Calc file locked

[grahamphillips]

My computer recently crashed, and I got this message when trying to open an important file

Document file 'xxxxxxx.ods' is locked for editing by

Unknown user

Open document read only or open a copy of the file for edit editing

When I try either option I have a blank spreadsheet before me

Have I lost the file?

Title Edited. A descriptive title for posts helps others who are searching for solutions and increases the chances of a reply (Acknak, Moderator).

[grahamphillips]

I tried a system restore hoping that will fix the issue, unfortunately not

[Villeroy]

Close the office suite.
Go to the folder where the document is stored.
Enable the display of hidden files and file name extensions.
Find the lock file of the document file and delete it. It may be named like .~lock.xxxxxxxx.ods#

[grahamphillips]

Thanks for your response.

Ok I found that file, but it only appears when I try and open the Calc file, it appears feint, then I try and delete it and reopen the calc file and it reappears

[grahamphillips]

Also, when I try and open my file I get a "text import" screen with lots of different option

[RoryOF]

The ASCII filter window is bad news. Very probably your file is corrupt; the fact that you have an ASCII filter window and symptoms of a lock file suggests that you either had a system or program crash, or an over hasty closedown of the computer.

[grahamphillips]

Yes, the plug came out. So no way to retrieve the file then?

[grahamphillips]

Ok I have seen from other posts now that I have no chance

I will remove Openoffice from my computer, not the first time it has caused me problems

Thanks for your help

[RoryOF]

Try renaming the file to .zip and opening with an archive utility such as WinZip. If it opens then you may find your unformatted data in contents.xml.

Otherwise look in the temporary and backup directories pointed to by OpenOffice (/Tools /Options /OpenOffice /Paths will tell you where these directories are) If there are files of type .bak or in the temporary directory with arbitrary names like adfgh.ghj, rename these to .ods or the type used by your lost document and see if they contain any relevant data.

Probably not any way to retrieve the file you have on computer, but worth running PhotoRec or Recuva to see if they can find a deleted or intermediate work file.