You don't have the permission to save the file in this location - Affinity Designer - Mac

[mancillaanxelli]

Hi there!

Since few days ago I've been experience some troubles when saving my files (while I'm working).

I can create and save a brand new file (.afdesign) but... When I want to save the changes I've made (even in short periods of time), I got the pop up window with the phrase: "Saving is failed because you don't have the permission to save the file in this location. Do you want to save the document in a new file?".

I've already checked the info document (reading and writing privilege). I also tried to change the permissions in the preference system app. I uninstalled and installed afdesign app, but nothing made any difference and I can't solve this issue.

It is bit frustrating that I have to save the same file with different names every time as I continue working. 

Does anyone have same trouble? Is there a solution I'm not seeing or doing? 

Thanks a lot!

P.S. I've got Desktop MacOS Catalina 10.15.7

[Dan C]

Welcome to the Affinity Forums @mancillaanxelli & sorry to hear you're having trouble!

6 hours ago, mancillaanxelli said:

I can create and save a brand new file (.afdesign) but... When I want to save the changes I've made (even in short periods of time), I got the pop up window with the phrase: "Saving is failed because you don't have the permission to save the file in this location. Do you want to save the document in a new file?".

Can you please confirm for me, what location are you saving/loading to? Is this a local Folder, a Cloud Sync'd location, an external USB device etc?

If you save/load the document from your Desktop, does the same issue occur?

Are you running any Cloud backup apps or Antivirus software, which may be scanning your files actively etc?

Many thanks in advance

[mancillaanxelli]

5 hours ago, Dan C said:

Welcome to the Affinity Forums @mancillaanxelli & sorry to hear you're having trouble!

Can you please confirm for me, what location are you saving/loading to? Is this a local Folder, a Cloud Sync'd location, an external USB device etc?

If you save/load the document from your Desktop, does the same issue occur?

Are you running any Cloud backup apps or Antivirus software, which may be scanning your files actively etc?

Many thanks in advance

Thanks a lot for your answer!

I usually save all my files directly on the computer (Desktop or Folders I create in it). Yes, I tried to open old files and the same thing occurs when working on my computer. Apparently, it doesn't happen when I work directly on the external hard drive I always have plugged.

I don't have any Cloud or Time Machine activated (not even ICloud).

I have the free version of Clean my Mac Antivirus X installed but I haven't had troubles before.

This pop up started 3 days ago approximately and I haven't changed the way I do things as I can remember. I'm thinking that maybe I used a shortcut by mistake... I don't know 

Thanks again for your support  

[Dan C]

No problem at all, thanks for confirming that for me!

22 hours ago, mancillaanxelli said:

Yes, I tried to open old files and the same thing occurs when working on my computer. Apparently, it doesn't happen when I work directly on the external hard drive I always have plugged.

I'm a little confused by this - are you finding that opening and saving files to/from your external hard drive does not show this error message?

If so, what happens if you disconnect the external hard drive and then try loading / saving a file to your desktop? Does this stop the error message from appearing?

This may help us to determine the exact cause of the issue

[MikeTO]

Is the folder containing the document locked? My Spanish isn't perfect but I think the English message I get when trying to save to a locked folder is the same as yours.

[v_kyr]

Well, a locked or permission wise read only folder, doesn't allow to write files into it. So the folder permissions have to be checked here and dependent on what sort of folder it is, then to be reset to allow (owner/group/users) write permissions for it.

[mancillaanxelli]

4 hours ago, Dan C said:

No problem at all, thanks for confirming that for me!

I'm a little confused by this - are you finding that opening and saving files to/from your external hard drive does not show this error message?

If so, what happens if you disconnect the external hard drive and then try loading / saving a file to your desktop? Does this stop the error message from appearing?

This may help us to determine the exact cause of the issue

I know, right?

Well, I did the following things to check as you suggested:

1. I copied an old file from my external hard drive to my desktop, then I take it off. The file opened correctly and I could work nicely. It seemed to be all right (even saving some changes a couple of times) but when I tried to resave it the 6th time, the message appeared. So I have to save it with another name.

2. I plugged my external hard drive again to open the same file and compare situations. Now, the message also appeared when loading/saving in an external device. The only difference I noticed is that the message appeared the 3rd time I tried to resave the file.

3. I opened a file from my desktop when the external device was out and then when I put it back on. Same thing happens, after a couple of times I get the message and I need to save the file with a different name. 

Thank you so much for your time and support 🤩

[mancillaanxelli]

2 hours ago, MikeTO said:

Is the folder containing the document locked? My Spanish isn't perfect but I think the English message I get when trying to save to a locked folder is the same as yours.

Hi there!

The pop up window says: "Saving is failed because you don't have the permission to save the file in this location. Do you want to save the document in a new file?".

Basically, I can't resave the changes while working because I get this message. So, I need to save the document with a different name each time.

Hope this help you to identify if you're having same trouble.

😊

[mancillaanxelli]

2 hours ago, v_kyr said:

Well, a locked or permission wise read only folder, doesn't allow to write files into it. So the folder permissions have to be checked here and dependent on what sort of folder it is, then to be reset to allow (owner/group/users) write permissions for it.

That's right!

In my case, I already checked that. I also tried to change the permissions in the preference system app but nothing helps.

Thanks for your comment.

😊 

[mancillaanxelli]

2 hours ago, mancillaanxelli said:

I know, right?

Well, I did the following things to check as you suggested:

1. I copied an old file from my external hard drive to my desktop, then I take it off. The file opened correctly and I could work nicely. It seemed to be all right (even saving some changes a couple of times) but when I tried to resave it the 6th time, the message appeared. So I have to save it with another name.

2. I plugged my external hard drive again to open the same file and compare situations. Now, the message also appeared when loading/saving in an external device. The only difference I noticed is that the message appeared the 3rd time I tried to resave the file.

3. I opened a file from my desktop when the external device was out and then when I put it back on. Same thing happens, after a couple of times I get the message and I need to save the file with a different name. 

Thank you so much for your time and support 🤩

I've got an update...

Now is happening with Photo App too 😪

[v_kyr]

3 hours ago, mancillaanxelli said:

In my case, I already checked that. I also tried to change the permissions in the preference system app but nothing helps.

Are you (your user account) always indicated to be the owner (check ownership) of the saved files? - Also look after the new in v2.2 introduced ~lock~ file scheme (...you need to activate the view/showup of hidden files therefor in Finder), when opening files. Aka what that contents wise tells after opening a file and if these are always removed after a file save operation.

Other than that look also through ...

• You do not have permission to save files to this location
• You do not have permission to save to this location" when saving in AutoCAD Products
• Change permissions for files, folders or disks on Mac (Apple)
• If you don’t have permission to use files on a Mac disk (Apple)
• ...
• macos you don't have the permission to save the file in this location

 

On 9/28/2023 at 7:32 PM, mancillaanxelli said:

I have the free version of Clean my Mac Antivirus X installed but I haven't had troubles before.

Also test if it might have to do with that one possibly now in some way!

 

[mancillaanxelli]

2 hours ago, v_kyr said:

Are you (your user account) always indicated to be the owner (check ownership) of the saved files? - Also look after the new in v2.2 introduced ~lock~ file scheme (...you need to activate the view/showup of hidden files therefor in Finder), when opening files. Aka what that contents wise tells after opening a file and if these are always removed after a file save operation.

Other than that look also through ...

• You do not have permission to save files to this location
• You do not have permission to save to this location" when saving in AutoCAD Products
• Change permissions for files, folders or disks on Mac (Apple)
• If you don’t have permission to use files on a Mac disk (Apple)
• ...
• macos you don't have the permission to save the file in this location

 

Also test if it might have to do with that one possibly now in some way!

 

Thanks a lot for your advise!!

Yes, I'm pretty sure my account is the one and only. In fact, the permission and privileges were the first thing I checked (even though I haven't done anything "unusual" these days).

Weird thing is that the error message is only happening with Designer and Photo apps so far. I mean, If I use other apps like Pages, Keynote (or the ones to edit audio and video) I don't have any issues.

I'm gonna take a look about what you said of the ~lock~ file scheme and keep looking for a solution (if there's one).

Thanks again! I'll share my discoveries 😊

[markw]

In the past some users have seen this happening if they have large numbers of Fonts combined with Apple’s Sandboxing if the app in question came from the App Store. See this thread:

Maybe something to consider…🤔

[mancillaanxelli]

On 9/30/2023 at 5:56 AM, markw said:

In the past some users have seen this happening if they have large numbers of Fonts combined with Apple’s Sandboxing if the app in question came from the App Store. See this thread:

Maybe something to consider…🤔

Thank you so much for your comment!!! 

Yes I did buy the app from the AppStore  I've never heard about Apple’s Sandboxing before so I'm reading the thread very carefully to see if any suggestion work in my case.

Glad you told me 🌟

[mancillaanxelli]

On 9/29/2023 at 5:35 PM, v_kyr said:

Are you (your user account) always indicated to be the owner (check ownership) of the saved files? - Also look after the new in v2.2 introduced ~lock~ file scheme (...you need to activate the view/showup of hidden files therefor in Finder), when opening files. Aka what that contents wise tells after opening a file and if these are always removed after a file save operation.

Other than that look also through ...

• You do not have permission to save files to this location
• You do not have permission to save to this location" when saving in AutoCAD Products
• Change permissions for files, folders or disks on Mac (Apple)
• If you don’t have permission to use files on a Mac disk (Apple)
• ...
• macos you don't have the permission to save the file in this location

 

Also test if it might have to do with that one possibly now in some way!

 

Thank for the new suggestion. Yes! I'm gonna check if the free Antivirus is generating some issue...

[Dan C]

I can confirm our team are aware of a few different anti-virus apps causing issues with the new 'lock' file functionality with Affinity documents - can you please confirm which exact Antivirus you are using?

I can also verify that we're not aware of any issues from the Mac App Store Sandboxing with this new functionality, though it's certainly not technically impossible.

Luckily, with Affinity V2 apps you can install from either the Mac App Store or the Affinity Store directly under your one license. If you'd like to swap to try the Affinity Store version and need assistance through this process, please do let me know

[v_kyr]

21 minutes ago, Dan C said:

which exact Antivirus you are using?

The OP above told he uses this one ...

• https://cleanmymac.macpaw.com/26

[mancillaanxelli]

1 hour ago, Dan C said:

I can confirm our team are aware of a few different anti-virus apps causing issues with the new 'lock' file functionality with Affinity documents - can you please confirm which exact Antivirus you are using?

I can also verify that we're not aware of any issues from the Mac App Store Sandboxing with this new functionality, though it's certainly not technically impossible.

Luckily, with Affinity V2 apps you can install from either the Mac App Store or the Affinity Store directly under your one license. If you'd like to swap to try the Affinity Store version and need assistance through this process, please do let me know

Thanks Dan,

I think I made a mistake not saying this problem is happening with Affinity V2. I got the complete suite since it came out to the market (I purchased it from the Mac App Store).

About the antivirus, I had the free version of Clean My Mac X (v_kyr put the link below). I uninstalled it this morning to see what happen but it makes no difference. I also uninstalled some fonts but not difference at all.

Is it possible to swap the just one app I'm having issues with (Designer)? Or, since I got the Universal License I should swap everything?

Thanks a lot!

 

1 hour ago, v_kyr said:

The OP above told he uses this one ...

• https://cleanmymac.macpaw.com/26

That's right!

[thomaso]

3 hours ago, mancillaanxelli said:

I had the free version of Clean My Mac X (v_kyr put the link below). I uninstalled it this morning to see what happen but it makes no difference.

What method did you use to uninstall? If you just drag the app icon to the trash there might be leftovers, I assume antivirus software uses hidden daemon files that auto-start when you boot the mac. – One way to track down potential issues with third party software is to run EtreCheck which just reads, lists and comments all available processes, either running or waiting.

3 hours ago, mancillaanxelli said:

Is it possible to swap the just one app I'm having issues with (Designer)? Or, since I got the Universal License I should swap everything?

Alternatively you could try first to boot your mac in Safe mode. It boots with minimal requirements and avoids any non-mac background task. Although this way everything will run slower it may enable you to test if the issue still occurs in Affinity.

Another option worth to try would be to create a new user with admin privileges and reboot / login with that. This might avoid problems that are caused by a custom file in your current user library.

 

[v_kyr]

21 minutes ago, thomaso said:

What method did you use to uninstall?

It offers also it's own complete deinstallation (via it's deinstallation tool), as it's mainly also suited to general deinstall MacOS apps and to speed up the system by cleaning RAM, disabling very CPU consuming processes ... and so on (thus it's name CleanMyMac).

Quote

To remove CleanMyMac X using the Uninstall tool:

1. Open CleanMyMac X and select “Uninstall.”
2. Find and select CleanMyMac X in the list of programs.
3. Click “Uninstall.”.

CleanMyMac completely deletes itself from your Mac.

 

[Dan C]

On 10/3/2023 at 7:22 PM, mancillaanxelli said:

About the antivirus, I had the free version of Clean My Mac X (v_kyr put the link below). I uninstalled it this morning to see what happen but it makes no difference. I also uninstalled some fonts but not difference at all.

Thanks for trying that for me, I doubt that 'Clean My Mac' would affect this but it's nice to be certain.

On 10/3/2023 at 7:22 PM, mancillaanxelli said:

Is it possible to swap the just one app I'm having issues with (Designer)? Or, since I got the Universal License I should swap everything?

Absolutely, we can try changing Affinity Designer 2 to the Affinity Store version to see if this is related to the issue you're having - in order to do this, please:

• Open your Applications folder
• Select Affinity Designer 2
• Right-click and select Send to Trash
• Visit the below link to download the latest 2.2 DNG:
  https://store.serif.com/update/macos/designer/2/
• Install this using the default installation method
• With this version, try the previous workflow outlined above

If the issue continues, can you please provide a screenshot of your Apple System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access? I note you have mentioned you've checked your permission settings already, but I'd like to be certain.

Finally, I'd recommend trying the following suggestions from thomaso above;

On 10/3/2023 at 11:24 PM, thomaso said:

Alternatively you could try first to boot your mac in Safe mode. It boots with minimal requirements and avoids any non-mac background task. Although this way everything will run slower it may enable you to test if the issue still occurs in Affinity.

Another option worth to try would be to create a new user with admin privileges and reboot / login with that. This might avoid problems that are caused by a custom file in your current user library.

Please do let me know if this changes the behaviour experienced!

[thomaso]

1 hour ago, Dan C said:

If the issue continues, can you please provide a screenshot of your Apple System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access?

Just curious: In what situation can this be relevant or influence Affinity? Every "Save" action?

( I have never added any application to the list other than those that deal specifically with system files. And if required, the respective app requested access on its own in a message. None of my Affinity apps are listed under "full access to disk", but they don't cause the error message about "missing permission" either, regardless in what user created folder I save Affinity documents. )

[Dan C]

6 minutes ago, thomaso said:

Just curious: In what situation can this be relevant or influence Affinity? Every "Save" action?

( I have never added any application to the list other than those that deal specifically with system files. And if required, the respective app requested access on its own in a message. None of my Affinity apps are listed under "full access to disk", but they don't cause the error message about "missing permission" either, regardless in what user created folder I save Affinity documents. )

As I understand it, 'Full Disk Access' allows the Affinity app to read/write files anywhere on the macOS System.

Without this option enabled, the Affinity app will be able to read/write to folders that have been previously 'Allowed' when prompted for access, which can be seen under Privacy & Security > Files & Folders. For example -

However as I'm personally a Windows user and not a macOS aficionado, I believe there are some additional caveats with macOS file security that are beyond my current understanding - therefore our team are advised to simply ensure that Full Disk Access is enabled for any such reports, to ensure that the users issue isn't caused by a permissions issue with macOS directly.

[mancillaanxelli]

On 10/3/2023 at 4:24 PM, thomaso said:

What method did you use to uninstall? If you just drag the app icon to the trash there might be leftovers, I assume antivirus software uses hidden daemon files that auto-start when you boot the mac. – One way to track down potential issues with third party software is to run EtreCheck which just reads, lists and comments all available processes, either running or waiting.

Alternatively you could try first to boot your mac in Safe mode. It boots with minimal requirements and avoids any non-mac background task. Although this way everything will run slower it may enable you to test if the issue still occurs in Affinity.

Another option worth to try would be to create a new user with admin privileges and reboot / login with that. This might avoid problems that are caused by a custom file in your current user library.

 

I did uninstall from the app itself and I also cleaned up some folders like cookies and stuff to avoid daemon files as possible. Still nothing...

I'm gonna check if switching the app helps or not. Thanks for your help!

[mancillaanxelli]

11 hours ago, Dan C said:

Thanks for trying that for me, I doubt that 'Clean My Mac' would affect this but it's nice to be certain.

Absolutely, we can try changing Affinity Designer 2 to the Affinity Store version to see if this is related to the issue you're having - in order to do this, please:

• Open your Applications folder
• Select Affinity Designer 2
• Right-click and select Send to Trash
• Visit the below link to download the latest 2.2 DNG:
  https://store.serif.com/update/macos/designer/2/
• Install this using the default installation method
• With this version, try the previous workflow outlined above

If the issue continues, can you please provide a screenshot of your Apple System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access? I note you have mentioned you've checked your permission settings already, but I'd like to be certain.

Finally, I'd recommend trying the following suggestions from thomaso above;

Please do let me know if this changes the behaviour experienced!

Dear Dan,

Thanks for your help, it seems the app swapping went pretty well at a first look. I'm going to give it a try the rest of the afternoon to se how the computer is responding. Hopefully this was the solution.

In that case, should I consider swap the other apps too? Thanks again, I'll write soon to let everybody know what happen at last.