Avoiding file locking issues on Windows
Background
The Windows version of Funnelback can report file locking issues that will typically result in a collection update failure. This has more chance of occurring if you regularly access Funnelback via a remote (or local) server desktop. This article provides some advice on avoiding these issues and determing what process is holding a lock.
Cause
For windows environments, if you have a application with a file open it will be file locked. This can cause problems when trying to run updates or edit files.
Solution
File locking can be caused by a number of things. The following advice will minimise any file locking issues:
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Ensure you close all your explorer windows and other programs that lock items within data/collection/live or offline.
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Ensure that any background programs such as backup software or antivirus scanners either exclude the Funnelback folders (and the collection data folders in particular), or run at times when updates are not running as the bulk of file locking issues occur when the update attempts to swap the live and offline views of a collection. Swap views works by renaming the folder names in Windows and this will fail if anything has a lock within the folder structure (e.g. if you are viewing a log file in a text editor, or have a windows explorer window open).
You can also use a tool such as Process Explorer to check which process has a lock on a particular file handle (the relevant option is in one of the menus).