Resolving "File Checked Out Or Locked For Editing" Issue In SharePoint

Problem

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

About the Problem

Hello geeks, sometimes it becomes a little tricky to delete a folder in the SharePoint library.

In this particular article, we’re going to see such a scenario in which a user has full rights to the library but is unable to delete the folder in SharePoint 2013 or SharePoint Online.

Or in the modern view, it’s something like.

Let’s start the journey.

In SharePoint, a user having full permission on the library, even if he/she is a site collection admin, is unable to delete items just because that item is checked out by another user. But, what if he is unable to figure out by whom the item is checked out? So, here, we come to the problem with a good solution.

Let’s understand it by a scenario here.

A user created a library named Library1 and created a folder named Folder1.

Now, create a folder in Library1 named Folder1.

Now, the user has created a document in a document library.

Note. The tricky part comes into the picture now. By default, when a user creates a Library, it comes with versioning enabled. Somehow suppose that versioning is not enabled or manually disabled by the user at the time of creation, then the versions of the item will not be captured.

Sometimes, what happens is that when a user creates a document, it directly goes into the checked-out state without having the version enabled in the list. So now, the document is in a checked-out state and doesn’t have a check-in version as the version was not enabled. This is called "Files with no checked-in version".

So, let's dig deeper into the problem and find the solution.

A user uploaded a document in Folder1 (created above).

Now, let's check its version history.

So, we understand that versioning is enabled on the list. Now, the user checked out the document for editing purposes. Another user is still able to see the document in the checked-out state just because it has a version.

Let’s see another aspect of this scenario. Suppose versioning is disabled from the settings page of the list/library.