Publisher (Mac) cannot save a file.

[Doug Thomson]

Here’s the story - I have an old, but important document that I wanted to edit, but I only have it in a PDF format. I opened it in Publisher (no problem) and spent 3 or 4 hours editing it, but when I came to save it, no luck. I got an error message telling me it wasn’t able to Save to the File. (I’m using Publisher 2).

• The original PDF was not locked or Password protected.
• I have tried to save it in multiple locations all with tons of storage space.
• The drive permissions are all fine.
• I have tried different file names.
• I can export the file as a PDF.
• I cannot save the file as a Publisher file.

What’s up?

Doug

[Dan C]

Hi @Doug Thomson,

Sorry to hear you're having trouble!

Are you able to provide a screenshot of the error message you're seeing when trying to Save this document?

I assume that both File > Save and File > Save As fail with the same error?

Many thanks in advance!

[Doug Thomson]

Sorry, no, I found a work around because I couldn't wait. So, nothing worked originally ... Save, Save As, Package. 

So, what I did, because I had to get the job done, was to export my work as a pdf, cross my fingers and delete the file I was working on without saving, then open the pdf I just saved, in Publisher. I then tried (successfully) to save the file as a Publisher file. Finally, I rebuilt the Master Pages and deleted the unwanted elements on each page. A tad annoying, but it worked. 

[Dan C]

Thanks for confirming that for me and I'm sorry to hear these options weren't working as expected - though I am glad to know you found a workaround to recover the file.

In regards to the cause of this, are you able to attach a copy of your PDF file that was opened to create this document originally? If you'd like a private upload link for this PDF file, please do let me know.

I assume the same issue does not occur when using File > New, or when importing other PDF files (as this is the method you mentioned above to 'rescue' this document)?

[Doug Thomson]

I’m sorry, Dan, but the document is confidential and cannot be shared. The only thing of note that I can add is that the file was stored in a confidential website directory and I downloaded it directly from that location into Publisher. Publisher then adopted the name of the downloaded file and would not allow me to change that name. Yes, before you ask, I did try saving the file to the original location, but it would not do as I commanded. 

Dan, I could go to the effort of recreating the problem from the get go, but I really don’t have the time or energy to do that right now. What I will always do from now when opening a PDF file in Publisher is to immediately rename it and export it as a pdf. Then I will open the new version again and get on with my task. 

[Dan C]

No problem at all, I certainly understand and I appreciate the information provided here - I will be sure to pass this info through to our QA team for further testing, as I'm not certain how we handle files from a website directory directly, to see if we can improve this behaviour in the future without the need to rename & export to PDF.

Many thanks