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I need to fabricate a "file in use" scenario. I am programming exception handling for this particular scenario but I am unable to come up with a way to put a file "in use" so other programs are unable to delete or modify it.

Is there a simple way to do this that I'm overlooking?

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1 Answer

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Try to open that file with Excel application. I do not remember what actions exactly it disallows, but deletion for sure.

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Excel also seems to be particularly aggressive about not allowing other applications to access files it has open. – dsolimano Oct 3 '12 at 1:54
Didn't work unfortunately. – Joe Philllips Oct 3 '12 at 1:56
Then write couple of lines of C/C#/VB code :) – Serge Oct 3 '12 at 2:01
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Actually Excel does the trick! – Joe Philllips Oct 3 '12 at 2:02
@dsolimano repost your advice as answer please – Serge Oct 3 '12 at 2:02
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