Why does Photoshop NOT release file locks after I close them?

[Rob Ainscough]

This behavior is EXTREMELY annoying and is one of the reasons I use Affinity Photo application instead of Photoshop.  There is absolutely NOT reason to keep a file lock on a file that I have closed from Photoshop.  When I close a file, the file lock should be released, not doing so if violating Microsoft best practices.

Don't even start to suggest this is for "better performance" due to poor coding ethics/techniques.

The ONLY way to release the lock on the file is to exit Photoshop complete and wait about 2-5 minutes for it to release the lock.  This IS NOT acceptable and violates just about every coding best pratices that exists over the past 40 years (I'm a senior software engineer, so I do know coding best practices).

[D Fosse]

Locked how?

I have seen "file is in use by another application" a few times in the past, but what you describe sounds highly abnormal.

[Rob Ainscough]

Locked as in when i try to delete the file in Win11 File Explorer is says "file in use".  The ONLY way to get past this issue is to exit Photoshop, wait 2 minutes or so, then try agian to delete the file.

OR, terminate the following Adobe Tasks and then I can delete the file:

[D Fosse]

OK. I have seen this a very few times in the past, but not recently. Sorry, don't know what the problem is. Sounds like some process takes longer than normal (which I guess you already figured out).

If this is consistent and persistent, maybe the thread should be moved to "Bugs". If others see this I'm sure they will chime in.

[Rob Ainscough]

Very consistent for me.  I'm not a moderator so I'll let them decide where this thread should go.  I have seen other reporting similar issues with Adobe products (not just photoshop) locking files that shouldn't be locked.

the exact error when I try to delete a file I recently closed in Ps:

[RosaPerry]

@Rob Ainscough 

I’ve encountered this issue occasionally as well.

Error message:
“The action can’t be completed because the folder or a file in it is open in another program.”

I find that it typically occurs after saving a file and then attempting to move it to another folder in Windows 10.

Photoshop is not open at the time, so for me, it appears to be related to File Explorer rather than Photoshop itself.

My workaround is to open Task Manager and restart Windows Explorer, which consistently resolves the issue.

[Sameer K]

Hey, @Rob Ainscough. I'll need more info to help you figure this out. Please share the system information from Photoshop Help > System Info> Copy and paste it into a text document, then upload and attach it here. 

Do you know if this happens with the specific documents? Is this image stored on an external drive or in a folder associated with cloud backup services? Working through a network or external drive is unpredictable & is not recommended. Head here to learn more: https://adobe.ly/3A2G2zK

Let me know if this helps. Thanks!
Sameer K
(Type '@' and type my name to mention me when you reply)

[Rob Ainscough]

Sorry for delay, attached system info text provided by Photoshop in attached file.

Rob.

[Rob Ainscough]

That's not the use case with me.  I have to open the file in Photoshop via double click on Win11 File Explorer.  I don't edit or change or save the file in Photoshop, I just close the file tab in Photoshop and then within 10-15 seconds I try to delete the file using Win11 File Explorer ... I will sometimes get the file in use message.

If I leave Photoshop open even with NO files open (no tabs), I will never be able to delete the file from Win11 File Explorer.  I MUST close Photoshop and then wait 2-5 minutes before I can delete the file.

[Rob Ainscough]

@Sameer K I will upload my system info tonight (in the office right now so not an option).

This issue happens with .jpg, .png, .bmp files so far ... oddly not with .psd files yet?

This issue happens on both my NAS (LAN) and my Local Storage (NVMe M.2 Samsung 9100).

I don't have any active Backup services (no iCloud, no OneDrive, nothing - made sure they are disabled).

FYI on my background, I'm a software engineer (40+ years) by profession so I'm very technically aware of my OS and software engineering for Windows Desktop as well as web applications on IIS.

My "work-around" is to terminate those two Adobe background tasks, after which I can then delete the files.

This is on my home development PC (latest Win11, AMD 9975WX, 256GB ECC RAM, 2X 4TB Samsung 9100, 2X nVidia 5090 GPUs ... very recent fresh OS install along with Adobe suite and other development applications like Visual Studio 2022 and 2026 preview.

EDIT: to be clear, the process to replicate:

1.  Open Win11 File Explorer

2.  Double Click on either a JPG, BMP, PNG (which file types have been auto associated to Photoshop)

3.  Once Ps opens the file and displays in it's tab, do nothing (no edits), close the tab in Ps

4.  In Win11 File Explorer, right click on the file and select "Delete"

5.  The file in use error will appear

Additional Information:

If I perform the same actions as above on the same file types but using MS Paint or MS Photo, I do NOT have any issues with deleting the file.

[Rob Ainscough]

UPDATE:

I installed Wireshark to see if I could determine if there is anything locking the file and transmitting it somewhere.  I'll post my results later but the IPs change frequently but I managed to track one of them to what I believe is a server owned by Adobe.

Is there something more I need to know?  I don't understand why Ps would be communicating with Adobe server and locking my file after I close the file tab in Ps?  

Can someone help me understand what is going on here?