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Penderecki
Participant
January 16, 2012
Answered

"Could not save as 'filename' because of a program error." Won't allow me to save in ANY format!

  • January 16, 2012
  • 40 replies
  • 124592 views

I have a large file (3500x8300px) that i have been working on in Photoshop CS4 and i tried to save it after working on it for about 30 minutes and got the following message: "Could not save as 'filename' because of a program error."  I tried saving it as .psd, .pdf, .tif, even .jpg and received the same message each time.  I closed down all other software to ensure that there was enough memory available but to no avail.  I then just closed my MBP and waited until the next day hoping it was just a glitch and might work later on.  I opened it up the next day (forgetting about the save issue) and worked on the file for a few more hours and then tried saving it again. (that's when i remembered the issue...too late...the work was already done).  Nope...still won't let me save it.  I'm afraid i'll have to restart the program but cannot afford to lose this work.  Any thoughts on how to fix it?

*note: i tried 'save for web' and it allowed me to save it as a flattened image (although rather slow due to filesize) but i need it in a layered format.

ANY HELP would be much appreciated!

Thanks.

**(I'm running PS CS4 v. 11.0.2 on a MBP 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 4GB 1067 MHz DDR3 and have Lion OS X 10.7.2.)

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Correct answer Penderecki

And just to make sure, duplicating the file or dragging the layers to a new file will also not result in a save-able file?


Yeah i tried all of the above and none of it seemed to work.  The only thing that would work was to SFW as either .gif or .jpg (wouldn't allow png).  However, after saving the second layer as a gif, the entire program froze and i was unable to recover it.  Oh well...here goes to starting over!  (maybe i can convince my boss to upgrade to CS5.) ha.  Thanks a lot for the help!

40 replies

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drew.smith
Participant
September 22, 2014

So, I found a solution that worked for me.

I ran an existing action I had which saves a 'PSD to desktop'. This seemed to work when the 'Save' and 'Save As' command didn't.

Find action sets here: WeTransfer

All the best.

2sparkies
2sparkies
Participant
September 11, 2014

Same problem here. Got the "Could not save as 'filename' because of a program error." ( 356mb file with 16 layers ) and went through everything layer by layer.

Eventually narrowed it down to one layer mask. Copied the mask to a new layer, deleted the offending layer mask, hit save, done.

No idea what was wrong with that particular mask but 3hours worth of work eventually got saved.

    ds63359555
    ds63359555
    Participant
    March 13, 2016

    2sparkles solution worked for me. My bottom most layer had a disabled layer mask. I no longer needed it but disabled it until I was certain. I deleted the mask and bazinga. All is right with the world.

    Niles Ridgeman
    Niles Ridgeman
    Participating Frequently
    February 15, 2014

    My two most sucsessful solutions:

    • Try saving on a different disk.
    • Try turning off all layers and saving (lately this has been most sucsessful).
      C
      Chris Tarantino
      Inspiring
      February 15, 2014

      Turning off the top adjustment layer usually works for me.

      Cheers!

      C
      carolakashorty
      Participant
      January 8, 2014

      Hi all,

      Had the same error when i tried to open a ps file from windows 7 to windows 8.1

      My problem turned out to be the text layers.I had to rasterize all text with "!" . I couldn't convert to shape or anything. Wasnt able to save, export in any file type, open in illus. nothing. just work and well...just work.

      Thankfully i managed to solve it. Rasterized the problematic layers and was good to go.

      I realised that the file was not corrupt but one of the layers was when i tired dragging a layer into a new file. I Was able to but when i tried to group all and drag in , it didnt work. So i went through the layers one by one and voila!

      Hope this helps someone.

      _______________________________________________________________

      Trial and error always + never give up till your head or computer explodes!

      (it's the only way)

        S
        SVO Media
        Participant
        January 28, 2014

        My problem was solved by flattening the layers and saving to .pdf or whatever I needed.  First create a backup file to keep the layers.  Problem solved.

          R
          R_Hinder
          Participant
          September 1, 2014

          Thanks svoutdoors media & carolakashorty. Flattening or Rasterizing the layer fixed the issue for me!

          I found out the "Could not save as 'filename' because of a program error." issue was caused by one layer (found by trial and error)

          Once I found the layer preventing me from saving to PDF, I rasterized the layer, and I was able to save as PDF again.

          Not sure what caused the layer problems, but importing the layer from another PSD didn't help. Rasterizing or Flattening the layer was the key for me.

          Cheers!

            W
            wind737
            Participating Frequently
            February 3, 2012

            Re: Could not save because _____file is already in use or was left open.

            My Photoshop document was only open in Photoshop, no other place, no other connected files, no other programs even open, and it is on a local drive and Bridge is only open on that same drive. Although was not using Bridge at the time, only trying to save a relatively small psd file when I got this error I see frequently.  It was not open any where else. Again, if i save it as filename_version 2.psd, works just fine. So I don't see how that is a scratch disk error or it is full.

            C
            Chris Tarantino
            Inspiring
            February 2, 2012

            Sounds like you are running out of Scratch disc space. The external HD is a good idea, but youmight want to upgrade your MBpro HD if you are running into this more often. Either that or a bigger external. You also might want to fix permissions on the laptop as this can also cause issues with saving.... such as the already in use error or unable to save.

            D
            douglasmenezes
            Participant
            January 31, 2012

            I managed to save the PSD!

            I had the same problem while working on a big file. Was getting the "Could not save" msg, tried saving in other formats / filename and it didn't work. So i took an old external hard drive, plug it in, and saved the psd to the hard drive. That done, I restarted and copied the file back to my internal HD and everything works.

            BTW I'm on a macbook pro. And was also getting a "scratch disk" error when trying to copy and paste graphics from illustrator.

            W
            wind737
            Participating Frequently
            February 2, 2012

            Just got another frequent saving error: Could not save because _____file is already in use or was left open. DUH! Yes I know it's open, I am working on it and trying to save my work, and once again, have to create another one, and this is not a large file. Any suggestions of fixing this one too?

            Chris Cox
            Chris Cox
            Legend
            February 3, 2012

            It was in use or left open by another application.  You fix that one by figuring out which other application has it open.

            The file isn't being kept open by Photoshop.

            C
            Charles Lehnert
            Participant
            January 24, 2012

            I'm running Photoshop CS4 on a MacPro with 10.7. I got the, "could not save" error with both files I had open. I was able to "save as" to a drive that I have networked from another computer.

            W
            wind737
            Participating Frequently
            January 25, 2012

            Did you try to save as with another name, i.e. filename_a.psd and save as filename_b.psd? that is the only thing that has worked for me. And it will save to same drive.

            W
            wind737
            Participating Frequently
            January 19, 2012

            Same problem, plus "cannot move due to a program error." But the fix for "Cannot save..." is to just name as same file name plus "a" or "1". i.e. file name is "header.psd" and won't save and get this annoying stupid error, which seems to happen all the time, all you have to do is rename it "headera.psd" or any other name and it will save. Then go back and delete the first one, or now you have two copies of file. There must be a bug fix for this, how about it Adobe?

            G
            graziam
            Participant
            July 2, 2021

            Hi Guys

            Has anyone figured out how to resolve this Issue? Mine was working fine until about 3 days ago out of the blue I started getting this error?

             

            I am on a Mac and I am using Photoshop 22.4.2.

             

            I have tried all the crap recommended by Adobe on this page: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/kb/program-error-opening-psd.html - The only one I havent done is going back on Photoshop version - which sounds like a lengthy process and a copout from Adobe.

            D
            devon5CCE
            Participant
            November 10, 2021

            Ddi you resolve this?! 

             

            Keep having the same thing

             

            c.pfaffenbichler
            Community Expert
            c.pfaffenbichlerCommunity Expert
            Community Expert
            January 16, 2012

            Any thoughts on how to fix it?

            I’d be surprised if one could fix such an issue while the program is running.

            I assume you have tried saving to another volume?

            If there are not too many Adjustment Layers you might be able to save out the individual Layers as png-24 with sfw.

            P
            PendereckiAuthor
            Participant
            January 16, 2012

            Yes, and i'm afraid that might be the only answer...just to save each individual layers as pngs and just write down all specs on adjustment layers and styles.  It's just that we're dealing with over 40 layers most of which have unique adjustment layers and styles.  And with a file this large, that could easily take an entire work day!  Oh well, it's looking like that might be my only option...just wondering if anyone else has had the same issue and figured out a solution.  Haven't been able to find much on any other forums.  Thanks though!

            c.pfaffenbichler
            Community Expert
            c.pfaffenbichlerCommunity Expert
            Community Expert
            January 16, 2012

            Someone else may have a better solution, so you might want to wait a bit before going that path …

            Anyway, can you use »Save Preset« from the Adjustments Panel’s fly-out menu to save the individual Adjustments?

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