InDesign 2023 makes a read only file

[Christina228449123bw0]

I have just updated to the 2023 InDesign, and now suddently my documents are read-only and I cannot save the file, but have to make a save as version and give the document a new name everytime I have to save my work.

Do you know why this is happening? And how to avoid this?

[Dan291424714xu2]

I know it's not a FIX as such but a colleague of mine was having the same issue and said that the issue doesn't happen when opening files from Windows Explorer. Previously they would open InDesign and open the file from within the software but by opening outside of it they think its stopped the issue from occuring.

[Tom24990841upiw]

Dan291424714xu2,

Please explain how you open InDesign files in a web browser?

[Dean27672471wbrl]

I believe this means that if you navigate to the file on your server through Windows and double click to open it from its location rather than opening it through the OPEN function in Indesign then files opens without the READ ONLY issue.

We found while this can reduce the number of time to problem occurs it does still happen. If you see an Indesign Lock file has been generated in the location folder on your server after you open the Indesign file you know you will be okay, but if a lock file fails to be be generated the READ ONLY issue occurs.  

This could be an indication of where the problem lies??

[Dean27672471wbrl]

I did a little testing on the above and found if I double click from the location folder on the server to open it's hit and miss if the READ ONLY problem occurs. However, if I right click and select open (so far) I've had 100% of files open without the problem  

It would be interesting to know if others have the same results

[pifath67]

Unfortunately, when I double-click in the folder window or right-click and select "Open", the files are opened as read-only.
It is often the case that a file that was initially not write-protected is suddenly write-protected immediately after saving, without me having closed it in the meantime.
Unfortunately, all the supposed "workarounds" cannot hide the fact that there is a serious error in the programme.
I'm also not sure whether anyone at Adobe is still interested in this whole discussion.

[pifath67]

Please don't misunderstand the statement about "workarounds". I don't want to criticise anyone here. But it can't be the solution that we users have to come up with some tricks to compensate for Adobe's carelessness and sloppiness in order to be able to work properly. After all, we have bought a very expensive tool and we can expect it to work perfectly.

[Dan291424714xu2]

Sorry as others have mentioned yes it's not browser related. It's going to a folder location on your server and opening from there rather than within InDesign itself.

I get that this isn't a solution and it is a major flaw in the software. As @Dean27672471wbrl has suggested maybe it's something to do with the way in which it recognises it's read only when opened, especially if the locked symbol doesnt appear in Explorer.

[pifath67]

I have just updated to Mac OS Ventura 13.6.1 and Indesign 19.0.1 and the first InDesign file I opened after the update was immediately write-protected.
The problem persists...
And Adobe is obviously doing absolutely nothing to fix it...
Very disappointing...

[Rishabh_Tiwari]

Hi @pifath67 ,

Sorry to hear about the trouble. Have you tried the suggestions shared in this discussion? Did the issue occur after the update, or did you experience the issue in an earlier version as well? 

Thanks

Rishabh

[Tom24990841upiw]

My suggestion would be for Adobe to put out a simple survey with maybe 10 questions about Versions, OS, Server Protocals, Virus Protection...ect, to see if we can find a common issue here and get to the bottom of this.

This has gone on long enough.(2 years?) If this isn't an Adobe issue, than Adobe needs to prove it!

Otherwise this thread is useless.

[pifath67]

We have tried the workarounds from this thread and this problem has existed since version 18.3.
None of the updates since then have brought any improvement.

[pifath67]

And by the way:

Is anyone actually doing anything about this serious error?

Or is everyone busy introducing new "features" that nobody needs?

What we all need here is software that works perfectly.

I think we can expect that for this price.

[mhvz2019]

Hi everyone. I've discovered something purely by fluke. I find that if I do a Save As and save the file as an IDML file, making sure not to override a previous file, (so calling it V1, V2, V3 etc because it won't save over a previously saved file), InDesign then lets me save my native InDesign file. The Read Only message never disappears but it will let me save. 

[Jim27186468bpg8]

There is a faster, less cumbersome "workaround"... just open the file, close it, and reopen it immediately. Then there is no Read-Only tag.... works 98% of the time....

But we the people, want this fixed. No more "workarounds"... 1 Year + is long enough.

[Tom24990841upiw]

I've done this Hundreds of times. Mostley just to see how many times it will take for the file to open as readable.

Open, Close, Open, Close, Open, Close, over and over again. Usually about the 12th time it opens as readable.

@Rishabh_Tiwari , any thoughts about the survey I suggested?

Radio silence is all we can get?

[Jim27186468bpg8]

Thats sucks sorry to hear that. I guess I am "fortunate" if you can call it that. LOL

But I do see great value in your survey idea... 

[pifath67]

Short Story:

The first InDesign file today was immediately write-protected again...
As I had criminally not paid attention to this (to compensate for Adobe's inadequacy and sloppiness), I had to save it under a new name so as not to lose my work on the file.
Then rename the old file, rename the new file, open it again - oops, read-only! - so open it three more times until it was no longer write-protected.
Then I could continue working.
Now that's what I call an effective workflow...
WHEN WILL THIS FINALLY BE FIXED, ADOBE?

[Jim27186468bpg8]

-

[Jim27186468bpg8]

This exact story happens to me all the time. We have had to create a folder called "older versions"  in each job folder, just to throw the InDesign files in there,  in case some major error happens. It is beyond an inconvenience, it is now infuriating.

[pifath67]

I don't know if I'm the only one who has another problem with InDesign, but I think this has already been mentioned in this discussion:
It is very often the case that an existing PDF cannot be overwritten during PDF export. The message then appears that this file is already open.
I then have to close the folder window with this file and usually also close Acrobat, even though I had not opened the file before.
After several attempts, the overwriting then works.
This problem has also occurred since the problem with the write-protected files.
Maybe I only have this problem on the Mac?
How is it with you?

[Jim27186468bpg8]

Hi there. YES. We have this problem in our office too. These PDFs are exported to one of our job folders on the server, and if I try to open it to make changes to the PDF, layour, magnification etc..... it says it is in use. When we know it is not in use.

So my workaround for a year, has been to export PDFs to my desktop, so I can make changes to the file. Then I move it to the server folder. Once again, another workaround.

[BriGuyOSC]

A lot of times, I think it has to do with the preview, but I'm not on a Mac here at work, so I can't verify at the moment. I can check this some other time at home, where I freelance on a MacBook Pro. At work, we run Windows 10, and if the Preview Pane is open, and it is displaying a preview of the PDF you're trying to edit or export/overwrite, it won't let you do that until you close that window (or at least turn off the preview in some capacity -- either disabling the Preview Pane entirely or just clicking off of the document in the window so it stops displaying the preview of that file). I feel like any time a preview is involved, whether it's a Windows Explorer/Mac OS Finder window, or even an InDesign or Acrobat home screen window (which shows document previews), if your file is being actively previewed in something, it will read that as the file being open, so you have to close out of those before it will let you overwrite/edit.

We save to a Synology NAS drive here (networked storage drive/server), so I can relate to some of what @Jim27186468bpg8 is saying.

Also, if someone else on your network has the file open on their computer (or even a preview, I imagine), this could also be part of the issue (not saying it is, as I don't know your setup).

What I do, to be able to save directly to the network storage (server):

1. If I have the window open in which the InDesign file is located and I have the PDF selected so that the preview is showing: click off of the PDF to stop displaying the preview. That's it. Then it'll save. (Like I mentioned above, if the preview is showing, it reads that as the document being open.)

2. If that doesn't work and I'm still getting an error, the next step is to close all applications that may be displaying a preview -- InDesign, Acrobat -- heck, even Outlook.

3. If that still isn't the solution and it still says the file is open somewhere, then I physically get up and walk around the office and make sure no one has the file (or even a preview of it) open on their computers.

4. Last, but not least, reboot the computer to "clear its brain" and try again.

5. Yes, if that still doesn't work, then I have to save locally (to my computer/deskop/whatever) and then drag it to the network drive from there, as @Jim27186468bpg8 mentioned. But usually, one of the first three is the culprit for me.

[pifath67]

We have just updated to InDesign 19.1.
Surprise, surprise: absolutely NOTHING has changed with regard to the problem of write-protected files and the problem with overwriting in PDF export.
I think I'm giving up hope.
The only thing we can probably expect from Adobe is that the subscription will get more and more expensive and the software will get worse and worse...

[Jim27186468bpg8]

pifath67 man I feel your pain. you have been a loud voice here and I for one appreciate it. nothings seems to be happening. The Adobe reps don't even comment anymore. not even comments with false hope! just silence. Isn't this an actual Adobe forum? Not sure. One thing I am sure of is, Read Only files seem to be here to stay. What a complete pain  after almost 20 years of using InDesign and me singing it's praises all those years.... I feel like I have been punched in the gut. This is really sad.

[Abuse removed by moderator]

[Stephen283171470wfc]

This is a constant problem since version 18 and has never been properly fixed by Adobe. I'm pretty sure it's caused by a timing issue in SMB packets but it should be Adobe's problem to fix this not mine.