How can I check over the network whether a Word file is open?

If IM won't work, can they use the telephone? I find a lot of people these days will try to design complicated systems, or engage in massive email exchanges, to solve problems that could be solved with a simple phone call. I've even reached the point of designing an email template that says, in effect, "We need to talk about this. When is a good time for me to call?" Synchronous communication has its advantages, and even the least tech-savvy employee should be able to use a phone (and voicemail, if necessary).

The incentive for them to get this feature is *not to copy the file*. It's that simple. If they want to know when someone else is using a file, they open the file where it is, not start copying it around all over the place.

If the file is on a network drive and they both access it from the same location then Word should warn them that someone has it open & ask to open it in Read Only mode or Notify them when it's available for editing. This only works though if they can both access the same network drive (possible using Windows file sharing - one person shares a folder and the other person accesses that folder. Otherwise, Google Docs is a good alternative - they can both access it & edit simultaneously and the changes are seen instantly by the other person and the top right corner has an indicator as to who the other viewers/editors are.

The fact that they are not the same file, but instead copies, when being worked on does make it more difficult. Why is he copying it locally before working on it, instead of working on it where it is stored? If this has to be done this way, my suggestion is to never copy over the master file unless the changes are agreed upon. instead have 3 files, 1 master, 1 for him, and 1 for her. Another option, if they can be convinced to not copy it locally, would be to http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/48829-offline-files-enable-disable-use.html windows http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307853. This would allow them to work on the same file even when not physically connected to the network (eg. if they do this because they carry laptops)...when returning there will be some logic involved before the file is updated on the server (eg. changes were detected, confirmation prompts, etc).

Tell A to right click in the folder, and navigate to the "Create New Text Document" context item. Tell A to delete the file after she closes it. If B sees "New Text Document.txt" next to the Word document then A has it open.

Telephone.

I wrote a short script to check for the existence of a file and pop up a dialog box. The source is http://pastebin.com/6hLcG51N. Copy and paste the code in to notepad, change the filename on line 4 to the file you want to test and save it with the extension .vbs When they run the script (by double clicking) it will check if the file exists. Or you could change the folder view settings so hidden files are visible and they can just look to see if the ~ file is there.

Thanks, but we've noticed that for some reasons Word doesn't always warn. Remember, he's not opening the file on her PC, he's copying it to his. Also, it has to be word, there's complex macros and stuff that can't be moved to Google docs.

With the following assumptions: 1. A is storing the local copy of the file on the desktop 2. B has admin rights on A's PC Have B go to this location in Windows explorer (\\pcA\c$\documents and settings\userA\desktop (XP) or \\pcA\c$\users\userA\desktop (Vista/7)). Find the file in question & try opening it. Similar to the first response above, if A is working on the local copy, then B would get the read-only or notify choice when opening the file.