Participant

Answered

Photoshop file disappeared after being saved

Forum|Forum|9 years ago
January 25, 2017
16 replies
45998 views

I've been working on a project for several days and I saved it each time before leaving my laptop, but today when I went on the file was nowhere to be found. On the other day's when I would open Photoshop the file would be in the "recent files" tab and I could continue where I left off. I've tried searching under all my files on my MacBook but I still cannot find it.

Correct answer Theresa J

Assuming you remember what you named the file, you can search for it using the Spotlight Search on your MacBook. It will be somewhere on your laptop unless you:

A) saved it to a server or external drive that you are not currently mounted to. This could be dropbox, or Creative Cloud files library, or

B) accidentally deleted the file, or the folder it was saved into

С

Сергей28026943x50j

Participant

Здравствуйте! Отработал 2 ограмных проекта, 2 дня сохранял копии, как выяснилось в папке, куда сохранял ни чего не оказалось! Включил все свои ресурсы, нашёл решение, готов Вам помочь. Мой прямой номер телефона +[Phone number removed for privacy] пишите на WhatsApp передам решение данного вопроса.

Hello! I worked on 2 huge projects, saved copies for 2 days, as it turned out, there was nothing in the folder where I saved it! I have included all my resources, found a solution, and am ready to help you. My direct phone number is +[phone number removed for privacy] write to WhatsApp and I will give you a solution to this issue.

Alex Fritz

Participating Frequently

Same issue... 2 hours of work down the drain. I saved the project multiple times. Photoshop just crashed due to a missing file... the very file that was open. I quickly tried to save but the program just closed. The file had vanished from my system. beyond frustrated.

S

svree

Participant

Agree! I touched up a major file of mine a few days ago. Now it's completely gone!

berniew42487286

Participant

Photoshop upgraded today. I was in the process of saving a documents to a newly created folder where a half a days work was saved and out of nowhere the folder vanished without a trace. I had the master folder open when this happened, the subfolder just dissapeared. #*$@!

S

sciblu

Participant

I just had this happen and I'm freaking out. Thankfully I was able to open recent files (I didn't realize until I had edited a few photos) and save a copy to the correct location but I still have no idea where my original edited files. I searched in finder and the files are not there. I also searched my cloud account since photoshop has been suggesting I save there. I have since opened a few different photos and they appear to save correctly so hopefully this is just a fluke...

jane-e

Community Expert

@sciblu wrote:

I just had this happen and I'm freaking out.

Can I ask where the image was located when you opened it? Was it in the Photos app? Did you open it from an email or message? Did you open it from Finder or Bridge? Was it on a server? Or something else?

Jane

D Fosse

Community Expert

The problem here, Jane, as you know, is that the Photoshop home screen gives no indication where the file actually is, and just gives people the impression that it's "in" Photoshop. And if for a myriad of reasons the file drops off the home screen, they think the file is "gone" or "disappeared". Unless they know where they actually saved it.

I think the home screen is responsible for nothing but bad habits, misunderstandings and general dumbing down the whole procedure. I think Adobe would do users a great service by just removing it. Just had to get that off my chest... 🙂

D

Darren23084791ywup

Participant

This just happened to me. Tried to open a PSD file fromt the recent files screen. When I clicked the thumbnail, it disappeared. puzzled, I clicked the next file thumbnail, and it also disappeared. I tried finding the file via windows exploere, but the files were not in the file I had previously saved them. A file search did not turn anything up, there is no trace of these files on my computer. Who do I invoice for this lost time/work. This is a majour bug! how can this happen?

D Fosse

Community Expert

A file saved to disk is the domain of the operating system, not Photoshop.

Relying on "recent files" to manage your documents is extremely risky. This is not a file browser. It doesn't keep track of your files - it's just a passive link to a certain address on disk. If that address is empty, because the file has been moved or deleted in the operating system, "recent files" will not be updated! The link just goes dead, as you experienced.

Files cannot just disappear, but they can get saved to places you didn't intend. They will be somewhere on your disk. If this happens, and you catch it right away, a useful trick is to initiate a new save and note where it wants to go. That's where the missing file will be.

F

Fredorigin

Known Participant

Your concern is appreciated. Please read my posts for the srquence of events. For me this does not happen when I open a file using recent filess. In fact I never really open a file that way. Either I go into a folder, click on it and open it or I open the file from a program called Thumbsplus. I've had files disspear no matter how I open the file. In my case I feel it has something to do with two computers saving the same file (concecutively, not at the same time) onto the same hard drive. I've had this happen even when there were hours long gaps (like saving a file from one pc and then trying to open it up on another pc the following morning). You said " If this happens, and you catch it right away, a useful trick is to initiate a new save and note where it wants to go.". All I can say is that I see the file in its intended location and it dissapears before my eyes in an instant. In other words the file was deffinately saved to the correct location.

F

Fredorigin

Known Participant

No but here's exactly what happens (to me)

1. I save a file (on Photoshop CC)

2.My wife (working with CS2) opens the file, works on it a bit & saves it.

3. I open the file again. Work on it a bit & save it and poof the file is gone.

This happens with any size file.

We're both working off a Western digital NAS. Both of us use thumbsplus as a file viewer.

We're both working with Dell workstations.

I hope this helps a bit.

F

Fredorigin

Known Participant

I hope Adobe listens this is a real problem.

brette84091289

Participant

I just run into the same issue!!! I have used photoshop (as well as illustrator and the entire creative suite) for over 20 years and this has never happened. I am running on windows so this is not a mac issue. I am certain that I saved numerous files such as .psd .png and even .jpg to a folder on my computer and they just disappered today!!! What is going on?!?

The files were not moved and they can not be found in my recycling bin. I can see a preview of the files when I open photoshop in my recent files, but when I click to open them I am given the following prompt "Could not complete your request because the file could not be found". I have clients waiting for images that I have been working on for the past week and now the files I need to send to them are gone! Hours of time just gone! There is certainly an issue with the current version of photoshop.

I suppose I will have to save every file that I work on to a cloud storage because saving to my own hard drive isn't reliable for some reason.

F

Full Coder Dev

Participant

I have the exact same problem. the files on the desktop removed permanently when I save image on desktop and after exactly close photoshop

jamambajamba

Participant

I've recently had the same problem on my Macbook Pro. I tried both Photoshop 2020 and 2021 - both have the missing file error. I think it's got something to do with the cloud desktop because Photoshop still thinks the file is there (if I go to save - it shows in the folder). But when I search on my mac in the actual folder the files are not there. Working off of external drives it's not happening - only off of files saved to or saved on the desktop. This is a crazy glitch. Hope Adobe and Apple can fix this ASAP!!

G

GD Teach

Participating Frequently

Interesting that it doesn't happen on an external drive. I teach a Design course each semester. Last semester we had only two files disapear without reason. Last spring we didn't have the opprotunity to finish but the fall semester there was several instances. Right now I have some very timid students working from home. Fingers crossed they don't have many issues since technology is scary to them and having a file go 'poof' could really be a challenge.

D

David231884805r0d

Participant

Oh yes it does happen on external drives just happened to me can't find my files anywhere not even just the one I was saving but all of them in a folder not in the recycle bin I did not delete have no idea

E

enzyme01

Participant

Several times this year something similr occurs. Always happens when working on large PSB files. I save every few minutes as a matter of habit when working in photoshop. I have spent a few days working on an image. Today I spent about 5 hours on it. I was almost finsihed editing. I had saved just again a few minutes before hnd. I noticed the save progress bar was stuck on 30%. I closed down all other applications. I waited for about 20 minutes. Still stuck on 30%. I checked finder and it shopwed the last time the file was saved as 7pm yesterday evening! I know for a fact the file was showing as saved throughout today in photoshop. I check the progress bar because as I said this has happened before. I did a finder search on all drives to to see if the file was showing anywhere else. It didnt. I could not save as because the save was stuck. I could not quite photoshop. I had to force quite. I could not relaunch photoshop. I tried to shut down. I had to force shut down. I rebooted and there was none of the images I opned in photoshop were listed in recent files. It is like as if today never happened. As I said this has happned before. Always on very large PSB files. The files are about 15GB. I contatcted adobe chat. I would be as well to have chatted with an aomeba. The adobe chat support is absoulutly not fit for purpose. I wasted 2 hours of my life with someone who had no clue as to the cause, no clue how it can be prevented again. Not one time have I left adobe chat with a solution. Zero. Adobe support is without doubt the worst support I have ever dealt with.

R

Rocco5ECC

Participant

yeeepppp. my file even showed up in Recents and when I clicked on it said this file didnt exist. poof. gonee

G

GD Hawaii Teacher

Participant

This happened to my student today. Poof. Did you get any resolution on this?

K

kcobb

Participant

I originally posted this same issue back in Oct. 2019. I have not gotten resolution. Files are... poof... gone! Unfortunately my colleague is now experiencing the same issue. Sadly, this at least validates what I have been experiencing. After teaching Photoshop for more than 20 years, I am CONFIDENT something is very wrong. The tech department at my school does not understand because they install Photoshop on the computers but never USE Photoshop.

Show more replies

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