Error message: Could not save copy as "C:..." because the file is already in use or left open by another application

I always get the Errormessage: Could not save copy as "C:..." bacause the file is already in use or left open by another alpplication
while trying to save a file as a jpg. even when the file is not left open or in use.. .

Without knowing exact technical details, nobody can say anything. From genuine issues with your storage devices like block errors or fragmentation to specific security stuff causing delays and blockages in writing files anything is imaginable. Your info is simply insufficient to make even a superficial diagnosis beyond those generics.
Mylenium

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

I have been using PS since V5 and have never experienced this problem which continues to crop up in PSCS3. I get this stupid error message "Could not save....because the file is already in use or was left open." Even if I save as a new file which does not exist anywhere in the galaxy, I will get the same &^%$!! message. I have gone to the folders and made sure read only was unchecked in properties. I have lots of disk space and four gigs of high-end RAM. This is particularly frustrating when you are using this software to make a living and a fifteen minute project becomes a 45 minute project. I like everything about CS3 but want to pull my hair out by the roots when I pay for the best photo editing software available and it continues to screw me out of money. Adobe, are you out there? Can anyone help???
Thanks
Win XP SP2 / P4 3.2 running at 3.36 / four gig ram / buncha HDD space (more than 2TB total.
Thanks and please excuse my prosaic explosions.
Joe

Same error intermittently on different files. Windows7 64bit CS4. Saving a file in Photoshop - working from local hard drive - and got the file in use can not save error. We tried changing the name, saving as a different file type with no success. I closed absolutely every application that was running and then stopped all non windows processes from Task Manager and still file in use.
I was finally able to save by choosing "NONE" for the preview instead of Tiff 8-bit in the save options.
The bug is in Photoshop and it is putting a file lock on the preview file that it creates and then not alowing any save with the preview option checked.
After saving without a preview we could close PS and reopen then open the saved file and resave with the preview selected. Closing PS unlocked the preview file.

"Could not save (file name) because the file is already in use or left open."

Hello,
When I tried save as a file, I get an error msg:
"Could not save (file name) because the file is already in use or left open."
The file is not open anywhere accept Photoshop.
Mac Pro, OSX 10.5.6
Photoshop CS4.
I searched the forum but could not find anything even though i'm sure someone already asked it.
would love to get a solution for that.
thank you,
shlomit

There is a problem with both Photoshop and InDesign, then we can blame wich ever it is.
1. I open a .psd file in Photoshop CS4 by double clicking it in Bridge
2. This image is placed on a page in a open InDesign document.
3. Doing some changes in Photoshop on the image.
4. Trying to save and get this error message (this topics subject)
5. Deleting the image from the page in ID doc, it is the only one in the document.
6. Can't still save file.
7. Closing ID completely and now I am able to save the file.
I tried turning of Live preflight in Indegisn but that didn't help.
So probably the fault is InDesign or the MacOS. I didn't have this problem with CS3. It is a stupid problem because this type of workflow is pretty common and one would expect it to be solved by now.
Jan Suhr
Stockholm, Sweden

Random Artifact and "Could not save (file name) because the file is already in use or left open."

Hi,
I've been working on a collage for school, and I 'merged all layers below into one layer', and photoshop left me a random artifact on all my masks. Also, the same file has been suffering the 'Could not save...' problem. I have taken older versions of the file, brought them back to where I had been, and then a similar artifact appears (from various actions). Once the artifact appears, I can undo the action but not the artifact, and the file is useless. It happen on a second file, but the artifact was different (a rectangular hole in the middle of the masks).
I have a MBP/4GB/MacOSX 10.6.4, everything is up to date.
If anyone has any suggestions, it would be really appreciated... I'm working for a deadline at school.
Thanks,
Patrick

Hi Chris,
I have updated both the Adobe suite and the MacOSX. My school has CS5. The holes cut into the image in a geometric pattern (the rectangles) are the random artifact (cropped below).
Also, I understand 'Could not save...' means it could not save... Why it cannot save seems to be the issue. I believe you understand the circumstances of the 'Could not save...' issue, and it isn't simply that another program has it open.
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/370206?start=50&tstart=0
I don't really know if it's Adobe, Apple, or Windows issue, and I don't think it really matters. It is a problem in Photoshop, which would make it an Adobe problem... and waiting for a fix doesn't seem to be a satisfactory answer.
I don't want to make this tread about politics, I want to fix my file, and I thought it might be another symptom to a bigger problem.
Thanks for your response,
Patrick

Error on Windows 7 RC 64bit - "Could not save because the file is already in use or left open."

This is constantly happening when I try to save and replace a JPG in the same folder or save as a copy in the same folder. Sometimes it seems to happen when I even save to another folder, though I've also been able to workaround this by doing that (though it's inconvenient and messes with my folder structure).
A tmp file is saved successfully every time, and I can manually rename the tmp file to the desired filename (as another very inconvenient workaround).
I see on these Forums that this save error is somewhat common in Adobe products, but I don't see a report of this consistently happening on this particular platform. I appreciate it's a beta (RC) of Windows 7 and therefore may not be technically supported (yet?).
Any ideas or fixes please?

Try resetting the editor preferences by pressign alt + ctrl + delete key on start and clicking edit on welcome screen.
-Garry

Cannot save as PDF - "Could not save a copy as (filename) because the file is already in use..."

I have a number of PSD files I've created and I'm trying to save them as PDFs.
I can Save for Web and Devices, I can save as a .gif, .eps., and every other format I've tested, but I cannot save as a PDF. I get the error:
"Could not save a copy as (filename) because the file is already in use or was left open by another application."
I'm running Adobe Master Collection CS5 with Photoshop CS 5.5 (12.0.4 x64) on a Windows 7 64-bit machine.
I have a 928 GB HD with 697 GB free.
I have rebooted and tried saving the files immediately after I reboot. I have killed my virus scanner. I have killed a number of other possible culprits including Acrotray.exe and CS5ServiceManager.ext
I have run Process Explorer as recommended by Microsoft and found no applications using the file. I've also tried saving the file to my external hard drive and/or renaming the file with only rare luck.
Nothing seems to fix it.
The boards seem to suggest Adobe isn't taking responsibility for this and pointing it back to the OS or other software. I'm willing to believe them if someone can show me how/where to kill whatever process it is - but at this point, all my indicators point back to Photoshop.

Here is a clip from a past post where user could not drag and drop files to hard drive.
To my great relief I have now sorted this issue and offer the following as the Correct Answer. My sincere and grateful thanks go to Curt and Yammer, above, who have helped me so much in sorting this Windows 7 issue which is clearly very relevant to Bridge users also. Any slowness to grasp what they have been saying is down to me!
The key to solving this issue lies is understanding that in terms of Windows 7 Security, every internal or external hard drive, plus folders, sub-folders and files thereon has an OWNER. Also each OWNER has a certain level of PERMISSION to do things such as moving files to a different folder, deleting or re-naming them etc. If you try to do things that you don't currently have Permission to do, that is when you get an ‘Access Denied’ error message. Also your system has an Admistrator or Administrators and at the outset you need to ensure through the Control Panel that you are listed as one of them. .
If, like me, you didn't realise these things, (and why would you if Microsoft or your computer or hard drive suppliers couldn't be bothered to really make sure you knew about them), then trying to fathom the ‘Access Denied’ problem becomes a stressful and frustrating nightmare as I can testify having spent a week at it!
The steps that I took to resolve the issue and which I believe now constitute the 'Correct Answer' are as follows:
First make sure that you have Administrator rights on your system via the Control Panel
Next ‘right click’ on the Drive whose files you want to gain full access to, for example the drive that your pictures are stored on, and click on 'Properties'.
Under the Security tab you will see a list of Groups and Users on this drive and the Permissions that they have to do things.
Before doing anything to edit these Permissions, first click on the Advanced button. This opens another window with a tab showing the Owner of this drive.
Click on the Owner tab and if you are not already listed as the owner, make yourself the owner by selecting your name from the list. I believe it should appear there if you are an admistrator or user. (In my case at this stage the owner was initially shown as an obscure string of numbers and letters which I believe identified the drive when it was connected to the lap top I was using before I upgraded my machine)
Now be sure to check the box that says "Replace Owner on Subcontainers and Objects" and the click Apply. On completion of this step, the drive in question and all the folders, subfolders and files thereon should now be 'owned' by you. You could check this out by right clicking on a particular folder then clicking Properties > Security > Advanced > Owner. Your name should appear. So far so simples!
Now go back to the Security Tab for your drive (Step 2 / 3 above) and look at the Permissions you currently have. Your aim now is to allow yourself 'Full Control.' If you don’t currently have this level of permission click Edit, select your name on the list, check ‘Full Control’ and 'Apply' the change.
I think I'm right in saying that at this point whilst still working in the Drive directory you are now given the option of ticking boxes which allow you to, in effect, cascade the permission you have just granted yourself to all the files and folders on that drive. Tick the box to allow this and Windows should then take care of the rest.If I'm not quite correct here then in my particular case, for example, all my images were stored on my external drive. The top level, or 'parent' folder in which all my pictures could be found was the 'My Pictures' folder and I had created a number of folders and subfolders ('child ' folders) within that folder. The permissions I gave to the Parent folder – My Pictures – were cascaded down through the Child folders.
On completion of the above step I tested the result in Windows Explorer by dragging a few files back and forth between folders and it now worked perfectly - I was now able to move / delete / rename etc all files without now getting the dreaded access denied message. What a sense of relief! This meant that I could now open Bridge normally rather than having to right click it and 'Run As Admistrator' - albeit that is a very useful thing to do until you get the problem sorted as described.

I have PS 6 and just purchased an iMac and am running OS 10.10.1 (Yosemite). When i try to Save or Save As a file I get the following message: Could not save as "Whatever.psd" because this file is locked, you do not have necessary access permissions, or

I have PS 6 and just purchased an iMac and am running OS 10.10.1 (Yosemite). When i try to Save or Save As a file I get the following message: Could not save as "Whatever.psd" because this 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. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Photoshop: Basic Troubleshooting steps to fix most issues
Look under Troubleshoot User Permissions.
Gene

Could not save as "DSC_0915.tif" 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

Please help I keep getting this error message trying to save a photo in photoshop to return to lightroom

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

When I am writing an email, I get an alert message that says "The message could not be copied or moved to the drafts folder. Writing to the folder failed. To ga

When I am writing an email, I get an alert message that says “The message could not be copied or moved to the drafts folder. Writing to the folder failed. To gain disc space, choose Empty Deleted and choose Compact Folders and try again.”
If I do that, I get a message saying “There was an error copying to the Sent folder,, retry?”
If I retry it sends the uncompleted email. All I can do is keep deleting the message and carry on. Then the whole business might repeat itself.
Help!
Frank

Because the location for each song in your library is on your hard drive. If the hard drive isn't there, how can iTunes play it?
You'll have to move/copy the music from your hard drive to your computer's hard drive.
Basically, EASIEST way to do all this, if you don't care about your play counts, etc...
-Delete EVERYTHING from iTunes, so that your library is now empty.
-Go to "Advanced" inside of the "Preferences" window, found in the "Edit" drop-down. You can also access Preferences by pressing Ctrl+, (Press Ctrl and the comma key)
-Change your iTunes Media Folder Location to something simple, but on your computer. I use C:/iTunes. Make sure "Keep iTunes Media Folder Organized" and "Copy files to...." are both checked. You can close Preferences now.
-Now, drag and drop your music from your hard drive into your iTunes library. iTunes will automatically add the music to your library, as you would expect, and also creates a copy of each file to place into that iTunes Media Folder you just created.
Shouldn't have any more problems...

"Could not save a copy because the file is already in use..."

I have read previous discussions of this issue, but nobody suggested a solution. Sometimes when I use the Save As command to save an open file with the same name as an existing Photoshop file that is not currently open, I get the dreaded message: "Could not save a copy because the file is already in use or was left open."
When this happens, I have to save my open file using a different filename, then change the name in the Finder after manually deleting the original file with that name. This happened occasionally in Photoshop CS3, and is now happening more frequently in CS4. If no one can offer a solution, can someone please tell me if there is a way to officially submit a bug report? The simple truth is that Photoshop costs way too much for a well-known problem like this one to be hanging around version after version. Adobe really needs to fix this and I'd like to tell them so. Thanks!

alansky1 wrote:
Adobe really needs to fix this and I'd like to tell them so.
I've run into this and I'm convinced it's not Adobe. Whenever I've gotten around the problem it's often something from Apple that got in the way.
I use a simple workaround when Finder/QuickLook isn't letting go of the file. First use a free utility like TinkerTool or Onyx to turn on the Quit command in the Finder. Whenever the Finder gives you trouble, if closing the Finder window in question doesn't solve it, just do the ol' Command-Q. It's a little faster (and maybe safer?) than force-relaunching the Finder. This usually releases files for me when all else fails; it also often cures the annoying "can't eject the volume because it's in use" messages when you've already quit every program you can find.
There's the question of why Photoshop and not others; I'm not an engineer but I think the sheer size of Photoshop files is a factor. In one instance I noticed that quicklookd was using a lot of RAM, and QuickLook has been implicated by an earlier post in this thread. It isn't unusual for a Photoshop file to be very large compared to other types of documents. It's possible that when QuickLook hits a large Photoshop file, and it does its normal thing of generating a big preview for it, it could get tied up reading that huge image long enough to block another program. Sometimes it seems like QuickLook just hangs on them. When it happens, you can try looking at Activity Monitor to see if something like QuickLook, Spotlight, or some other program is using an unusual amount of CPU or RAM.
Apple Mail (at least in 10.5) is another major offender by the way. If you attach a file to Apple Mail it will hang on to it as "open" even after you remove the attachment. Other programs will not be able to write to the file that was attached or formerly attached. Nothing short of quitting Apple Mail will make it let go of the file. You'll notice it when you delete a JPEG, PDF, Word doc (definitely not just Photoshop) attachment because you realize you need to make a change and attach it again. Attempting to export an updated one over the old one is blocked until Apple Mail is quit.
In my experience I think what Chris says is true.

InD blocking Ps to save a file / Could not save * because the file is already in use error

Many users have reported a Photoshop Could not save * because the file is already in use error in many different circumstances.
I place raw jpgs in InDesign document, then open them in Photoshop via Edit original order to adjust them. On random occasions Ps gives me that annoying error. So i found a little trick to avoid saving that image under a different name and relinking it plus reloading Ps since the error repeats on other pictures to.
All you have to do is: when Ps gives error, (Cmd-Tab) switch to InD, directly select the worked jpg in image frame (one that you try to save in Ps) and simply move it left-right (or move it and Undo). Now you can save it without problem.

JPEG is a "lossy" compression format. Every time you save as jpeg you recompress and throw away a little more information. In addition, jpeg does not support transparency or layers, both very useful features for woring with images. For example, you can add an adjustment layer in Photoshop to do your adjustments non-destructively for may of the things that you can do using Image > Adjustments... which will change your pixel data permanently. Throw away an adjustment layer and you image data is untouched. Also, ID allows you to place a layered image and control layer visibility from within ID, making it possible to multi-purpose a single file by showing or hiding various layers.

"Could not save x.jpg because the file is already in use or was left open...

Win 7 pro 64, CS5.0 using InDesign 7.0.4 and Photoshop 12.0.4 x64.
Using InDesign to create a manuscript with images. Right click on image to "Edit Original"
Opens image in Photoshop. Make changes, go to save.
Error message "Could not save x.jpg because the file is already in use or was left open by another application"
Using a free utility called Unlocker Assistant, it shows that the file has been locked by InDesign
The workaround is to then use Unlocker Assistant to unlock the image in in the Links folder, but this is a pain and it is happening too frequently.
Putting in that error message I get no google matches.
Anyone know why Indesign is locking the image, when it is the InDesign program that is supposed to be sending it to Photoshop for editing so it can be changed and then overwrite the original image?
Note that it is not consistent but I cannot find any pattern to determine why it sometimes fails and other times allows the altered image to be saved.

You will get a quicker response to post this in the InDesign Fourm http://forums.adobe.com/community/indesign/indesign_general

Could not save because file was already in use or left open

I am have several problems with Adobe Photoshop CS4. I call up Adobe for help, I pay 50.00 or 60.00 for their help with these situations that I am having. Adobe concludes the phone call saying they are closing the case cause the problem has been resolved. I told them it has not been resolved I am still having problems then the person hangs up on me. I call back cause the problems still persists, the tech person told me that I had to pay another 50.00-60.00 for the
tech support. I told him that I already paid and that I still need help, the tech guy told me that the case was closed cause it was resolved. I told them it was not
resolved and I am needing help with this particular issue. The tech person kept saying that the issue was resolved and if I needed more help that I had to pay.
This time I hung up on him and while I did that I said that the Apple Support Community was way more helpful and it was free.
So here I am 6 months later and tried everything, Here are the problems that I am having.
1. CS4 keeps quitting unexpectedly with no cause no error nothing. The blue light under the CS4 Ps is still lit and wont let me reopen the file, I then have to force quit the program. I then get these windows asking if I want to send a report, I click ignore cause I am tired of filling out those things. So I try to open the
photoshop file and I get the blue window with the Ps logo on it, its scanning everything but then it stops responding when the scan reaches the part where it says scanning memory and freezes. I then have to force quit the program again, I have to do this 5 times before it will open the file. Then Ps will unexpectedly quit after 2 hrs of working and starts the B.S. all over again. I dont know what is wrong with CS4. Other times it runs really slow and glitchy. It also happens on my Mac Book Pro, iMac and of course my Mac Pro.
I know its not the computers or the settings or anything interacting with it. I checked everything extensively from the terminal to permissions and back to the program itself and everything in between. I am needing help, the Adobe forums are of no use, I cant find anything there.
2. I keep getting this error and I am not sure what it is, this only happens when I use Ps CS4 and yes it happens on all my other Apple computers.
Error: "could not save because file was already in use or left open" not sure how to fixt this, I have already tried the permissions and it did not seem to work.
All my computers run OS X Lion version 10.7.3. I had these problems even before I upgraded to Lion, 2 months later after Lion came out. These problems have been going on since Snow Leopard. All my Macs are up to date and I did use the Disk Utilities on everything... Please help me.

First off are you editing a photo that you have placed into indesign if so the in use or left open issue is a common one, the only help is to go to indesign move the picture by nugging it then go back to photoshop and try saving again, if this does not work close the indesign file then save.
On the other issue of photoshop crashing, One thing I would try would be to create another user account, Start up photoshop and only it and work with it. The reason why is to see if maybe there are some 3rd party software you have loaded on your systems that might be causing the issues. "Ya never know"
I would assume you have reinstalled photoshop on lion. Do you still have older version of OSX installed, if so try booting to them and working with photoshop to see if it works there.
Good Luck

Could not save my_file.psd because the file is already in use or was left open by another app"

Since some time ago I often get this message when trying to save my PSD file: "could not save my_file.psd because the file is already in use or was left open by another application", whereas there's no application that uses the file in reality. What could cause this problem?

What could cause this problem?
If I remember correctly posibilities include the OS, anti-virus software, … and if you work across a network you are basically on your own anyway as Adobe specifically discourages this.
What are your OS, program version, …?

TS2830 When I synch my phone or other devices to itunes, I get a message that the following songs could not be synched to itunes because the file could not be converted. However, these are songs that I bought directly from Itunes. Any suggestions?

When I synch my phone or other devices to itunes, I get a message that the following songs could not be synched to itunes because the file could not be converted. However, these are songs that I bought directly from Itunes. Any suggestions?

Hello rafagee,
I understand that you are not able to sync a few songs you purchased from iTunes to your iPhone and other devices. There may be an issue with the file, but if you have the Apple ID and password used to purchase the songs, you can redownload them. You can even download the song directly to your iPhone. I found an article that will give you steps to do this on your computer and on your iPhone:
Downloading past purchases from the App Store, iBookstore, and iTunes Store
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2519
Thank you for posting in the Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Sheila M.

Error message: Could not save copy as "C:..." because the file is already in use or left open by another application

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