Running a Windows Server 2008 R2-based file server. The server has several network shares for each department, which we map as network drives during login using VBS according to AD security group membership. Might not be the best solution, but it works.
Our legal team uses their respective network share (in our company known as the I drive) quite extensively. Each client's documents are stored in their own folder ("Smith, John") for example, and each client folder has a standard structure. Again, not the best solution (mostly because sorting thru a massive list of folders in Windows Explorer is time-consuming), but it works.
On a regular schedule, a special department in the legal team goes through the I drive and takes folders for clients whose cases we have closed or cancelled, and moves them to a different place on the I drive. I'm not sure who thought-up this process, but maybe it helps them with keeping the number of folders they have to sort through each day to a minimum.
Personally, I think the whole structure of the share, the process, and Windows Explorer itself is a horribly inefficient combination, but I have yet to come up with anything better.
TL;DR
The problem occurs when this special department goes to move closed/cancelled client folders, and someone else is in the file. The get the Folder In Use error (attached).
As you can hopefully see, the dialog box is rather minimal. It does not say specifically which file inside the folder is locked, or who has it locked. It also does not give any way to notify the user you'd like access to that file (similar to how Office functions).
Because of this, the only recourse, after sending an email to the whole legal team and waiting a few minutes, hoping someone realizes they were in that folder and closes it, or--as a last resort--they contact IT Support for help. We then have to log onto the file server, open Share and Storage Management, click on Manage Open Files, and force kick.
There has to be a a better way!!!
I wish the Folder In Use error would display who has the file/folder locked, and that I could set permissions to allow certain people (namely, this special department) the ability to kick users out of locked files.
I know we're not the only ones using file servers in Server 2008. Does anyone else have suggestions??
Thanks in advance!