#188 Error when encountering an open file

[Anonymous]

Using 7zip 2.13 command-line version under Windows
XP, if 7zip encounters a file already open by another
user it stops with the message:

"System error:
The process cannot access the file because it is being
used by another process."

I'm guessing that this error is related to 7zip as I've not
seen it before with other apps. As we have a multi-user
environment it is likely that some files will be open
whenever we run the archiving process.

WinZip handles this eventuality OK. Does 7zip need
something more than read access to the files it is
compressing?

[Igor Pavlov]

Logged In: YES
user_id=65083

7-zip requires that other applications haven't open that file
with write rights, since they can change file during
compressing, so file will be incorrect.

[Biju G. C.]

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user_id=645209

I that case why not 7-Zip take a copy of that file first and
zip the copy.

[Igor Pavlov]

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user_id=65083

probably you can't get "safe" copy.

[Keith Gossage]

Logged In: YES
user_id=815398

At minimum skip the file if you can't get control of it,
just don't crap out of the compress process... Some type of
error report on skipped files would help, but provide a way
to turn that off if someone wants to run automated batch
compresses.

[David Biesack]

Logged In: YES
user_id=238524

I too would like an option to skip files that are open
(logging them is OK). I'd like to use 7-zip for an automated
backup process; I can't close all applications before doing
the backup. I'd rather see 99.9% of my files archived than
none of them.

[thor heyerdahl]

Still valid with 9.13 beta, and not only command line, also with GUI. Try for example compressing mailbox files when Thunderbird is open. The mail file goes OK, but the msf file triggers an error and doesn't get compressed. While I understand the reasoning that an open file can be changed, other packers (tugzip, winzip etc) just pack those open files, and that is in my world preferrable. It should at least be an option "pack open files".

[Churro]

the "robocopy" utility of Windows Vista and later OS's has the ability to copy open files. A workaround is to copy the locked files to a temporary directory with robocopy, then run 7-zip on those files.