There are times when a file is open on a windows server and you need view what user or process has it open. These open files can be locked and prevent users from editing, cause errors when upgrading software, hold up a reboot and so on.
In this article, I will show you how to quickly view open files on windows server and workstations.
Both methods use built in Windows tools and works on most Windows versions (I've tested this on Server 2008, 2012, 2016 and Windows 10).
Video Tutorial
To open any file from the command line with the default application, just type open followed by the filename/path. Browser-based frontend to gdb (gnu debugger). Add breakpoints, view the stack, visualize data structures, and more in C, C, Go, Rust, and Fortran. Run gdbgui from the terminal and a new tab will open in your browser. The command is 'cd '. Cd means change directory and in place of give the path of directory containing the file. For example cd test 2. After having changed to the directory you can use command 'ls' to list all files in that directory. You can open a file by command 'vi '. Vi opens the vi editor of linux which opens the file in terminal. Windows Terminal is a modern terminal application for users of command-line tools and shells like Command Prompt, PowerShell, and Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). Its main features include multiple tabs, panes, Unicode and UTF-8 character support, a GPU accelerated text rendering engine, and the ability to create your own themes and customize. Open Files from a Dock Icon. If you click and hold an app icon in your Mac's Dock, you'll see that, if it can open files, there's a menu showing recent items. Select a file to open it with that app. As above, this menu only contains a limited number of files. Open Files from the Recent Items Menu.
If you don't like videos or want more details then continue reading.
Recommended Tool: SolarWinds Permissions Analyzer
Now you can quickly see WHO has permission to WHAT and answer the questions that suck up your time and patience.
SolarWinds FREE Permission Analyzer will determine a user's effective NTFS permissions for a specific file, folder or network share access. The results are displayed in a nifty desktop dashboard.
Method 1: Use Computer Management to view shared files/folder
This first method is used to view open files on a shared folder. This is the best way to troubleshoot locked files that users have left open. If you need to see what process has a file open then check out method 2.
Step 1: Right Click the start menu and select Computer Management
Another way to access computer management is to type in compmgmt.msc into the start menu search box.
You will need to open up this console on the computer or server that has the shared folder. For example, I have a server called file1 with a shared folder named HR. To see the open files on this share I will need to open up the computer management console from the file1 server.
Step 2: Click on Shared Folders, then click on open files
I can now see that the user rallen has the HR folder and the file adpro.txt open.
If I needed to I can right click the file and select 'Close Open File'. This is something that needs to be done when a file is locked.
That's it for method 1.
If you need to check who has permissions to a file or folder then check out my guide How to view NTFS effective permissions.
Methods 2: See process and file details with Resource Monitor
Step 1: Type Resource monitor into the start menu search box
This is the quickest way to access the Resource Monitor. Fl studio 12 official.
Another option is to open up the task manager, click the performance tab and then click Open Resource Monitor.
Step 2: Click on the disk tab in resource monitor
Now that I have the resource monitor open I just need to click on the disk tab.
Open File From Terminal Linux
Now I can see all kinds of details about the disk activity such as files open, PID, read and write bytes per second and more.
You can move the columns around so you can see the full file path.
If have a lot of disk activity you go stop the live monitoring so you can view the open file activity.
To stop the live monitoring go to monitor, then select stop monitoring.
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Recommended Tool: SolarWinds Server & Application Monitor
This utility was designed to Monitor Active Directory and other critical services like DNS & DHCP. It will quickly spot domain controller issues, prevent replication failures, track failed logon attempts and much more.
What I like best about SAM is it's easy to use dashboard and alerting features. It also has the ability to monitor virtual machines and storage.
-->Enables an administrator to query, display, or disconnect files and directories that have been opened on a system. This command also enables or disables the system Maintain Objects List global flag.
openfiles /disconnect
Enables an administrator to disconnect files and folders that have been opened remotely through a shared folder.
Syntax
Parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
/s | Specifies the remote system to connect to (by name or IP address). Don't use backslashes. If you don't use the /s option, the command is run on the local computer by default. This parameter applies to all files and folders that are specified in the command. |
/u [] | Runs the command using the permissions of the specified user account. If you don't use the /u option, system permissions are used by default. |
/p [] | Specifies the password of the user account that is specified in the /u option. If you don't use the /p option, a password prompt appears when the command is run. |
/id | Disconnects open files by the specified file ID. You can use the wildcard character (*) with this parameter. Note: You can use the openfiles /query command to find the file ID. |
/a | Disconnects all open files associated with the user name specified in the accessedby parameter. You can use the wildcard character (*) with this parameter. |
/o {read | write | read/write} | Disconnects all open files with the specified open mode value. Valid values are Read, Write, or Read/Write. You can use the wildcard character (*) with this parameter. |
/op | Disconnects all open file connections that are created by a specific open file name. You can use the wildcard character (*) with this parameter. |
| /? | Displays help at the command prompt. |
Examples
To disconnect all open files with the file ID 26843578, type: What version of android is bluestacks 4.
To disconnect all open files and directories accessed by the user hiropln, type:
To disconnect all open files and directories with read/write mode, type:
To disconnect the directory with the open file name *C:testshare*, regardless of who is accessing it, type:
To disconnect all open files on the remote computer srvmain that are being accessed by the user hiropln, regardless of their ID, type:
openfiles /query
Queries and displays all open files.
Syntax
Parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
/s | Specifies the remote system to connect to (by name or IP address). Don't use backslashes. If you don't use the /s option, the command is run on the local computer by default. This parameter applies to all files and folders that are specified in the command. |
/u [] | Runs the command using the permissions of the specified user account. If you don't use the /u option, system permissions are used by default. |
/p [] | Specifies the password of the user account that is specified in the /u option. If you don't use the /p option, a password prompt appears when the command is run. |
[/fo {TABLE | LIST | CSV}] | Displays the output in the specified format. Valid values include:
|
| /nh | Suppresses column headers in the output. Valid only when the /fo parameter is set to TABLE or CSV. |
| /v | Specifies that detailed (verbose) information be displayed in the output. |
| /? | Displays help at the command prompt. |
Examples
To query and display all open files, type:
To query and display all open files in table format without headers, type:
To query and display all open files in list format with detailed information, type:
To query and display all open files on the remote system srvmain by using the credentials for the user hiropln on the maindom domain, type:
Note
In this example, the password is supplied on the command line. File transfer from computer to android phone. To prevent displaying the password, leave out the /p option. You'll be prompted for the password, which won't be echoed to the screen.
This utility was designed to Monitor Active Directory and other critical services like DNS & DHCP. It will quickly spot domain controller issues, prevent replication failures, track failed logon attempts and much more.
What I like best about SAM is it's easy to use dashboard and alerting features. It also has the ability to monitor virtual machines and storage.
-->Enables an administrator to query, display, or disconnect files and directories that have been opened on a system. This command also enables or disables the system Maintain Objects List global flag.
openfiles /disconnect
Enables an administrator to disconnect files and folders that have been opened remotely through a shared folder.
Syntax
Parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
/s | Specifies the remote system to connect to (by name or IP address). Don't use backslashes. If you don't use the /s option, the command is run on the local computer by default. This parameter applies to all files and folders that are specified in the command. |
/u [] | Runs the command using the permissions of the specified user account. If you don't use the /u option, system permissions are used by default. |
/p [] | Specifies the password of the user account that is specified in the /u option. If you don't use the /p option, a password prompt appears when the command is run. |
/id | Disconnects open files by the specified file ID. You can use the wildcard character (*) with this parameter. Note: You can use the openfiles /query command to find the file ID. |
/a | Disconnects all open files associated with the user name specified in the accessedby parameter. You can use the wildcard character (*) with this parameter. |
/o {read | write | read/write} | Disconnects all open files with the specified open mode value. Valid values are Read, Write, or Read/Write. You can use the wildcard character (*) with this parameter. |
/op | Disconnects all open file connections that are created by a specific open file name. You can use the wildcard character (*) with this parameter. |
| /? | Displays help at the command prompt. |
Examples
To disconnect all open files with the file ID 26843578, type: What version of android is bluestacks 4.
To disconnect all open files and directories accessed by the user hiropln, type:
To disconnect all open files and directories with read/write mode, type:
To disconnect the directory with the open file name *C:testshare*, regardless of who is accessing it, type:
To disconnect all open files on the remote computer srvmain that are being accessed by the user hiropln, regardless of their ID, type:
openfiles /query
Queries and displays all open files.
Syntax
Parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
/s | Specifies the remote system to connect to (by name or IP address). Don't use backslashes. If you don't use the /s option, the command is run on the local computer by default. This parameter applies to all files and folders that are specified in the command. |
/u [] | Runs the command using the permissions of the specified user account. If you don't use the /u option, system permissions are used by default. |
/p [] | Specifies the password of the user account that is specified in the /u option. If you don't use the /p option, a password prompt appears when the command is run. |
[/fo {TABLE | LIST | CSV}] | Displays the output in the specified format. Valid values include:
|
| /nh | Suppresses column headers in the output. Valid only when the /fo parameter is set to TABLE or CSV. |
| /v | Specifies that detailed (verbose) information be displayed in the output. |
| /? | Displays help at the command prompt. |
Examples
To query and display all open files, type:
To query and display all open files in table format without headers, type:
To query and display all open files in list format with detailed information, type:
To query and display all open files on the remote system srvmain by using the credentials for the user hiropln on the maindom domain, type:
Note
In this example, the password is supplied on the command line. File transfer from computer to android phone. To prevent displaying the password, leave out the /p option. You'll be prompted for the password, which won't be echoed to the screen.
openfiles /local
Open Folder In Terminal Mac
Enables or disables the system Maintain Objects List global flag. If used without parameters, openfiles /local displays the current status of the Maintain Objects List global flag.
Note
Changes made by using the on or off option don't take effect until you restart the system. Enabling the Maintain Objects List global flag might slow down your system.
Syntax
Parameters
| Parameter | Description |
|---|---|
[on | off] | Enables or disables the system Maintain Objects List global flag, which tracks local file handles. |
| /? | Displays help at the command prompt. |
How To Edit A File In Linux
Examples
To check the current status of the Maintain Objects List global flag, type:
Open File Ubuntu Terminal
By default, the Maintain Objects List global flag is disabled, and the following message appears, INFO: The system global flag 'maintain objects list' is currently disabled.
To enable the Maintain Objects List global flag, type:
The following message appears when the global flag is enabled, SUCCESS: The system global flag 'maintain objects list' is enabled. This will take effect after the system is restarted.
Open Files From Terminal
To disable the Maintain Objects List global flag, type:
Additional References
