User level: Level 1 (4 points)Macbook air M4 13"
Preview will not save edits to pdfs or images tahoe 26.7
Posted on Oct 24, 2026 4:00 PM
User level: Level 7 (27,833 points)Oct 25, 2026 8:58 AM in response to michaeljamesbrown
Based on your screenshots, it looks like there are two things going on ...
1 - "The file is locked" means the file itself is locked and cannot be modified. I cannot explain why this file is locked but the way to unlock it is to select the file, do GetInfo (File > Get Info or CMD-I) and then uncheck the Locked option.
2 - Regarding the "you don't have permission to save to the desktop" may mean that you need to give Preview Full Disk Access in Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access. If Preview is not listed there, add it and then enable Full Disk Access for it.
User level: Level 7 (27,833 points)Oct 24, 2026 5:20 PM in response to michaeljamesbrown
Are you doing File > Save or File > Save As after adding annotations, etc. or just expecting the changes to be saved as you add them (they aren't).
User level: Level 7 (27,833 points)Oct 24, 2026 5:13 PM in response to michaeljamesbrown
Preview is not a photo or PDF editor. What kind of "edits" are you asking about?
User level: Level 1 (4 points)Oct 24, 2026 5:26 PM in response to MartinR
yes.
also tried renaming the file, duplicating, exporting, printing to pdf
cleaning caches, updating permissions in terminal, ensuring i have read / write access on all files and about 10 other things at the terminal or finder level
User level: Level 1 (4 points)Oct 25, 2026 2:57 PM in response to MartinR
all these things make sense. as do your other thoughts.
however, all the files i have tried are not locked. this situation is occurring with pdf and image files that i created myself as well as ones that i downloaded. I was able to make modifications to some older files but anything in the last 6 months or so is not able to save the edits
i have done the full disk access a bunch of times. it doesn't change anything
User level: Level 1 (4 points)Oct 24, 2026 5:16 PM in response to MartinR
annotations, adding text, etc
User level: Level 1 (4 points)Oct 24, 2026 5:32 PM in response to michaeljamesbrown
also, preview will not save edits on pdfs or images that i created, that i downloaded or that were able to be saved previously.
Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256382353