PROBLEM (medium) - OneCommander Copy/Move Issues

[Paulo Castro Oliveira]

HI

Sometimes when I try to copy/move Folders, within OC, (even local folders and not OneDriver folders), I get an information box with a sentence we all know: 

"The action cannot be completed because the folder or a file it contains is open in another program."

Naturally, I try to check which program might be interacting with the files or folders in the folder I want to copy/move, and sometimes I don't find that conflict.

In these cases, I perform two actions:

• 1) I do a refresh in the OC and, sometimes, I resolve the situation. However, most of the time, this action does not solve the problem!
• 2) When "1)" doesn't solve the problem (which is most of the time), I must close the OC completely (including closing it in the System Tray) and reopen it. Only after this action I can copy/move the folders.

Is there any item/parameter in the settings that could be causing this behavior, or is it some problem intrinsic to the OC?

Thanks

[OneCommander Support]

Likely some thumbnail or preview handler for one of file types that is in that folder is not properly releasing the file lock after generating a thumbnail. Are you using thumbnail view? If preview handler is responsible and you had a file previewed there, it might be already locking the folder. 

[Paulo Castro Oliveira]

HI

The desktop I use, pretty much "all the time" in OC, is usually in "Default" mode (i) in the main display panel.
Only in very exceptional cases do I use the other modes.

However, having the (ii) "Show preview" panel semi-open is normal!

When you refer to, quote, "Likely some thumbnail or preview handler for one of file types..." are you referring to both situations I described above, i.e., (i) and/or (ii)?

Thanks

[OneCommander Support]

Default view doesn't show thumbnails so a 3rd party thumbnail hander wouldn't interfere. 

The only time I remember hearing about this is when user had some "Web Media Extensions" installed and an ogg file in a folder would lock it.

ChatGPT suggests (at moment when you can't delete a file):

Option 1

Process Explorer is a GUI tool from Sysinternals that allows you to search for open file handles.

Steps:

1. Launch Process Explorer as Administrator.

2. Press Ctrl + F or go to Find > Find Handle or DLL.

3. Enter the folder path or partial filename (e.g., C:\Users\You\Pictures).

4. Look at the list of processes that have open handles to files in that folder.

Option 2

Download handle.exe from Sysinternals

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/handle

• Open Command Prompt as Administrator 

• (cd into the folder where you saved handle.exe)

• Run the following command:

  handle "C:\Path\To\Your\Folder"

  Replace with the actual path to your folder. This will list all open handles that reference files or subfolders.

• Look for processes like:

  • dllhost.exe (used by preview handlers)

  • explorer.exe (shell / thumbnail handlers)

  • Third-party viewers/editors

[Paulo Castro Oliveira]

HI

"The default view does not show thumbnails..."
I'm sorry—I know that! I made a mistake when I wrote, "Are you referring to both situations I described above, i.e., (i)..." Obviously, mentioning "(i)" didn't make sense!
I could only refer, at most, about "(ii)"!

Yes, I will use "Process Explorer" and/or "handle.exe" from Mark Russinovich's Sysinternals Suite, now owned by Microsoft.
I've already used these Apps and didn't remember to make it in this situation, which makes perfect sense, as you suggested!

Thank you for your feedback... and your patience!

[Paulo Castro Oliveira]

I forgot a detail that I mentioned in the 1st post!
If the hypothesis is that there is a conflict with a 3rd handler, why does closing and reopening the OC solve the situation?

Thanks

[OneCommander Support]

When a OC asks Windows for a thumbnail or preview of a file, Windows may not generate the thumbnail itself. Instead, it asks a "thumbnail handler", provided by another program (a third-party app) that knows how to read and preview specific file types. 

Windows uses something called in-process COM servers to load these thumbnail handlers. 

"In-process" means: runs in the same memory space as OC. How that handler is a buggy and never releases handle to the file it previewed, so now it is part of OC, and until OC is closed, the handler doesn't unload and doesn't release the file. Sometimes previewing a file from a different folder (one that the same handler can read) will make it release previous handle.

Process Explorer may still say that OC has the handle, but I hope it will point to the handler itself. 

[Paulo Castro Oliveira]

Explanation given!

Thank you for your attention