"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

[Guest]

That's a good one.

My best,

Marc

[Ief_DR]

Please help!!

[Chris Cox]

Read the previous posts.

You've got to wait, or figure out what other application you have that file open in (could be part of the OS, like Spotlight, CoverFlow, etc.).

[bluerosez]

I called Apple and was told that if I updated to 10.6.3 it might fix the bug. I just did this.  So far so good. I think Apple might have fixed the bug. I was able to save the file I normally get the error message with. I hope every does the same and are happy with the results. Good luck!

[Guest]

The bug comes and goes so you never know when it will show up.

I hope 10.6.3 works but I think it's to early to tell. A few weeks of

usage will give us all a better sense.

[bluerosez]

UGGG ...........Marc you are so correct. I spoke to soon. The bug just showed up. This is so frustrating, it seems to happen more often when i save to an external drive. What is odd is when I first restarted everything and tested it, it saved with no problem, then a few minutes later I saved again and

it showed up.

[rembrandtgos]

I struggled with this same issue for a long time but may have figured it out. In your Photoshop Preferences menu, turn on Version Cue. (or off if it's already on) Worked for me and since this is an Adobe issue, I guess I'm not surprised. Hope it works for you too!

[Guest]

Well well! I had been searching on this topic since October 2009, when I got a new hard drive and Snow Leopard.

Our I.T. guy thinks it's an Apple problem (yes, I too download every new version/fix).  For me, I think it's the Windows server we use here that's fighting with Snow Leopard. I can save all the live-long day to my own hard drive, but only the first time (of the day on a particular file) on the network drive, then I have to go to a Save As, or save it to my HD and copy it back to the network, overwriting the original file.

But! Today I noticed that suddenly I CAN save to the network.  I'll ask the I.T. if he did anything new/different, but I looked and saw that there was a OSX software update to 10.6.3 Build 10D573 on March 31, 2010. Given that I was used to working off my hard drive to get around the problem, I guess I didn't notice the difference.  Upon finding this thread, however, I tested saving with Adobe and non-Adobe programs on the network, and the problem has mysteriously disappeared.  Hmmm.

[Yann_Shukor]

Yes,

That worked perfectly

Thanks

[creative dept]

I'm also having this problem in Indesign CS4 and Photoshop/Snow Leopard -- didn't have this problem in CS3 or Leopard. CS4 and Snow Leopard seem to fighting one another. Indesign does not let me rewrite PDFs with the same name, I get the "in use/don't have permission" error message. Photoshop gives the "In use/left open" error message. No other applications open (when it started I assumed that Preview had opened the file but that isn't the case). I've also noticed that if I have a mail message that contains an attachment of the same name I get the message.

The only work around (Indesign PDF) that I have found is deleting the PDf file before I try to rewrite it. Photoshop: I save as another name and immediately have to go and delete the other file I was trying to rewrite so I don't have the links screwed up on my final documents. What a pain...

I really don't care if it's Adobe or Apple -- just fix it already.

[Guest]

Just to make sure, you guys aren't leaving the preview in the Finder column view showing, are you? Sometimes with Photoshop, but always with Illustrator, if I have the preview showing in the Finder I cannot save over the document. If I close the preview (either by turning the triangle, or by clicking off of the file) I can immediately save again.

This was not an issue before Snow Leopard.

[p_taz]

I have had it while the preview is being drawn, if it strikes while preview is being created it will linger afterwards.  If I wait or turn off preview it does not happen.  This report is a bit out of date as I discovered it last year and it has not been happening lately either due to my workaround or something else I don't know... It was never consistent, but definitely was connected to the preview issue for me.  I had some large files that took a long time to process into previews on my low spec system.

Currently 10.5.8 Imac 24.

[Ief_DR]

Recently a new, but very similar, problem has arisen: "The disk copy of "name_document.psd" was changed since you last opened or saved it. Do you want to save anyway?" (see image below)

Again, I had no other apps that opened the file. This is a giant photoshop bug. Photoshop mistakenly thinks the .psd-file is opened/edited by another app.

Please Adobe fix this problem...

[Guest]

Try this:

http://www.hamsoftengineering.com/products/wkm/wkm.html

Ief_DR wrote:

Please Adobe fix this problem...

Are you unable to read and process the previous posts in this thread and the other thread in which you participated? You are asking the wrong company to fix this.

[Ief_DR]

Hi Marian,

Today, several times photoshop gave me the error-message. I tried the app you provided (http://www.hamsoftengineering.com/products/wkm/wkm.html). Screenshot included here: there was no app doing something with the.psd-file. I can read, this is indeed a giant photoshop-bug. It has nothing to to with timemachine or a virus-scanner.

[Guest]

Your issue is different than what is happening in this thread.

Your issue is that something modified the file since you opened it with Photoshop. Photoshop can still save.

The issue of this thread is that something is locking the file and Photoshop cannot save. That is what my link was intended to address. I'm sorry that I did not well distinguish the content in my last post.

[Guest]

OK let me chip in here as this has been driving me mad but I think I have found the culprit (in my particular case anyway) and hope it may help others…

Problem:

I am getting the "could not save ".." because the file is already in use or was left open" while using Photoshop, in this case I am saving Jpegs but I suspect it would be the same for other formats too.

Overview:

I have a 1 week old Macbok Pro running 10.6.3 and a fresh install of CS4 suite. Photoshop is v11.0.2. I have not done a single job or even saved one file yet in Indesign or Illustrator - so I can safely say that neither of those apps are the culprits for hogging the jpeg file through links or in any other way.

Narrowing it down…

1. The problem DOES happen when I have the files open in the finder in icon view (large, as it happens).

2. The problem DOES NOT HAPPEN when the file is opened, edited and saved the first time (ONCE).

3. The problem DOES happen when I do a further edit and try to save again for a second time.

4. The problem DOES NOT happen when the files in the finder are in list view.

5. The problem DOES NOT happen when I am browsing and opening the files through bridge instead.

So based on the above, and I am no expert, but it leads me to think that it is the Finder hogging the file while it recreates the icon in the finder window after Photoshop has saved it, particularly point #3 suggests this.

Solution: (worked for me anyway)

Go to Photoshop > Preferences > File Handling

And underneath "image previews - Always save"

Make sure that "Icon" is UNCHECKED. It must be the case that this is conflicting with the Finder's own icon generation, hence the finder not "letting go" of the file.

If you look carefully in the background now when you are saving the file, the icon disappears momentarily and re-appears - which it did not do before.

The only side effect is that the icons n the finder now have a think white border and a black keyline egde - but this is in addition to the original icons size anyway so it does not even result in a smaller icon. I can live with that.

Hope this helps for some of you guys, I have no idea about the problem occurring in other applications.

Rick.

[Guest]

This is a Photoshop problem, I have no doubt.

I am a Window user and looked here for a clue of the problem and see that Mac users have the same issue.

This has been a problem since I started with Photoshop 6.

I create a master Photoshop file and save it.

I then save a copy as a jpg file.

I open the jpg file and reduce the size and resolution, then save it (same file name).

Now, every once in a while, the jpg file remains locked by the Windows operating system.

I cannot change the file name, delete or move it.

If I open it, I cannot save it as the same file name.

I can open and save as a new name but I cannot delete the original until I reboot the machine.

The same thing hase occured with the master psd files. There does not seem to be a pattern.

Now I see that Mac users have almost the identical problem, I know it is a Photoshop file management issue.

My guess is that Photoshop tells the operating system that it has the file open but then neglects to tell the operating system to release the file.

Photoshop employees keep trying to blame other systems.

Tell me why:

• This occurs when no other application has accessed the file.

• It only occurs after Photoshop accesses a file.

• It occurs on both Mac and Windows platforms.

• No other application on the PC creates this problem.

[Chris Cox]

It is not a Photoshop problem - that is already well established.

Photoshop reports the problem when the OS says the file is busy (being used by another application).

Either your OS is lying, or Photoshop is correct and some other app has the file open.

We've tested Photoshop quite a lot to make sure that it cannot keep files open after reading or saving the files.

And we have never seen a case where Photoshop could keep the files open.

But we have seen thousands of cases where something else on the system kept the files open (including parts of the OS/Finder/Explorer/Spotlight/Coverflow/etc.).

[Guest]

Chris,

>> It is not a Photoshop problem - that is already well established.

I had Photoshop 6 on this machine and this problem occurred ONLY after Photoshop accessed or created a file. I have Photoshop 6 on my home PC and the same problem occurs.

After upgrading to Photoshop CS3 at work, I assumed that the problem would be fixed. It was not.

I do not now what is causing the fault. All evidence points to Photoshop.

Again, If this is not a Photoshop generated error, explain why:

• This occurs when no other application has accessed the file.

• It only occurs after Photoshop accesses a file.

• It occurs on both Mac and Windows platforms.

• No other application on the PC creates this problem.

Additionally:

Occurs on two different machines. One with XP Professional, the other XP home. The only common is Photoshop.

[Chris Cox]

There is zero evidence of such a problem with Photoshop.

So far EVERY single case has found a cause outside of Photoshop (Explorer, Finder, Spotlight, thumbnail rendering, Bridge (they fixed it), InDesign, Quark, anti-virus, etc.).   In no case has the cause been Photoshop itself.

The only reason you suspect Photoshop is because Photoshop is reporting the error (which came from the OS, and was caused by an external application).

Again, we write and test Photoshop to make sure that we can't produce such a problem.

If you are using Windows, and have Photoshop 6 installed, then you may still have the old psicon.dll running as an explorer extension.  We got rid of that dll a long time ago because the Windows APIs it uses CAN leave a file locked. That's a bug in Windows Explorer that has yet to be fixed (instead MS added new APIs that have other problems).

[Guest]

Chris,

If you read my symptoms and throw in many of the symptoms found in this thread, then yes, the symptoms indicate Photoshop but it is not conclusive.

I am looking for a fix, not playing the blame game as you seem to be.

You indicate that the psicon.dll may be me the culprit and I did find that Photoshop 6 is still installed. I assumed that when I upgraded to CS3 it would have removed the old version. Shame on me.

If psicon.dll is the root cause of the problem AND psicon.dll was created by Photoshop then I must come to the conclusion that it is a Photoshop generated error.

[Chris Cox]

No, your evidence points to something outside of Photoshop.    Adding in my knowledge of the internals of Photoshop plus all the testing done - makes it highly likely that the problem is outside of Photoshop.

I'm not "playing the blame game". I'm simply trying to explain the problem to you.

The problem with psicon.dll is a bug in Windows.  If we could have fixed it, we would have (and we spent years trying).  But we can't fix Windows.  So we had to drop the DLL.

[Guest]

Well my 'solution' didn't last long - the problem is back - albeit intermittently.

Chris - I can understand what you are saying that the evidence points towards another application being the cause of the problem, and I am still of the opinion that (in my case anyway) it is at least partially to do with my Finder (OSX SL 10.6.3) doing something with the image preview.

But

It is not being caused by the Finder all on it's own - the problem is clearly a combination of Photoshop AND the Finder because it is only Photoshop that is having trouble saving the files. If another application IS causing the problem then it is not preventing any other application including image editors such as Preview from saving the files without a hitch.

The problem does not occur without Photoshop, which immediately points to the fact that it is at least partially responsible. Apple will of course not take any responsibility for a problem that cannot be recreated on their system without using Photoshop. As a result they would likely point to Photoshop as being the cause as that is basic testing / process of elimination. But if Adobe then claim that it is being caused by another application other than Photoshop we have stalemate that no-one wants to fix.

Given the price of these professional standard products, surely Apple and Adobe between them have some sort of shared responsibility to ensure their products work together as seamlessly as possible? As both companies are in part dependent on one another to increase sales I would expect this to be the case. After all, if Adobe released OS10.7 tomorrow and the current CS4/5 installer wouldn't run properly on it, then Adobe would of course make sure they fixed that very quickly, regardless of whos 'fault' it is or where the incompatibility issues are.

Will Adobe still continue to fix problems with CS4, or are all those resources now with CS5 only?

Cheers

Rick

PS. I do appreciate your input on here, it is reassuring to know that people on the inside are listening and trying to help.

[Guest]

...It is not being caused by the Finder all on it's own - the problem is clearly a combination of Photoshop AND the Finder because it is only Photoshop that is having trouble saving the files. ...

The problem does not occur without Photoshop

That's not entirely true, at least not in my case... I have had the same issue with Illustrator and, to a much lesser extent, InDesign as well. In all three cases keeping the Finder preview hidden resolved the issue. (And, considering how the preview slows the Finder down, I really don't mind keeping it closed and using the space bar shortcut to show previews of specific files when I need to.)

Again, this is my experience, yours may vary... and this obviously doesn't address the similar issues experienced by Windows users.