Participant

Question

Photoshop 2025: "Quick Export as PNG" and "Export As" buttons broken after moving AppData folder

Forum|Forum|10 months ago
April 1, 2025
3 replies
834 views

Hello,

I recently moved my AppData folder to another drive as it was taking up a lot of space. The old path was C:\Users\<myname>\AppData\Roaming as is the default, and the new path is E:\Windows\AppData\Roaming. Moving the folder like this is a functionality supported by Windows, and Photoshop is the only application that has had a problem with it.

After the move, certain functions in Photoshop cause the following error to appear:

There are not any smart objects in this file, I just made a 16x16 canvas and immediately clicked "Quick Export as PNG." I have also noticed that the error message depends on what I do before first clicking Quick Export as PNG. For example, if I open a canvas, draw on it with the pencil too, and then try to export, I see this:

Other export options such as saving a one-layer image as a PNG work but this is very inconvenient.

Another thing I've noticed is when I open Photoshop now I don't see the typical Home screen with recent files and everything, it just jumps straight into the normal photoshop page even though there isn't any document or canvas open.

Here's what I've tried to do to fix this issue:

Taken every step in the Learn how to fix article
Restarting my computer
Reset Preferences by dragging the Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2025\Adobe Photoshop 2025 Settings folder to the desktop and relaunching
Deleting the Roaming\Adobe\UXP\PluginsStorage\PHSP\25 (or your version)\Internal folder
Doing both 2 and 3 at once
Uninstalling and reinstalling Photoshop via Creative Cloud
Copying the contents of the correct E:\...\Roaming\Adobe folder to the old C:\...\Roaming\Adobe folder at the original path that Adobe apps should not be accessing but keep creating

8. Using the command line to create a symbolic link from C:\...\Roaming\Adobe to E:\...\Roaming\Adobe

This issue is extremely inconvenient for me and I would really appreciate some help. Thanks!

Windows

S

samuel_9706Author

Participant

Bump (if this is not allowed please let me know)

Srishti Bali

Community Manager

Hi @samuel_9706

Apologies for the delayed response. I noticed that the folder you moved to the external drive is the one that stores app preferences for most Adobe applications. We generally don’t recommend changing the default location of this folder, as it contains crucial files necessary for the proper functioning of the applications.

The "program error" you're encountering in Photoshop can stem from various causes — ranging from corrupted preferences to incompatible system components. You can find more information on this issue here.

Since the app was working earlier, hardware seems less likely to be the root cause. It’s quite possible that the issue is due to changed Photoshop preferences. If the issue still persists, I’d recommend trying the following steps in the given order and sharing your observations afterward:

Change the preferences folder path back to its original location.
Remove the external device.
Perform a clean uninstall of Photoshop. (Use the Adobe Cleaner Tool to ensure all related files are removed.)
Go to the Roaming folder at Users\[your username]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop [version]. Back up (copy -paste on Desktop) and delete the Photoshop folders.
Restart your machine.
Reinstall Photoshop via the Creative Cloud desktop app.

I hope this helps resolve the issue! Let me know how it goes or if you run into any roadblocks—I’m happy to assist further.

Regards,

Srishti

D Fosse

Community Expert

Moving the folder like this is a functionality supported by Windows

By @samuel_9706

How did you change the location? What did you do in Windows?

S

samuel_9706Author

Participant

I opened the C:\...\AppData, right clicked the Roaming folder, went to Properties -> Location, typed in the new location, and selected the "copy all items to this new folder" option.

kglad

Community Expert

in the future, to find the best place to post your message, use the list here, https://community.adobe.com/

p.s. i don't think the adobe website, and forums in particular, are easy to navigate, so don't spend a lot of time searching that forum list. do your best and we'll move the post (like this one has already been moved) if it helps you get responses.

<"moved from download and install">

Sign up

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Sign in to Adobe Community

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Scanning file for viruses.

This file cannot be downloaded