The file was reported as being in use by another program or process. I search all over and found many posts about tweaking folder permissions, messing with DLL settings and running things as administrator.

None of that worked, of course, but what did work was even easier. You see, as I was opening the file via Windows explorer, it was opening up a file preview in the right pane of my window. As long as this preview is shown, the file is locked for editing. If you click off the filename, the preview goes away, and the file is editable again.

Thanks for that fun little curveball, Microsoft.

 

These are the actual errors you get when explorer has a lock on the file

WordPad:
“The document [PATH\FILENAME] is in use by another application and cannot be accessed.”

Notepad++:
“Save failed: Please check whether if this file is opened in another program”

Notepad:
“The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process.”

Microsoft Word:
“This file is read-only. ([PATH\FILENAME])”