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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 137 Replies 137
New Here ,
Oct 15, 2021 Oct 15, 2021

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This has happened to me, and sadly quitting the app and hoping it would be there in file recovery, but it wasn't. Lost 2 hours of work, thanks Adobe. Your software is become worse with the increase in prices. Angry.

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Explorer ,
Jun 10, 2021 Jun 10, 2021

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Happend to me as well. First Adobe breaks "save as" in Photoshop and now saving in Illustrator doesn't work at all.  What's happening over there?

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Community Expert ,
Jun 10, 2021 Jun 10, 2021

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Which version, which system, exactly where are your files located?

 

How often do you reboot the computer?

Can you "Save as" the file elsewhere?

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New Here ,
Jun 13, 2021 Jun 13, 2021

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The same thing just happened to me. The task manager trick worked but I had to cross my fingers, say a prayer and say ten Hail Marys while I waited for it to reload. What a gamble!

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Explorer ,
Jun 22, 2021 Jun 22, 2021

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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 that doesn't have access to programs. As soon as I remembered this, I signed back into my pro account and the issue was solved. So double check that you're signed into your Adobe account.

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New Here ,
Jul 07, 2021 Jul 07, 2021

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Yep, great, that worked! Sign out, sign in and voila!

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Explorer ,
Jul 19, 2021 Jul 19, 2021

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This just happened to me too. My workaround was saving as an .eps file, which worked, then shutting down illustrator and re-starting. 

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New Here ,
Jul 23, 2021 Jul 23, 2021

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So I found a very strange solution not sure if it will help anyone else. When you go to save as there is an option to click save on Cloud. Click  on that option and name your document file and then once it is saved to the name you want go back to save as and click the file folder you want to save it too. It works like a charm. No need to click out or exit illustrator.

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Community Beginner ,
Dec 16, 2021 Dec 16, 2021

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This same error just started happening to me.  This solution of saving to the cloud then to my hard drive worked.

 

Very frustrating.

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New Here ,
Sep 06, 2021 Sep 06, 2021

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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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New Here ,
Sep 10, 2021 Sep 10, 2021

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This worked for me as well. I went to file, document color mode, and changed it to CMYK. I then switched it back to RGB and was able to save after doing this. 

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New Here ,
Jul 15, 2023 Jul 15, 2023

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Changing color mode totally fixed it. Weirdest thing...

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New Here ,
Jan 04, 2022 Jan 04, 2022

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Worked for me too. You're a saint!

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New Here ,
Aug 03, 2022 Aug 03, 2022

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I've just come across this problem after adding 6 new artboards and a handful of new vectors. Change to CMYK (from RGB) then Ctrl+Z then Save and it works fine. Thanks for the tip.

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Explorer ,
Sep 15, 2022 Sep 15, 2022

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Worked for me as well. Thank you!

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New Here ,
Sep 25, 2022 Sep 25, 2022

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Worked for me as well, thanks!

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New Here ,
Jan 02, 2023 Jan 02, 2023

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Thanks ... This worked

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Community Beginner ,
Feb 20, 2023 Feb 20, 2023

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Enzo,

Thanks. I was worried I had to rebuild. Your solution worked. 
Thank again,

Bob

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Community Beginner ,
Feb 24, 2023 Feb 24, 2023

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Wow, Enzo - you saved the day for me, too. Thank you so much for posting this answer!

:)))  ...Super happy not to lose my work this time.

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New Here ,
May 26, 2023 May 26, 2023

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I've never come across this problem before today, but your unexpected yet simple fix worked for me too.  Thanks!

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New Here ,
Jun 03, 2023 Jun 03, 2023

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Worked like a charm!!!

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Community Beginner ,
Feb 02, 2024 Feb 02, 2024

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Worked!  Why on earth is this the fix? 

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New Here ,
Mar 20, 2024 Mar 20, 2024

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LATEST

This worked for me! THANK YOU!

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New Here ,
Sep 16, 2021 Sep 16, 2021

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Had the same issue.  I was able to save as an .eps (safety measure before force quit).  Then I used the force quit, reopen, and was able to save normally again.  This was not a free account issue for me.  

 

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New Here ,
Dec 09, 2021 Dec 09, 2021

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I had an issue with that recently even though I have the full Adobe Creative Cloud package, the solution I found that worked for me was saving the document on the cloud first, then proceeding to saving it on my laptop.

Hope this helps.

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