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Participant
Jan 6, 2017 10:32 PM UTC
Answered

Can't save: "The file may be read-only, or another user may have it open. Please save the document with a different name or in a different folder."

I've seen this issue all over the internet when I've searched for an answer. And it looks like it has been around for years. The only solution I've seen is to close the window pane in Windows. But what about for Mac users?

I just bought a new macbook pro. I had a 2011 macbook pro previously, with Acrobat Pro X. I backed up my computer in time machine, started up the new computer, and restored the old computer's data to the new one. Everything is the same and works fine except that I cannot save PDFs when I edit them. The only workaround I've found is to open a new folder, which  I can "save as" to the new location, but then I can't save future edits there unless I send them to yet another new folder.

The error message is: "The file may be read-only, or another user may have it open. Please save the document with a different name or in a different folder."

This is driving me crazy. Someone please help.

Citizen Zero
Citizen ZeroCorrect answer
Participant
Mar 1, 2018 12:13 AM UTC

This worked for me

If your file/asset is in a folder that is synced with Google Drive, Drop Box, One drive or the like simply quit the backup/sync utility and then hit save on the file. Note: "Pausing" the sync may not allow a file save. You must quit the sync app.

73 replies

Participant
Nov 14, 2021 12:10 PM UTC

Another Solution is to open your Antivirus program and check the allowed and blocked apps and make sure to place the illustrator.exe file in the allowed apps so that the Antivirus program doesn't automatically stop it from making changes to your files

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Participant
Oct 18, 2021 6:37 PM UTC

Disable the preview pane in file explorer and it worked for me.

Adobe seem to register the file as being open when you click on it without opening it and it shows the preview.

Just disable preview pane or select a different file and that should help.

 

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Known Participant
Sep 10, 2021 10:32 PM UTC

I wasn't using any cloud-based file shares or network shares, so I kept looking in this thread for something close to my problem. I got a clue from the entry by cheyennew74060576 and based on that message, I figured out that the cause of my issue was Windows (SHOCKER!). Their ransomeware protection is a bit overzealous...

 

Here are the steps that worked for me...I'm running Windows 10, version 21H1 (Build 19043.1202):

  • First, open Acrobat and attempt to save. It is critical to actually try to save a file and see that it fail - the failure needs to be recent so it shows up later in these steps.
  • Click the Windows button
  • In the "type here to search" box, enter "controlled folder access"
  • Click on "Allow an app through Controlled folder access"
  • If prompted to allow changes to your computer, click [Yes]
  • Click the [ + Add an allowed app ] button
  • Click "Recently blocked apps"
    In the "Recently blocked apps" pop-up window, you should see an entry for Acrobat.exe near the top of the list. To allow Acrobat to save, click the big "+" to the left of the Acrobat.exe entry.
    • If you do not see Acrobat.exe, you may need to click the link to "Browse all apps". This will open a standard Windows "Open" dialog. Navigate to where Acrobat.exe is located (the default for Acrobat DC is C:\Program Files (x86)\Adobe\Acrobat DC\Acrobat\Acrobat.exe"). Select it and click [Open].
  • Close out of any open dialogs, making sure that Acrobat.exe is now listed in the "Allow an app through Controlled folder access" dialog.

 

I hope this helps others!

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Participant
Sep 27, 2022 6:10 PM UTC

Thanks! That worked like a charm.

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Participant
Jun 19, 2021 12:54 AM UTC

After I received this message while trying to save the file in Windows, I switched the save location to Desktop, saved it there, and then moved it from the Desktop to the location where I wanted to save it.

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Participant
Apr 22, 2021 12:42 AM UTC

This wont help everyone, but if you have Adobe Illustrator, open the PDF using that application, then simply 'save as' and choose PDF format.

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Participant
Mar 31, 2021 1:05 AM UTC

Error : 

 

 

 

Fix to save the file on cloud. 

Step -1 Pause the sync 

 

Step -2 Go to any file > Click Save as >  Rename the file  for example : Parris.com rename it to Parris.comm > then you would be able to save the document. Once the documents is saved then rename back to Parris.com. Then start the sync. That's it. Now you can see all the files synced successfully to OneDrive , Google drive. 

 

Thanks, 

Ravi Kumar 

 

 

 

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Participant
Mar 2, 2021 5:03 PM UTC

that worked!  Gracias, I have spent hours trying to resolve this issue.  it just started happening, not sure how it got changed to begin with.  thanks!  Don

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Participant
Feb 12, 2021 3:37 PM UTC

Suspending cloud storage sync helped me

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Participant
Oct 28, 2020 6:59 PM UTC

Just wanted to add this as an alternative.  

- Open your File Explorer

- Click on View

- Click on Preview Pane to turn if off. 

This helped me when my users were experiencing this issue. 

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Participant
Apr 15, 2020 8:54 AM UTC

I had this problem, and it was because I had moved the file to a different folder while it was open on my Mac. Adobe Acrobat appears to have issues with that.

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