Microsoft KB Archive/298017

= You receive a &quot;Cannot delete &quot; error message when you try to delete a file in the Open dialog box or in the Save As dialog box in Office =

Article ID: 298017

Article Last Modified on 1/30/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Office Word 2003
 * Microsoft Word 2002 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Office Excel 2003
 * Microsoft Excel 2002 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
 * Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Office Word 2007
 * Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007
 * Microsoft Office Excel 2007

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This article was previously published under Q298017





For a Microsoft Office 2000 version of this article, see 224124.



SYMPTOMS
When you try to delete a file in the Open dialog box or in the Save As dialog box in one of the Microsoft Office programs listed in the &quot;Applies to&quot; section, you receive the following error message.

Microsoft Windows 98
Cannot delete ' '.&quot; Access is denied.

Make sure the disk is not full or write-protected and that the file is not currently in use.

Microsoft Windows NT and Microsoft Windows 2000
Cannot delete ' '. There has been a sharing violation.

The source or destination file may be in use.

Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me)
Cannot delete. Access is denied. The source file may be in use.

Microsoft Windows XP
Cannot delete. This file is in use by the following program: Microsoft Excel. You must close the file before proceeding.



CAUSE
This error message may occur if the following conditions are true:
 * The file is open.
 * You do not have delete permissions.

For the resolution that applies to your situation, see the &quot;Resolution&quot; section.



The file is open
If another user has the file open, or if you have the file open in another session of Excel, PowerPoint, or Word on the same computer, close the file before you try to delete it. When one of these programs opens a file, the file is locked and can only be opened again as read-only. The file cannot be deleted while it is locked.

You do not have delete permissions
If you open a file that is stored on another computer, verify that you have sufficient permissions to the folder or file. To delete a file, you must have either Full permissions or the following base permissions for the file or folder on the computer that is hosting the file:   Operating      Windows NT     Windows NT    Windows 98 system        Windows 2000   Windows 2000  Windows Me                   Windows XP                  (NTFS)         (FAT)         (FAT) --     File:          RWXD           N/A           N/A Folder:       RWXD           Change        DF                   R = Read W = Write X = Execute D = Delete F = List Files N/A = Not Available Note When you use other network operating systems, such as Novell Netware, the requirements are similar to Microsoft Windows NT and Windows 2000 (NTFS file system) requirements.

Additional query words: 6160719 OFFXP OFF2003 OFF2007

Keywords: kbsecurity kbpermissions kberrmsg kbprb kbui KB298017

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