How do I solve this issue: system.io.ioexception: 'the process cannot access the file '@.txt' because it is being used by another process.'

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When I click the button everything workes until the using Stream writer part where the code crashes, how can I fix that?

Code 1:

C#

namespace Bankomat
{
    public partial class SättIn : Form
    {
        bool check = false;
        string[] hämtaSaldo;
        string line;
        public SättIn()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
        }

        private void btnTillbaka_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            this.Hide();
            Alternativ alternativ = new Alternativ();
            alternativ.ShowDialog();
        }

        private void btnSättIn_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            using (StreamReader reader = new StreamReader("Konto.txt"))
            {
                while ((line = reader.ReadLine()) != null)
                {
                    if (line.Contains(LoggaIn.användarnamn + "," + LoggaIn.lösenord))
                    {
                        check = true;
                        hämtaSaldo = line.Split(',');
                    }
                }
                reader.Close();
            }
            if (check)
            {
                using (StreamWriter writer = new StreamWriter("Konto.txt"))
                {
                    string nyttSaldo = (double.Parse(hämtaSaldo[2]) + double.Parse(txtBelopp.Text)).ToString();
                    line.Replace(hämtaSaldo[2], nyttSaldo);
                    writer.Close();
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Code 2:

C#

namespace Bankomat
{
    public partial class LoggaIn : Form
    {
        public LoggaIn()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
        }

        private void btnTillbaka_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            //Stänger formen LoggaIn och öppnar formen Startsida
            this.Hide();
            Startsida startsida = new Startsida();
            startsida.ShowDialog();
        }

        public static string användarnamn, lösenord;

        private void btnLoggaIn_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            //Läser vare rad i filen Konto efter skrivet användarnamn och lösenord
            using (StreamReader reader = new StreamReader("Konto.txt"))
            {
                string line;
                while ((line = reader.ReadLine()) != null)
                {
                    if (line.Contains(txtAnvändarnamn.Text + "," + txtLösenord.Text))
                    {
                        användarnamn = txtAnvändarnamn.Text;
                        lösenord = txtLösenord.Text;
                        //Stänger formen LoggaIn och öppnar formen Alternativ
                        this.Hide();
                        Alternativ alternativ = new Alternativ();
                        alternativ.ShowDialog();
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Code 3:

C#

 namespace Bankomat
{
    public partial class SkapaKonto : Form
    {
        public SkapaKonto()
        {
            InitializeComponent();
        }

        private void btnTillbaka_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            //Stänger formen SkapaKonto och öppnar formen Startsida
            this.Hide();
            Startsida startsida = new Startsida();
            startsida.ShowDialog();
        }

        private void btnSkapaKonto_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
        {
            //Skriver ned det nya kontot i text filen Konto
            using (StreamWriter writer = new StreamWriter("Konto.txt"))
            {
                writer.WriteLine(txtAnvändarnamn.Text + "," + txtLösenord.Text + "," + "0");
                txtAnvändarnamn.Text = "";
                txtLösenord.Text = "";
            }
            //Visar användaren att kontot har skapats
            MessageBox.Show("Ditt konto har skapats!");
            //Stänger formen SkapaKonto och öppnar formen Startsida
            this.Hide();
            Startsida startsida = new Startsida();
            startsida.ShowDialog();
        }
    }
}

What I have tried:

I have tried searching in the code to find the error and then fix it but I can't really find it and I have also tried looking on the internet for solutions

Posted 13-Feb-20 19:50pm

Severus Josefsen

Updated 14-Feb-20 3:28am

v2

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Comments

Richard MacCutchan 14-Feb-20 5:41am

Where does the error occur? You have three separate forms here, so you should at least know which one is active.

Severus Josefsen 14-Feb-20 6:02am

The error occur in Code 1 and it is the StreamWriter

Richard Deeming 14-Feb-20 9:10am

Looking at code 2, and guessing at the translations, it looks like you're storing a list of usernames and plain-text passwords in a text file.

That's an extremely bad idea - especially as the namespace suggests this is something to do with banking. You should only ever store a salted hash of the user's password:

Secure Password Authentication Explained Simply[^]
Salted Password Hashing - Doing it Right[^]

I can only hope that this is a toy application for a school project, and not something intended for real-world use!

Severus Josefsen 14-Feb-20 11:38am

Well, This project is me learning StreamWriter and StreamReader only nothing else because that is what I learned during class.

2 solutions

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OriginalGriff · Accepted Answer · 2020-02-13T20:05:00

1) Why are you opening a file for writing, but never writing to it?

C#

if (check)
{
    using (StreamWriter writer = new StreamWriter("Konto.txt"))
    {
        string nyttSaldo = (double.Parse(hämtaSaldo[2]) + double.Parse(txtBelopp.Text)).ToString();
        line.Replace(hämtaSaldo[2], nyttSaldo);
        writer.Close();
    }
}

2) In the above code fragment, line is guaranteed to be null because it can only ever exit the while loop above it when it is, so the Replace call will throw a NullReferenceException
3) Don't store (or try to write) data files in your program folder - and when you don't specify any folder, that's exactly where it is stored - as in production it is very likely to fail as it will be under "Program Files" and that is write protected to prevent or at least reduce virus activity. This may help: Where should I store my data?[^]
4) The problem you have met is probably not in that code: it's in the other code that accesses the file but which doesn't enclose the stream in a using block. I'd look through the rest of your code if I was you.

Richard Deeming · Accepted Answer · 2020-02-14T03:28:00

I'm guessing that you're trying to replace a line of text in a text file. There are two ways to do that.

Option 1:
Read the whole file into memory. Replace the line in the data you've read. Write the whole file out again.

C#

private void btnSättIn_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    string prefix = LoggaIn.användarnamn + "," + LoggaIn.lösenord + ",";
    bool found = false;
    
    string[] lines = File.ReadAllLines("Konto.txt");
    for (int index = 0; index < lines.Length; index++)
    {
        if (lines[index].StartsWith(prefix))
        {
            string[] parts = lines[index].Split(',');
            double oldValue = double.Parse(parts[2]);
            double belopp = double.Parse(txtBelopp.Text);
            double newValue = oldValue + belopp;
            parts[2] = newValue.ToString();
            lines[index] = string.Join(",", parts);
            found = true;
            break;
        }
    }
    
    if (found)
    {
        File.WriteAllLines("Konto.txt", lines);
    }
    else
    {
        // Notify the user that the line was not found...
    }
}

File.ReadAllLines Method (System.IO) | Microsoft Docs[^]
File.WriteAllLines Method (System.IO) | Microsoft Docs[^]

Option 2:
If the file is too large to read into memory, you'll need to copy it line-by-line to another file, and then replace the original:

C#

private void btnSättIn_Click(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
    string prefix = LoggaIn.användarnamn + "," + LoggaIn.lösenord + ",";
    bool found = false;
    
    using (var reader = new StreamReader("Konto.txt"))
    using (var writer = new StreamWriter("Konoto.tmp"))
    {
        string line;
        while ((line = reader.ReadLine()) != null)
        {
            if (found || !line.StartsWith(prefix))
            {
                writer.WriteLine(line);
            }
            else
            {
                string[] parts = line.Split(',');
                double oldValue = double.Parse(parts[2]);
                double belopp = double.Parse(txtBelopp.Text);
                double newValue = oldValue + belopp;
                parts[2] = newValue.ToString();
                writer.WriteLine(string.Join(",", parts));
                found = true;
            }
        }
    }
    
    if (found)
    {
        // Overwrite the file with the updated file:
        File.Delete("Konoto.txt");
        File.Move("Konoto.tmp", "Konoto.txt");
    }
    else
    {
        // No changes - delete the temp file:
        File.Delete("Konoto.tmp");
    }
}

NB: As I mentioned in the comments, it looks like you're storing a list of usernames and plain-text passwords in this text file. This is a very bad idea, and is not suitable for any real-world application. You should only ever store a salted hash of the user's password; and you should really be using a database instead of a text file.

How do I solve this issue: system.io.ioexception: 'the process cannot access the file '@.txt' because it is being used by another process.'

2 solutions

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