Can't Save Preferences Because File is Locked?

I just had to reinstall after a wipe of my Mac. Program opens, I can use it, but when I quit it I get this message:
Could not save preferences because the file is locked or you do no have the necessary privilieges. Use the "get info" command in the Finder to unlock or change permissions on the file or enclosing folders.
I went into Applications, right clicked on the CS5 icon, which brought up the "get Info" box. At the bottom, under Sharing & Permissions it says I have custome access; Me: read & write
System, read & write
Admin, read & write
everyone, read only
On the "everyone" the only choices I have are read only, write only or no access.
How can I fix this?

The preferences are not written into the application, so you're looking in the wrong place. The main preferences file for CS5 should be:
~/Library/Preferences/Adobe Photoshop CS5 Settings/Adobe Photoshop CS5 Prefs.psp
To locate it, copy the following path, press Shift+Cmd+G in Finder, paste the path and hit Go:
~/Library/Preferences/Adobe Photoshop CS5 Settings/
If you have Ps CS5.1, replace "CS5" with "CS5.1" in the above.

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CS6 Could Not Save "filename" Because File is Locked

For many years I have been edit photo montages in Premiere Pro. When I would find a photo that needs retouching so I would open Photoshop, retouch the pic, save it, and the new image would magically appear on the PPro timeline. But in my CS6 suite, I get the error message "Could not save "filename" because file is locked, you do not have necessary access permissions, or another program is using the file". And this only happens when PPro is still open, regardless of where the CTI is on the timeline, or which pic on the timeline is selected. I never had this problem with any other versions of PPro and Photoshop. I don't want to shut down PPro everytime I need to retouch a pic.

That sounds like you've found a bug in PPro where it keeps the files open and locked when it shouldn't.
Unfortunately, you posted in the Photoshop forum where we can't help much with Premiere.
You probably want to post in the Premiere forum: http://forums.adobe.com/community/premiere/premierepro_current

Sometimes cannot save project because file is locked

Using MAC OS X 10.3.9
and CS 2
Sometimes it happens in Illustrator that the file cannot be saved, it says that the file is locked for use.
I remember the same problem also from PhotoShop 6 or something on Windows WX computers, so it is not a MAC or Illustrator specific issue.
Any ideas -- other than save with a different name, and remove the locked file after you restart the computer next time?

JJM,
If you are saving through a network, you may have some funny issues. Saving to the harddisk, and copying through the network, is a more troublefree way.
Old OS? AI10 on XP here.

When I close Photoshop CS6, the following message appears: "Could not save Preferences because the file is locked, you do not have necessary access permissions, or another program is using the file.

When I quit Photoshop CS6, the following message appears:
" Could not save Preferences because the file is locked, you do not have necessary access permissions, or another program is using the file. Use the ‘Get Info’ command in the Finder to ensure the file is unlocked and you have permission to access the file. If the problem persists, save the document to a different file or duplicate it in the Finder."
If I try to change the Workspace in PS6 from Essentials to any other Workspace, the following messsage appears:
"Could not apply the workspace because the file is locked, you do not have necessary access permissions, or another program is using the file. Use the ‘Get Info’ command in the Finder to ensure the file is unlocked and you have permission to access the file. If the problem persists, save the document to a different file or duplicate it in the Finder."
I have checked the Sharing and Permissions section of the "Get Info" panel accessed from the Finder and I have set Read and Write Privileges for my user account for Photoshop CS6. System and Admin are also set to Read and Write.
I have a MacBook Pro with OS X Version 10.9.5 and have all available updates for Photoshop CS6, Lightroom 5 and Bridge CS6.
I tried uninstalling the program and downloading it again and reinstalling, but nothing changed.
Can you help?
Thanks,
cjpnm

You may get better help in Photoshop General Discussion
The Cloud forum is not about using individual programs
The Cloud forum is about the Cloud as a delivery & install process
If you will start at the Forums Index https://forums.adobe.com/welcome
You will be able to select a forum for the specific Adobe product(s) you use
Click the "down arrow" symbol on the right (where it says All communities) to open the drop down list and scroll
If FINDER means Mac, read below (and try to give more information when asking a question)
Mac 10.9.3 workaround https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1489922
Enable Mac Root User https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1156604
-more Root User http://forums.adobe.com/thread/879931
-and more root user http://forums.adobe.com/thread/940869?tstart=0

Whenever I close down Photoshop CS5 I get the message: "Could not save Preferences because the file is locked or you do not have the necessary access privileges. Use the get info command in Finder to unlock the file or change permission on the file or enc

Whenever I close down Photoshop CS5 I get the message: "Could not save Preferences because the file is locked or you do not have the necessary access privileges. Use the get info command in Finder to unlock the file or change permission on the file or enclosing folders." What on earth does it mean? How can I stop this message from appearing?

See here:
I cannot save recent images.

Could not save Preferences because the file is locked?

Every time I launch Photoshop I have to reload third party extensions, and re-do preferences settings.
When I quit, I get a warning icon.
Could not save Preferences because the file is locked, you do not have necessary access permissions, or another program is using the file. Use the ‘Get Info’ command in the Finder to ensure the file is unlocked and you have permission to acess the file.
Any ideas?
thanks

Solved it after 8 hours of trying.
Hold down "Command" "option" and "shift" keys and open Photoshop. It will ask if you want to delete settings. Say Yes. You will have to reset everything but it clears the problem away instantly.

Could not save Preferences because the file is locked, you do not have necessary access permissions, or another program is using the file. Use the 'Get Info' command in the Finder to ensure the file is unlocked and you have permission to access the file.

I have this massage every time close ps cc
Could not save Preferences because the file is locked, you do not have necessary access permissions, or another program is using the file. Use the ‘Get Info’ command in the Finder to ensure the file is unlocked and you have permission to access the file. If the problem persists, save the document to a different file or duplicate it in the Finder.

You may get better help in Photoshop General Discussion
The Cloud forum is not about using individual programs
The Cloud forum is about the Cloud as a delivery & install process
If you will start at the Forums Index https://forums.adobe.com/welcome
You will be able to select a forum for the specific Adobe product(s) you use
Click the "down arrow" symbol on the right (where it says All communities) to open the drop down list and scroll
If FINDER means Mac, read below (and try to give more information when asking a question)
Mac 10.9.3 workaround https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1489922
Enable Mac Root User https://forums.adobe.com/thread/1156604
-more Root User http://forums.adobe.com/thread/879931
-and more root user http://forums.adobe.com/thread/940869?tstart=0

Could not save preferences because the file could not be found (Windows) then Error 1 on PS,AE,PR,ID

I was trying out Photoshop, everything was running fine then one day when I close it I get an error:
"Could not save preferences because the file could not be found..."
Now when I boot it I get the Configuration Error 1.
After Effects still boots, but it reset all my preferences there. For example the workplace layout was reset, all my saved Output presets were removed and my memory-cache and performance settings were reset again.
Premiere and InDesign get the error too and won't boot.
This is the second time it has happened, I'll try wiping every Adobe program and reinstalling all over again, but it had run fine before for a while and it randomly happened.
Any idea how to fix this?

Nope I havent touched the Documents folder.
Forgot to mention that I'm on Windows 7

I recently thought I was updating my Safari browser. When completed, I put all those little files that were on the desktop into the trash. Now my trash is saying it can't be emptied because there are locked files and I don't know how to unlock them

I recently thought I was updating my Safari browser. When completed, I put all those little files that were on the desktop into the trash. Now my trash is saying it can't be emptied because there are locked files and I don't know how to unlock them or get them out of my trash and they keep multiplying. And to make matters worse, I tried renaming them as pdf files thinking that might do the trick.

oh boy ! I'd ask you if you knew what kind of files they were or where they came from, but I don't think you could help me a bunch. Try going to the Utilities folder and running Disk Utilities. If you want to empty the Trash and it won't empty, go to the finder and choose "secure Empty trash". Worse case scenario-you may have to reinstall Snow Leopard, but I don't know what else to suggest. If you have a DVD of Snow Leopard, boot up from that, and reinstall the OS. This will not touch the stuff you have on your Hard Drive, then you can update from 10.6 to 10.6.8, otherwise Onyx? Maybe those files are part of the OS which needs them to keep running. if you hold down the Shift key on reboot, you can reboot in Safe mode and maybe you can take the files out of the trash that way
good luck
John B

How can I save a jepg file in lower case letters? I check the use lower case box in preferences but it's not happening. PSCC

how can I save a jepg file in lower case letters? I check the use lower case box in preferences but it's not happening. PSCC

Let's try a preferences reset: (Windows)
Press and hold Control - Shift - Alt immediately upon cold-starting Photoshop. If you get the keys down quickly enough - and you have to be VERY quick - it will prompt you to confirm deletion of your established preferences, which will lead to them all being set to defaults.

How do I get past, "Can't save preferences message" in PS CS6?

Could not save Preferences because the file is locked, you do not have necessary access permissions, or another program is using the file. Use the ‘Get Info’ command in the Finder to ensure the file is unlocked and you have permission to access the file. If the problem persists, save the document to a different file or duplicate it in the Finder.
Get me past this message. Please! Nothing I have read applies exactly to eliminating this infuriating message. How do I get past, “Can’t save preferences message” in PS CS6?
Message was edited by: RustyBucket12

Thanks for showing an interest… But!
I have tried all the regular stuff. This problem only showed up in OSX Lion. Up till then all was well at Snow Leopard and Adobe CS5.5 Suite. After upgrading to OSX Lion all Hell broke loose. Quite a catastrophe of conflicts. In Design wouldn’t launch. A problem with Suitcase Fusion 4. But PS CS6 had two major problems. One the Epson Artisan 835 could not be seen in Imports. A conflict between 32 and 64 bit formats and again, drivers. But the most persistent and perplexing problem has been that of the preferences. Oh and one other thing, whenever you quit the program, PS CS6, a message appears saying that the program has quit for no good reason and did I want to send a report to Adobe and/or Mac. Well I must have sent them a thousand reports. What I most suspect is file damage and incompatibility. What I have tried has not found the files to replace those that will reset themselves. i.e. .plst etc. without buggering up the works. I have tried to figure out what might have caused such changes between Snow and Lion other than the well known differences regarding supported stuff, formats and out of date software i.e. Rosetta. Some how or other I suspect damaged files. The kind of damage where a single character is missing and nothing works but no file checker in the world can detect as screwing up the works. Now in several cases a lot of re-installation has been done. But again no help. So putting a finger on the culprit file(s) has not been easy. Fortunately this machine has four active drives so reverting back to where all was OK is easy. But as for going forward, well that is at a standstill.
So, if any body out there has any insight to these three problems I would be most interested to see what you got.
Many Thanks

Can't save preferences in CS5

When I close PS CS5 I get an error message that "Could not save Preferences because the file is locked or you do not have the necessary access privileges...." Searching other threads it appears that some people were able to solve this problem by going into User/Library/Preferences/Adobe Photoshop CS5 and changing the permissions to Read & Write. But on my computer I have two choices User/Library/Preferences/Adobe Photoshop CS5 Paths/Prefs or User/Library/Preference/Adobe Photoshop CS5 Settings. Logically it seems I ought to be able to open the User/Library...CS5 Paths/Prefs dialogue box and change the Sharing and Permissions for Me and "everyone" to Read & Write. So I unlock the box, enter my password, change preferences to Read & Write, close out of the dialogue box, close out of the finder and reopen CS5. But when I close CS5, I still get the error message. When I go back to User/Library...CS5 Paths/Prefs and reopen the dialogue box, I see that "everyone" is reset to Read only. I have tried restarting the computer after resetting the permissions and before opening CS5 but no difference. I have tried this when PS CS5 is open and when it is not open and still no difference. How do I get the revised Read & Write permissions to stick?

Sorry, I tried that too and it still does not preserve the Read & Write permission for "everyone" once I open CS5.
Here is what I am doing: navigate to Macintosh HD/Users/Karl (Me)/Library/Preferences/Adobe Photshop CS5 Paths/Prefs > click on More Info > unlock >change everyone to Read & Write > relock > close windows in Finder > open CS5 > close CS5 > same error message>permissions reset to everyone to read only. By the way karl(me) has always had Read & Write permissions.
I'm stumped.

Mac: Could not save PREFERENCES because .....

Could not save Preferences because the file is locked or you do not have the necessary access privileges. Use the ‘Get Info’ command in the Finder to unlock the file or change permissions on the file or enclosing folders.
I have just installed CS5 as an upgrade to my CS3 on my MAc Pro that is running Leopard OS X 10.5.8. The electronic download and installation went very well. I could open CS5 and did work on editing some images, and all seemed to be working fine, until I quitted Photoshop CS5. I got the above message and similar ones for my Workspace changes. The Photoshop CS5 program did not allow me to save any changes in my Preferences, custom Brushes or Workspace.
I have full read/write privileges to my computer and I could not find any file or folder, related to Adobe CS5, that is LOCKED. I have never encountered this 'insufficient privileges' problem with any of my other program installation, including CS3 and lately the Lightroom 3. Please help!!

Hi Slau104,
I had the same problem, and have just found the answer elsewhere on this forum.
It has worked perfectly for me. Here it is…
Just go to Users\Library\Preferences\Adobe Photoshop CS5\ and change the permissions on the folder. I just changed the "Everyone" variable to "Read & Write" and Photoshop started up without issue.

Issue with Windows Photo Viewer: "can't save picture because an unknown error occured"

Hi,
I recently installed Windows 7 RC (Build 7100). I quite often have an issue in Windows Photo Viewer when rotating an image and trying to go to the next picture. It gives me the error "Windows Photo Viewer can't save picture because an unknown error occured".
Seperate from this issue: when I delete a picture in Windows Photo Viewer, it is still in the Windows Explorer overview of files. This did not use to be the case in Windows XP?
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Hi
SOSv2 ,
This should be fixed in Windows 7 RTM.
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HERE . For more information about Windows Live Photo Gallery, you can
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I am using Win 7 x64 Ultimate RTM and still have this problem (with JPG's dumped from my Nikon to the hard drive). Doesn't do it on every one that I rotate, but still very annoying. Is there a fix?

Can't save/write Framemaker files

Hi,
I've suddenly got a major problem - I can't Save or Save As any Framemaker files.
Specifically, I am using Framemaker 9 (latest patches) under Win XP/SP3, using parallels Desktop for Mac on my MacBook Pro 17" (8GB, 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Mac OS 10.6.2).
I can save to my Windows virtual drive, but if I try to save to my Mac world, I get an error that says "The \\.psf\Home\<path>\<filename>.fm.DE1 that FrameMaker wrote may be damaged". There is a .lck file, but can't save the .fm file, even with another name.
I have tried saving in different formats (to check it's not a network/permissions issue). I can save in .html, .txt, .xml, .pdf, .rtf. I cannot save in any of the Frame-related formats (MIF, .fm, previous versions).
I suspect the problem arose after updating Parallels Desktop to the latest version. Dumb move. It barfed at the end of the upgrade, but I thought things were OK after restarting.
I also had a disk problem on my Mac (various catalog file errors) after ejecting a recaltitrant USB pen drive. Major headache. Again, thought it was all fixed after fsck and Disk Utility checks. maybe not. Still a weird issue though. I do seem to remember having something like this before. Anyone got any ideas?
Martin Ley
martin at em-dash dot com

EmDashMan wrote:
Hi,
I've suddenly got a major problem - I can't Save or Save As any Framemaker files.
Specifically, I am using Framemaker 9 (latest patches) under Win XP/SP3, using parallels Desktop for Mac on my MacBook Pro 17" (8GB, 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Mac OS 10.6.2).
I can save to my Windows virtual drive, but if I try to save to my Mac world, I get an error that says "The \\.psf\Home\<path>\<filename>.fm.DE1 that FrameMaker wrote may be damaged". There is a .lck file, but can't save the .fm file, even with another name.
I have tried saving in different formats (to check it's not a network/permissions issue). I can save in .html, .txt, .xml, .pdf, .rtf. I cannot save in any of the Frame-related formats (MIF, .fm, previous versions).
I suspect the problem arose after updating Parallels Desktop to the latest version. Dumb move. It barfed at the end of the upgrade, but I thought things were OK after restarting.
I also had a disk problem on my Mac (various catalog file errors) after ejecting a recaltitrant USB pen drive. Major headache. Again, thought it was all fixed after fsck and Disk Utility checks. maybe not. Still a weird issue though. I do seem to remember having something like this before. Anyone got any ideas?
Martin Ley
martin at em-dash dot com
Hi, Martin:
I'm using InDesign on my MacBookPro pre-unibody under Leopard, and also under Windows 7 Vista running on VMware Fusion2.
I never save my files on the Windows virtual drive for a couple of reasons:
* too likely to crash unexpectedly - hey, it's Windows.
* because the virtual drive file is always marked changed no matter how little activity you do on it, even just opening it, Time Machine backs up the entire humongous drive file and fills up my Time Capsule needlessly.
EDIT:
* I exclude the virtual drive file from the Time Machine backup, but I do save a copy of it in case I need to replace one that goes bad. Doesn't always work, though. I also save a bunch of automatic snapshots of the virtual drive, and manual ones when I change something. I haven't got the habit yet of also making Windows Restore Points. I figure if a Fusion2 snapshot can't get me back working, it's time to start over, or copy my safety copy.
/EDIT
I always save files made on the Mac or Windows sides on my Mac file system.
One likely source of being unable to save is unwanted and unexpected permission changes. Have you tried fixing permissions with Disk Utility, or the free utility OnyX, or the free utility applejack? You run OnyX from within OS X. You run applejack from the command line that appears when you restart the Mac and hold CMD-s to go into single user mode. The command: applejack auto restart performs a bunch of cleanup operations automatically, and displays its actions as it does them. When it's done, it restarts your Mac.
Applejack is more limited in what it does, so it easier to avoid doing anything you didn't intend. OnyX offers options that can clean out stuff you might not want to, so read carefully what options you select.
HTH
Regards,
Peter
Peter Gold
KnowHow ProServices

Can't Save Preferences Because File is Locked?

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