"Could not save (file name) because the file is already in use or left open."

[Shlomit Heymann]

Hello,
When I tried save as a file, I get an error msg:
"Could not save (file name) because the file is already in use or left open."

The file is not open anywhere accept Photoshop.

Mac Pro, OSX 10.5.6
Photoshop CS4.

I searched the forum but could not find anything even though i'm sure someone already asked it.

would love to get a solution for that.
thank you,
shlomit

[c.pfaffenbichler]

This Action edits jpgs and then saves them?

That would appear inadvisable to me for image deterioration reasons.

[mjs_summerfresh]

I have a folder full of JPGs that all need to be resized from the current size of various rectangular dimensions to a uniform 200 x 200 pixels for a web site. Any deterioration is minimal and not noticble in this specific case, so I'm not worried about it.

[c.pfaffenbichler]

Yeah, for such a task it is pretty much irrelevant. (Edit: Image deterioration that is.)

»The problem is that the bug causes PS to refuse to save the file you are trying to save, so saving them to a

Tempo folder won't matter.«

Are you saying that even a recorded Save As or saving to a Destination Folder from the Batch fail?

[Guest]

Well I tried everything, but when I ejected the external hard disk and most importantly my pendrive, from my PC it works. My pendrive was even showing that it could not be ejected because other program was using it, but I removed it anyway.  And after that everything is normal. If you've any other external source of storage attached to your PC, please remove it and see if it helps.  This problem was bugging me for two days.

[Guest]

It is beyond belief that the Photoshop people cannot see.

Yes, your are correct that it is not Photoshop that is locking the file.

The logic of the symptoms should be obvious to anyone that it is a Photoshop problem with talking to the operating system whether it is Windows or Mac.

I use XP Home and Professional and it has occurred on both. Others here have reported the problem on other Windows platforms as well as Mac.

Let’s see:

The problem DOES NOT occur on the following applications on my PC’s:

·         Autodesk AutoCAD

·         Autodesk Mechanical Desktop

·         Autodesk Inventor

·         Microsoft Office (all versions, all applications)

·         Adobe Acrobat( 4.0, 9.0)

·         Adobe PageMaker (6.5)

·         Plus a host of other not so common applications

The problem DOES occur on the following applications:

·         Adobe Photoshop 6.0

·         Adobe CS3

Yes, you’re right. It is a Windows problem.

[Guest]

Using the various utlities that have been posted here and in other threads, it should be obvious to everyone that the file is being locked or reported in use by some application or process other than Photoshop. It is never Photoshop that has the file locked.

From that perspective I understand why Adobe would feel that it's not their issue to resolve. (And, at least to some degree, I agree: why does the Finder report a file as being in use just to display the preview? That strikes me as being an Apple bug... but I digress)

However, to me the real question here is whether is whether it's appropriate for Photoshop to care about this and balk at saving the file, as all the other apps don't worry about it and seem to operate just fine. I don't suffer any rampant file corruption from my other apps, that are going ahead and saving over the file that the Finder is supposedly already using (for the preview, or whatever).

[Guest]

An option in Photoshop preferences to disable this error checking for files in use might be another useful feature request.

[Chris Cox]

However, to me the real question here is whether is whether it's appropriate for Photoshop to care about this and balk at saving the file, as all the other apps don't worry about it and seem to operate just fine.

Except for one problem: they don't operate just fine.  They sometimes lose your file.

Photoshop is trying really hard to avoid that.  Photoshop tries to pay attention to the OS error messages, and keep your data safe.

And yes, we have been working with Microsoft and Apple to resolve the problems in the OS code.

[Guest]

Geeez... you sound stressed dude. Is it because Adobe doesn't pay you well or because the workforce for this kind of stuff is moving to India and so on? Calm down. We're the customers, and you're the solution provider.

[Guest]

Richard-OH wrote:

...The only way I found to solve the problem was to install a cool piece of software called "Unlocker", so everytime the damn photoshop tells me it cannot save the file, I just go there and unlock it, then save without problems...

That Unlocker program will state which program is locking the file. It is not Photoshop.

[Waheed2]

close all open files and wait for a minute than save again

[Shlomit Heymann]

thank you, yes, i know the workaround but this will create another file and this is not what i want or need :)

[Ann_Shelbourne1]

It may be what you will have to have if you want to save that file!

8/

You can always delete the first file and re-name the second one after you have saved it.

[Shlomit Heymann]

This is a repeated issue in photoshop,
I would love to solve it for once.:)

[Ann_Shelbourne1]

It may be another Leopard-related problem because I have never seen it happen on my G5 on OSX 10.4.11.

You are not working across a network from a Server are you?

[mckayk_777-PN6kWE]

This also happens on a stand alone machine, it is a real pain.

[_derek_Kimball_]

Try closing your "Preview" application. If you are like me and you set psd's to automatically open in Preview rather than Photoshop for easy and quick viewing purposes, it will not allow Photoshop to save if the file is also opened in it.

[Kid Red]

I came here for the same issue, in my case closing Preview worked. Oddly enough, I did not have to file open in preview, but closing that app worked for me.

[BJN3]

Same issue with the recent update to PS6 on Windows platform.

I suspect this is related to Photoshop's background file saving, since the files in question are never in use by another application. I think Photoshop doesn't know it's doing a background save or doesn't release the file properly when it's done.

I'm turning off background save.

[Chris Cox]

Notice that this discussion is from before the release of Photoshop CS6.

It has to do with external applications (possibly including the OS) having the file locked/busy.

It has nothing to do with background save.

[BJN3]

I reviewed your comments through the thread, and the most likely issue sounds like another Adobe CS6 application has its foot in the door in error. I'll see if I can figure out which one and complain that direction. Thanks for steering me in the right direction.

[Kid Red]

Snow leopard it seems to me that if the file name is selected in a finder window, then I can't save. I have a similar issue deleting files from a NAS in the finder. I have to select a second item to be able to go back and delete the first item that I previously had selected because I would get "cant delete, file in use".  They are both very similar errors with a modifying files in the finder if SL if selected.

[Guest]

This has been an issue since Photoshop 6.0 (Windows).

Adobe had always responded with it is a Windows fault, not Adobe.

Still occurs with CS3 but not as often.

Also occurs with Adobe InDesign but very infrequently.

NEVER occurs with non-Adobe apps.

I use UnlockerAssistant to free up the file. Most of the time it is Windows Explorer that has it locked but every once in a while it is the application. My suspicion is that it has something to do with the thumbnails.

[c.pfaffenbichler]

Adobe had always responded with it is a Windows fault, not Adobe.

And has qualified Windows personnel ever contested that claim?

(Not to worry, by the way, similar problems seem to happen on Macintosh ocassionally, too.)

[Guest]

No, not occasionally, it happens all the time if you have the file selected in the Finder and are using column view with the preview on.

I beleive Chris when he says that it's not directly a Photoshop issue, but I question why Photoshop (and occasionally InDesign when exporting a PDF) are so sensitive to this issue when no other app I use cares whether the Finder is displaying a preview or not. If Illustrator and InDesign can successfully save their documents when the Finder is showing a preview, why can't Photoshop?

(This is just one more example of the many many supremely aggravating inconsistencies between Adobe apps, all of which belonging to the same "suite.")