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Can't save file 'this file cannot be found' error

Engaged ,
Feb 03, 2021 Feb 03, 2021

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Hi There,

 

I've been working on a file for a cople of days that's on my desktop. Today I opened the file, made some edits and hit CMD + S and saw this error...

Screen Shot 2021-02-04 at 9.37.05 AM.png

 

Things I've tried...

  1. Copying the art into a new document and saving
  2. Saving the new document to different disks (all local, no servers)
  3. Creating a blank document with nothing in it and saving

 

Bascially, I can't save anything - has anyone else seen this?

Cheers

Ben

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correct answers 7 Correct answers

Explorer , Jun 22, 2021 Jun 22, 2021

I think I know why this is happening. I have 2 Adobe accounts - one that has full access and one that only has free access. A mistake I made a while back was setting up an adobe stock account using my free account instead of my paid account, so to buy stock images, I have to log out of the account that my Illustrator, Photoshop, etc programs are connected to, log into my free one, get the images I want, save, and log out.

 

When this same issue happened to me, I was logged into the free account th

...

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New Here , Sep 06, 2021 Sep 06, 2021

Howdy!

I was having this problem too, but may have found a FIX!, though I don't know how or why it works. I change the document colour mode (RGB/CYMK) from whichever I am using then undo (so my file doesnt look whack) then save again and it works. Would love if someone who is having this problem could attempt this and verify.

 

Best,

e

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Community Beginner , May 14, 2022 May 14, 2022

Hi @Anshul_Saini and @Monika Gause It was none of the suggestions in this thread! I even completely uninstalled Illustrator and started again, same thing. Further research led me to a random comment on another forum mentioning Controlled Access Folders. I found them here: settings > updates & security > windows security >  virus and threat protection > Ransomware protection > Manage ransomware protection > Controlled Access Folders with a little on/off button! The button was on... switched it of

...

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New Here , Aug 09, 2022 Aug 09, 2022

Hello - I was having the same issue. Could not save and got the error, "file not found." My fix was that I saved the file as a PDF first. Then saved as an AI file and it did not error. 

Good luck!

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New Here , Apr 07, 2023 Apr 07, 2023

I turned off the VPN of my pc security software then it worked.

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New Here , Aug 15, 2023 Aug 15, 2023

For me, its because windows controlled folder access blocking the access to required folder path. To cope with it, you need to allow the app access.

Go to windows security > Virus & Threat protection > Ransomware protection > and under controlled folder access, click Allow an app through Controlled folder access

Then add illustrator and adobe services to allowed app list

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New Here , Oct 29, 2023 Oct 29, 2023

I had the same issue and instead of double clicking the document, I dragged it down to the Illustrator icon in my Dock and it opened up just fine. I hope I don't have that issue again though. 

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replies 148 Replies 148
Engaged ,
Feb 04, 2021 Feb 04, 2021

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Bump.

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Community Beginner ,
Dec 05, 2023 Dec 05, 2023

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Pause your VPN

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Community Expert ,
Feb 04, 2021 Feb 04, 2021

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So no matter what you are trying to save and which name, you can't save it? And always that same error?

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Engaged ,
Feb 04, 2021 Feb 04, 2021

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Thanks Monika, that's correct. It still happens even if I quit, reopen, create a new doc and try to save it.

Will try another computer restart when I'm back at work later this morning.

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Community Beginner ,
Feb 18, 2021 Feb 18, 2021

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Same. Drives me crazy. This is my workaround, but it's always risky: Quit illustrator via the task manager. This will (most of the time) generate file recovery information. When I open illustrator again, I can save the recovered file.

Adobe pls fix this. Your prices are awfully steep considering you make your software worse and our work harder with every update.

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New Here ,
May 28, 2021 May 28, 2021

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This worked for me, but was definitely a roll of the dice

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New Here ,
Jul 25, 2021 Jul 25, 2021

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Thank you!

Same problem happened to me today and I was able to fix it with your great advice!

Thanks you very much 🙂

 

By the way, before I have quitted Illustrator via the task manager I've copied all of the content so if this won't work I will have a solution.

Thanks again 🙂

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Community Beginner ,
Feb 23, 2022 Feb 23, 2022

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I've had the same problem for some time, and while it is (sometimes) possible to save as another format (eps has been good) we should not have to do so. Saving as a native AI file or PDF should be obviuos and effective.

 

ADOBE: FIX your damn problems; it's wasting all our time and increasing frustration.

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New Here ,
Sep 29, 2022 Sep 29, 2022

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This worked for me too. But Man I do not want to keep having to do this to save everything I design. This is awful. Thanks for the fix idea though.

 

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Adobe Employee ,
Oct 21, 2022 Oct 21, 2022

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Hi @Penny26354777ndh1,

 

We are sorry for the trouble & delayed response. Would you mind confirming if this issue happing on Illustrator v27.0 or not? Also, have you tried other correct marked answers?

 

Kindly update the discussion if you still need assistance with it. We'd be happy to help.

 

Thanks & Regards,
Anshul Saini

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Community Beginner ,
Oct 25, 2022 Oct 25, 2022

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Yes this is happening on V27.0

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Adobe Employee ,
Oct 26, 2022 Oct 26, 2022

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Hi @Specialty Incentives,

 

Sorry to hear about this. Would you mind confirming if you have tried the correct marked suggestion? Also, would you mind elaborating on the issue? When it happens, and what was the last action performed along with your system details?

 

We are here to help. We just need more info.

 

Thanks & Regards,
Anshul Saini

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New Here ,
Jul 22, 2023 Jul 22, 2023

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Working on an existing file in AI, not new. When I went to the close file it gave "This file cannot be found". 

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Community Expert ,
Jul 23, 2023 Jul 23, 2023

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@sandscript  schrieb:

Working on an existing file in AI, not new. When I went to the close file it gave "This file cannot be found". 


 

Which system?

Where is the file saved?

What did you do? I assume saving the file, not closing it?

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New Here ,
Jul 22, 2023 Jul 22, 2023

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It's still an issue in 2023. 

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New Here ,
Oct 28, 2022 Oct 28, 2022

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thanks bro! for this advice 

 

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New Here ,
Sep 01, 2023 Sep 01, 2023

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Had exactly the same problem using a Windows 11 laptop and this workaround worked for me too. I can't believe I'm paying so much $$ every month for this kind of quality. Come on Adobe. Fix this asap!

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Participant ,
Apr 12, 2021 Apr 12, 2021

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Same here.  Happened a few days ago and now.  Created new file, added some shapes, file Save to a folder on my data drive, type in name and AI type same error.  Tried Save As same result.

 

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Community Expert ,
Apr 12, 2021 Apr 12, 2021

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Where are you trying to save?

Does the file or folder name contain any special characters?

Is it very long?

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Participant ,
Apr 13, 2021 Apr 13, 2021

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The file name is Arches.ai

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Community Expert ,
Apr 13, 2021 Apr 13, 2021

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Where are you saving? On a network?

Are there special characters in the folder names?

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Participant ,
Apr 13, 2021 Apr 13, 2021

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No, the folder is text no characters.  I had a file in the folder (on my hard drive) named arch.jpg, once I removed it from the folder I was able to save my AI file.  Very odd.

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Community Expert ,
Apr 13, 2021 Apr 13, 2021

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That really is odd, but great you could solve it.

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New Here ,
May 18, 2021 May 18, 2021

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I just started having the same issue, both times it was with the first file I worked on after opening AI.

 

Terry

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