The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process: 'filename.txt'

Question

**I'm trying to delete a file in python but it keeps displaying this error when use os.remove() in an elif statement: The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process: 'filename.txt'

#1
import os
fileName = open("filename.txt", "r")

#print(fileName.name)

fileName.close()
userFileName = input("Please enter your file name: ")
newFileName = open(str(userFileName+".txt"), "a")


#print(newFileName.name)
#2

if newFileName.name != fileName.name:
    FileWrite = input("Please enter the text you want to write to the file: ")
    newFileName.write(FileWrite)
    newFileName.close()
    #os.remove("filename.txt")  {This works}
else: 
     #{Not working}
    appendFile = input("Do you want to Read, Delete or Append file: ")
    if appendFile == "Read":
        fileName = open("filename.txt", "r")
        file_contents = fileName.read()
        print(file_contents)

    elif appendFile == "Delete":
        fileName.close()
        os.remove("filename.txt")

This is because another program has the file open. If you close the other program, then it should work. — Jack Taylor, Mar 05 '20 at 13:16
Some helpful comments on your code: you can use snake case for variables, fix indents, and try using `with` to open files. — simonzack, Mar 05 '20 at 13:18
Note that this behavior is very much a Windows-ism; UNIXy platforms let multiple programs have the same file open for write (without needing to jump through hoops). — Charles Duffy, Mar 05 '20 at 13:31

The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process: 'filename.txt'

0 Answers0