The Canopy Virtual Drive lets you open files stored in your Canopy account through File Explorer, pulling each file from Canopy's servers when you open it. This article covers the five most common reasons a file fails to open, ordered from most to least common.
Before you start:
Confirm you're using the Canopy Virtual Drive and not the Canopy Desktop Assistant — the steps below don't apply to the Desktop Assistant. If you're editing a document, use the Desktop Assistant instead.
You may be seeing one of these errors:
Adobe: "There was an error opening this document. The request was aborted."
Excel: "[filename].xlsx is locked for editing by 'another user'" — often with options to open read-only or be notified when it's free.
"[filename] is locked for editing by 'User Name'" — the same dialog showing a specific person on a shared or synced file.
"This file is already open. Reopening will cause any changes you made to be discarded."
"The file is in use by another application or user."
A Document Recovery pane appearing on next launch, listing an "unsaved" version — this happens when Office thinks the file was closed ungracefully.
When a file won't open, it interrupts your work and leaves you unsure whether the file itself is damaged. Working through these causes in order resolves the issue quickly in most cases and confirms whether the problem is the connection to Canopy, the installation, or the file itself.
Table of Contents
Check for syncing issues
The most common cause is a syncing issue with the client folder or file, usually related to permissions, client naming conventions, or how files are organized in Canopy.
Check whether the file or folder appears greyed out, missing, or unfinished syncing.
If so, wait a few minutes and try opening the file again before moving on.
For a full breakdown of causes and fixes, see How can I resolve syncing and visibility issues for new client folders in Canopy Virtual Drive?
Reinstall the Canopy Virtual Drive
Skip this section if the file opened after syncing finished. If syncing wasn't the issue, your Virtual Drive installation may be damaged or out of date, and reinstalling resolves this in most cases.
Close the Canopy Virtual Drive completely, including any related background processes.
Open the Control Panel and select Programs and Features.
Select Canopy Virtual Drive from the list and click Uninstall.
In Canopy (app.canopytax.com), go to Settings > Integrations and select Download to get the latest installer.
Install the Canopy Virtual Drive and reboot your machine.
Try opening the document again.
Check your firewall or antivirus
Skip this section if the file opens on a different network or machine without issue. Firewall or antivirus software can block the Virtual Drive from pulling a file down from Canopy's servers, which looks like a bad or corrupt file even though the copy in Canopy is fine.
Confirm the Canopy Virtual Drive is allowed through your firewall.
Confirm your antivirus isn't quarantining or blocking Canopy files or processes.
If you're on a company network, confirm with your IT professional that Canopy isn't blocked at the network level.
SSL inspection and real-time antivirus scanning are common culprits, since both can interrupt the file download mid-transfer.
These changes may require additional permissions. If you can't complete these steps, contact your IT professional.
Close the file if it's open elsewhere
Skip this section if you're sure the file isn't open anywhere else. If a file is already open — in another Office or Adobe application, a second Canopy session, or by another user on a shared file — it can prevent the file from opening through the Virtual Drive.
Signs the file is open somewhere:
A "This file can't be previewed because it is in use" error, which usually points to the File Explorer Preview Pane.
A second file with the same name prefixed with a tilde (for example, ~2025 Financial Report), which means the original is open somewhere.
To close the file and try again:
Check your taskbar and Task Manager for any open instance of the file, and close it.
If the file is a PDF, turn off the File Explorer Preview Pane:
Open File Explorer.
Click the View tab.
Click Preview Pane to toggle it off (it should no longer be highlighted).
Close any other application that may have the file open.
If the file is shared or in a common location, confirm no other user has it open.
Try opening the document again through the Canopy Virtual Drive.
Confirm whether the file is corrupt
Skip this section if any step above resolved the issue. If nothing has worked, the file itself may be corrupt.
Try opening the file through the Canopy Desktop Assistant instead of the Virtual Drive.
Alternatively, download the file manually from Canopy and open it directly, without the Virtual Drive.
If the file still won't open either way, the document is bad and will need to be replaced or reuploaded.
If the file opens fine outside the Virtual Drive, the problem is the Virtual Drive connection, not the file — revisit sections 1–4 above.
Summary
When a file won't open in the Canopy Virtual Drive, work through the five causes in order: syncing, installation, security software, a file open elsewhere, and finally file corruption. Testing the file outside the Virtual Drive confirms whether the problem is the connection or the document itself.
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