Could not save preferences

I have a user in my company who gets the following error message everytime he closes Photoshop 6.0: "Could not save Preferences because the file is locked. Use the "Properties command in the Windows Explorer to unlock the file." He is using Windows XP Pro SP2 in a networked environment. Any suggestions or solutions are appreciated.

Hi Everybody,
Thanks to this thread you put me into the right direction. After a lot of trying an comparing between two macs (on one it worked, on the other it didn't), I finally found the problem:
1. Go to /Users/User/Library/Application Support
2. Find the folder "Adobe"
3. Change the permission of this folder for everyone to "read & write"
4. Done - open Adobe Photoshop Elements 10.0
For me this worked!
Alex
Problem discription: Adobe Photoshop Elements Editor 10.0 on Mac takes extremly long to open, displaying the message:"building content and effects" and displays the following message after closing "could not save preferences because you do not have the necessary access rights".

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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

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

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.

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, 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

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.

"Could not save preferences" problems?

I just installed PSE11 for the Mac and now when I attempt slose the application I keep getting the "Could not save preferences" notice.
I have repainred permissions.
I have unlocked all folders in the thread leading to Preferences.
I have changed all files in the thread to "read & write"
What am I missing?
Thanks

That's odd. Are you logged in through a "Admin User or a Standard user".Can you navigate to the location "Users\[Username]\Library\Preferences\Adobe Photoshop Elements Settings" and delete everything there. Also delete the plist of photoshop elements at location Users\[Username]\Library\Preferences\". Now relaunch PSE Editor and try the same.
Also make sure that folder permission is read & write along the path for all folder.

Could not save *.* because file is in use or was left open...

OK, I mentioned this when it happened with .eps files, and rather than get a single useful tip(Except for 'choose a new file name'), I got a series of responses from people telling me how I should be saving in .tiff and 'eps files aren't any good anyway, etc., etc... IN other words, no help, just a bunch of opinions on what I was doing wrong in the first place.
Well, now I have had it happen with a .tiff file. I opened the file, did some work, and went to re-save it, and I got the error that it could not save the file because it was in use, or had been left open.
Anybody got any suggestions on why this is happening?
Mac OS 10.4.1
Dual 2.66 GHz Dual core Intel Processors
2 Gb RAM
Photoshop CS3

OOPs I forgot to paste the Adobe help message so here it is;
understand that you receive an error when you try to edit Lightroom
images in Photoshop® CS3.
If you have not already done so, update to Photoshop Lightroom 1.3. In
Photoshop Lightroom, choose Help > Check For Updates. You can also
download the update from the Product Updates page on the Adobe website.
Try specify Photoshop CS3 as the Additional External Editor in your
Lightroom preferences:
- Click the Lightroom menu and choose Preferences.
- Click the External Editing tab.
- Click the Choose button under the Additional External Editor
section.
- Browse to the Photoshop CS3 application file and click Choose. If
Lightroom gives you a warning, select Use Anyway.
- Select an image in the Lightroom Library module, click the Photo
menu and choose the second option for Edit In Adobe Photoshop CS3.
If this does not resolve your issue, it is possible that files from
Photoshop CS2 are interfering with your workflow. To completely remove
Photoshop CS2 files from your computer, follow the instructions in the
following document on our website:
http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=331404
<(>&<)>sliceId=2
If this does not resolve your issue, it is possible that your Lightroom
catalog is damaged. To test the integrity of your catalog:
- Launch Lightroom while holding the Ctrl key on your keyboard.
- Check Test integrity of this catalog
- Click the Select button.
If you have a large number of photos in the catalog, Lightroom may take
some time to complete the testing process and finish launching.
If that does not resolve the issue, quit Lightroom, launch it the same
way and create a new catalog in the Select Catalog window.
If you continue to experience the issue, try the steps in this general
troubleshooting guide on our website:
http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=333653
<(>&<)>sliceId=1

Round Tripping Photoshop could not save as

When using the "edit in" feature in Lightroom 3 & 4 to pass the RAW file to photoshop cs 5 the image appears in Photoshop. However, when editing is complete and I use the Save command I receive message in a dialog box saying " Could not save as "D:\users.......\2012.tif because the file could not be found"
Additionally when passing files from Lightroom to Photoshop a new Dialog box opens regarding the compatibiliy of the Camera Raw Plug in. This I understand may be resolved in time, but if I press the "Render in Lightroom" button I get a Lightroom dialog box saying " Lightroom was unable to prepare the selected files at " D:\users\ Etc Etc". It will not be opened. The files are Canon Raw CR2 from a 7D.
I have fully uninstalled both Photoshop and Lightroom and then reinstalled them in an effort to resolve this but I was unsuccessfully. The only way to save is to use Save As which seems to work with Tiff files being created.
Can someone help please.

Before you do something so drastic as formatting your systems drive, I would try the following:
a) delete your preference file. Many quirky things in Lr are due to a "funny" preference file. See here where you find it: http://helpx.adobe.com/lightroom/kb/preference-file-locations-lighroom-3.html
Naturally you then have to reset you preferences but that's easier done than starting totally from scratch. See also here how to delete the preference file: http://lightroomers.com/replacing-the-lightroom-preference-file/745/
b) If that doesn't help try re-installing Lr4. After re-installation open Lr4, and go >File >Import from another catalog and navigate to your Lr catalog (the same one you are using now). Do not re-import the images you'd loose your edits. When you import from catalog your edits are retained.

Issue using Photoshop together with Lightroom - "Could not save because..."

I have a really annoying issue with Lightroom and Photoshop CS3. When I use Photoshop as my external editor for Lightroom, Photoshop opens up nicely and I am able to edit. However when I go to save I get the following message "Could not save because the file is already in use or was left open". The only way I'm able to save then is to shut down Lightroom. Then I can save in Photoshop and after that I launch Lightroom again to continue working in there.
I don't know if this has anything to do with this issue, but I do have all my images on a network drive which I access exactly the same way as any external drive.

Online chat with Adobe staff member helped solve the issue.
A corrupted preferences folder was removed, a new one automatically created solved the issue.
New folder was then deleted and old folder reinstated with the original name (if that makes sense).
Sorted.
THANK YOU Gokul!

Could not save image, write busy

I have an iPod touch (4th generation). Every time I try to save an image, it doesn't save or show up in my photo album. I tried to save a photo from a photography app and it still did not save and a message popped up saying "Could not save image; Write busy". I have tried deleting some photos, thinking there may not be space for any more, but it has not worked. Screen shots won't even save.
Anyone know what this means or how to fix it? Thanks in advance!

- Reset the iOS device. Nothing will be lost
Reset iOS device: Hold down the On/Off button and the Home button at the same time for at
least ten seconds, until the Apple logo appears.
- Try anotheer image. One that appears to be a small file size.
- Reset all settings
Go to Settings > General > Reset and tap Reset All Settings.
All your preferences and settings are reset. Information (such as contacts and calendars) and media (such as songs and videos) aren’t affected.
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iOS: How to back up
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Yosemite 10.10.2 will not let me change screensaver or wallpaper. Dialog box says it could not load preference panel

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You may need to rebuild permissions on your user account. To do this,boot to your Recovery partition (holding down the Command and R keys while booting) and open Terminal from the Utilities menu. In Terminal, type: ‘resetpassword’ (without the ’s), hit return, and select the admin user. You are not going to reset your password. Click on the icon for your Macs hard drive at the top. From the drop down below it select the user account which is having issues. At the bottom of the window, you'll see an area labeled Restore Home Directory Permissions and ACLs. Click the reset button there. The process takes a few minutes. When complete, restart.
Repair User Permissions
You can also try, User File Ownership - Reset see post by Linc Davis

Photoshop CS4 "Could not save as...because file is already in use or was left open"

I have been using Photoshop for years, and CS4 for about a year now. I have never had this error message pop up until this week. It started happening right after I did the Adobe update to 11.0.2. Everytime I try to save a PSD or JPG file now (which are the only two types of files I work with), I get this message preventing me from being able to save;
"Could not save as... because file is already in use or was left open."
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Turn off Caching of Thumbnails in Hidden thumbs.db Files
People sometimes report that they cannot manipulate their folders as they want to because Explorer has a thumbs.db file open. Windows 7 apparently generates these files for compatibility with older software that may expect such files to exist in folders with, for example, photos in them.
The good news is that (with Windows 7 Professional and above) you can disable this through the Group Policy editor:
Click the Start orb
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Enable the setting.
-Noel

Could not save because file is locked

I have Photoshop CS6 and I have never had a problem with this before -
All of a sudden I am getting an error message when saving : " Could not save…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."
No other program is even open… I have quit every process I could in the Activity Monitor.
I have tried saving as a different file name and format, I have changed permissions for the Staff option on all of file folders.
I have even completely restarted my computer, but literally nothing has worked.
Help!

No anti-virus software (they cause far more problems than they solve, at least on a semi-secure network), I don't leave Bridge running. iTunes is running, so is InerTrak (time tracking software)... so it has to be Spotlight or Time Machine unless Activity Monitor will lock files. Or it could be Quicksilver, which creates indices like Spotlight.
First thing I'm doing is adding all my hard drives to "Prevent Spotlight from searching these locations" and we'll see if this comes up again.
Could it be the Finder? Does the Finder lock the file while reading the thumbnail?
I'm surprised that there's no way to tell what process has locked the file.
OK, last bit: Why doesn't Photoshop lock the file when it's open so that other programs won't open it?

Could not save preferences

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