Cannot Save File Because File Cannot be Written to

[lauren79859]

I am trying to save my document that I've put a lot of work into, but now it won't let me save it. I have tried saving it in various locations and names and get this same (attached) error. I have plenty of storage space on my laptop and am not using any external drives. I have tried simply creating a new file and copying the layers, but it still won't save the document. I am able to export the documents, which I have done, but I do not want to lose the source document. 

Another interesting thing, I saw that it is somehow saving the document though it tells me it isn't. But, when I try to open it, it says it is already open. So, I tried to duplicate the document and save that, got the error about it couldn't be saved but noted that it still "saved" something to my desktop. So, I closed the duplicate file and tried to open the "saved" file and still got the error that the file was already open. 

For reference, I am on a Macbook Air.

[Dan C]

Hi lauren79859,

Welcome to the forums

Sorry to see this! Please try the following, as to not lose any work.

In the open document you're trying to save, go to View>Studios>Snapshots. In the Snapshots studio that opens in the bottom right, select the camera icon with a + next to it, to add a new snapshot. There's no need to name this snapshot, simply leave the name as default (date and time) and click Ok. Now, select the snapshot you've just created and click the New Document from Snapshot (blank page) icon in the top right corner of the studio. This should create a new document with the same objects and layers in your original document, but is different from copying and pasting layers. Can this newly created document be saved? I've created a quick video below showing the snapshot procedure.

[lauren79859]

@Dan C Just tried this and it gave me the same error I posted. Is there an export option that might allow me to export it as an editable file? 

Thank you!

 

[Dan C]

Thanks for trying that, were you using Save As on the new document? Have you tried changing the file name and save location in this dialog?

Do you have a cloud backup service in use that may be running in the background, such as Dropbox? It may be the case that a cloud service is attempting to backup the file and therefore it's 'in use' and cannot be saved.

Could you confirm, are you running the Mac App Store version, or the Affinity Store version of the software please?

[lauren79859]

@Dan C I tried using save and save as and got the same error. I have tried various file names and different locations. 

No, I don't use any cloud backup services, and I am running the Mac App Store version of the software. 

 

[Dan C]

Thanks for confirming that. Could you please try exporting the file as a PDF using the PDF (for export) preset, then open this PDF in Affinity Designer and attempt to save this new file using Save As. Does this work as expected?

[lauren79859]

@@Dan C Just tried this, and it works! Thank you so much!

 

[Dan C]

Happy to hear it!