{"id":80655,"date":"2026-04-07T23:17:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T17:47:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/?p=80655"},"modified":"2026-04-07T23:18:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T17:48:25","slug":"legacy-office-documents-file-in-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/legacy-office-documents-file-in-use\/","title":{"rendered":"“File In Use” Error When Opening Legacy Office Documents"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you open legacy Office documents (97-2003), Office applications may display the “File In Use” error and suggest opening the document in Read-Only mode. This may happen in every Office application\u2014Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.<\/p>\n

\"legacy<\/p>\n

The dialog would say “file is locked for editing by ‘another user'”<\/strong>, suggesting that you select\u00a0“Open Read-Only Copy,” “Create Local Copy, Merge Changes Later,” or “Receive Notification When Original Copy Is Available.”<\/p>\n

However, clicking these options still fails to open the file; a dialog box displays an error message stating that Word encountered an error while attempting to open the file, advising users to check file permissions on the document or drive, ensure sufficient memory and disk space, or try opening the file using the Text Recovery Converter.<\/p>\n

\"legacy<\/p>\n

Also, you may be unable to create or overwrite an existing legacy Office document. The following error may occur when creating the file:<\/p>\n

Word cannot complete the save due to a file permission error.<\/pre>\n
\"legacy<\/p>\n
Do you want to try saving again?<\/pre>\n
\"legacy<\/p>\n
The file may get saved in the newer Office format (.docx, .pptx, .xlsx, etc).<\/p>\n
However, the same error may occur even if you try to create a file in a different location or on a different drive.<\/p>\n
Workaround:<\/strong> Right-click the\u00a0Office application and select\u00a0Run as administrator<\/strong> to open it. Once done, you should be able to open legacy Office files using the File \u2192 Open dialog, or create a new legacy Office document.<\/div>\n
You may not encounter this issue if you create or modify newer Office file formats, such as .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx.<\/p>\n
Resolution<\/h2>\n
If you can’t open legacy Office documents without running the corresponding Office app (e.g., Winword.exe) as administrator, the %TEMP%<\/strong> folder permissions may be incorrect.<\/p>\n
Please open Command Prompt (admin)<\/a> and run the following commands to resolve the issue:<\/p>\n
takeown \/f \"%temp%\"\r\n\r\nicacls \"%temp%\" \/reset\r\n\r\nicacls \"%temp%\" \/inheritance:r\r\n\r\nicacls \"%temp%\" \/grant *S-1-5-32-544:(OI)(CI)(F)\r\n\r\nicacls \"%temp%\" \/grant *S-1-5-18:(OI)(CI)(F)\r\n\r\nicacls \"%temp%\" \/grant \"%username%\":(OI)(CI)(F)\r\n\r\nmd \"%temp%\\Low\"\r\n\r\nicacls \"%temp%\\Low\" \/setintegritylevel (OI)(CI)low\r\n<\/pre>\n
\"fix<\/p>\n
[Ensure that you run those commands in a Command Prompt<\/strong> window (cmd.exe<\/strong>) rather than in PowerShell.]<\/em><\/p>\n
That’s it. The above commands should allow you to open legacy Office files (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx, etc) or modify existing files without having to run the Office app in elevated mode.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When you open legacy Office documents (97-2003), Office applications may display the “File In Use” error and suggest opening the document in Read-Only mode. This may happen in every Office application\u2014Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[5,8,869],"tags":[191,345],"class_list":["post-80655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-office","category-windows-10","category-windows-11","tag-error-messages","tag-office"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9771,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/word-could-not-create-the-work-file-temp-folder-outlook\/","url_meta":{"origin":80655,"position":0},"title":"Fix: Word could not create the work file when Opening Word Documents","author":"Ramesh","date":"June 14, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"When you try to open or save a document in Microsoft Word, you receive the following error message: Word could not create the work file. Check the Temp environment variable. The error message can also appear when you preview a .docx or .xlsx file using the File Explorer preview pane.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows"","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"office 365 check bitness and version","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/office-365-bitness-check.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/office-365-bitness-check.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/office-365-bitness-check.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10171,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/word-not-your-default-program-for-viewing-editing-documents\/","url_meta":{"origin":80655,"position":1},"title":"[Fix] Word isn’t your default program for viewing and editing documents","author":"Ramesh","date":"July 4, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Whenever you start Microsoft Office Word, you may see the message asking Microsoft Word isn't your default program for viewing and editing documents. Do you want to select the file types that Word should open? This message may appear even if Word is currently the default program for viewing and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Office"","block_context":{"text":"Office","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/office\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"word not the default editor message startup","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/office-word-not-default-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/office-word-not-default-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/office-word-not-default-2.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10006,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/word-excel-missing-desktop-new-menu-office\/","url_meta":{"origin":80655,"position":2},"title":"Desktop New Menu Missing Word Document or Excel Worksheet","author":"Ramesh","date":"June 27, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The New menu that appears when you right-click on your Desktop has options or templates to create documents of a particular type quickly. For example, after you install Microsoft Office, the New menu shows Microsoft Word Document, Microsoft Excel Worksheet, Microsoft Access Database, and entries for other Office products installed\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Office"","block_context":{"text":"Office","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/office\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Microsoft Office featured image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ms-office-featured.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ms-office-featured.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ms-office-featured.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/ms-office-featured.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5845,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/error-0xc000012f-bad-image-fix-corrupt-files\/","url_meta":{"origin":80655,"position":3},"title":"Error 0xc000012f “Bad Image” When Running a Program","author":"Ramesh","date":"November 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"When you run a program in Windows, error 0xc000012f may pop up, mentioning that the binary you're trying to run is corrupted. Here are some examples, with the full error message verbatim:  is either not designed to run on Windows or it contains an error. Try installing the program\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Windows"","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"winword.exe bad image error gfx.dll","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/winword-bad-image-error.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":25600,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/outlook-cant-preview-pdf-attachments\/","url_meta":{"origin":80655,"position":4},"title":"[Fix] Microsoft Outlook Cannot Preview PDF Attachments","author":"Ramesh","date":"January 8, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Microsoft Outlook has attachment preview support wherein you can preview the file attachments without having to open the respective program. For this, Outlook utilizes the existing preview handler modules added by individual programs. This article describes the various type of PDF attachment preview issues that users face in Microsoft Outlook\/Outlook\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Office"","block_context":{"text":"Office","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/office\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"outlook pdf preview not working - preview handlers","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/outlook-pdf-preview-error-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/outlook-pdf-preview-error-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/outlook-pdf-preview-error-2.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/outlook-pdf-preview-error-2.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":77899,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/appvisvsubsystems64-0xc000012f-office\/","url_meta":{"origin":80655,"position":5},"title":"0xc000012f – AppvIsvSubsystems64.dll Error Launching Office apps","author":"Ramesh","date":"February 15, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"When you launch Office apps such as Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, the \"Bad Image\" error appears with the error code 0xc000012f. Here's the full error message. WINWORD.EXE - Bad Image C:\\Program Files\\Microsoft Office\\root\\Office16\\AppVIsvSubsystems64.dll is either not designed to run on Windows or it contains an error. Try installing the program\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Office"","block_context":{"text":"Office","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/office\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"office online repair","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/office-365-repair.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/office-365-repair.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/office-365-repair.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/office-365-repair.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80655","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80655"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80655\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80655"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80655"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80655"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}