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I have the issue on macOS Sierra(10.12.1) and still have it on High Sierra(10.13.3).

I get this error message(not all the time) a lot after editing an image, and trying to save it.gif I can't quit Preview either, so the only way to close Preview for me when this happens is to force quit Preview.

Clicking on duplicate doesn't work because my edits made to the original document don't carry over and Preview still doesn't quit.

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7
  • Why don't you press Duplicate when prompted? - Wouldn't that give you the possibility of specifying a new path and name for the file?
    – jksoegaard
    Commented Nov 12, 2016 at 23:35
  • 1
    The thing with duplicate, is that it doesn't copy the changes I made. It also doesn't solve the problem of quitting preview.
    – airsquared
    Commented Nov 12, 2016 at 23:36
  • The original document that you edited - where was it stored in the first place? In iCloud Drive or?
    – jksoegaard
    Commented Nov 12, 2016 at 23:37
  • Saved on my desktop
    – airsquared
    Commented Nov 12, 2016 at 23:37
  • 1
    @abc did you ever find a fix for this?
    – Marklar
    Commented Feb 27, 2018 at 1:07

4 Answers 4

Reset to default
8

I realised this is a bug in the Mask tool. Remove the mask and the image saves without any problem. Avoid this tool until Apple addresses the issue. Checked on High Sierra 10.13.4.

The Mask tool in Preview

A solution to this is to take a screenshot of the image preview before saving it(solution from @gpbl).

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2
  • 1
    I usually take the screenshot of preview with Cmd+Shift+4 instead of saving :)
    – gpbl
    Commented Aug 28, 2018 at 18:52
  • Still seems be broken as of Catalina.
    – Triss Healy
    Commented Jul 21, 2021 at 11:22
28

I was facing the same issue, I finally got the issue resolved by following steps:

  1. Go to File
  2. Click option 'Export as pdf'
  3. Save the file name with pdf extension (like 'file_name.pdf')

This worked for me, so give it a try.

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3
  • 1
    this is the solution - worked for me
    – user71207
    Commented Mar 20, 2021 at 10:24
  • wowww this works without any problm, thanks Ayush!
    – Alfrex92
    Commented May 26, 2021 at 4:39
  • 1
    For my PDF document, the problem is that exporting the document removes the form fields from the document. The content is saved from any form fields that have been filled out, but the form fields themselves are removed so you cannot edit it again.
    – Tim Dearborn
    Commented May 27, 2021 at 23:52
0

Problem: Another common reason for this issue is the PDF file is password protected.

Solution: You can remove the password (if you are allowed) using a free tool like Smallpdf

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  • 2
    negative point without explaining why!
    – Iman Mahmoudinasab
    Commented Jul 14, 2020 at 20:59
  • 1
    previous comment from Iman Mahmoudinasab worked for me! removed the password using Smallpdf and now the form works and save normally, thanks for sharing that! I tried to upvote, but wasn't allowed, and can't understand how your answer would be voted -2 at the time of this comment. some people, smh.
    – applejuice
    Commented Mar 7, 2021 at 3:14
  • Could be semi-automated spam votes which casts a downvote too.
    – anki
    Commented Mar 7, 2021 at 10:17
  • @applejuice could you please try again I edited my answer. this may allow to upvote.
    – Iman Mahmoudinasab
    Commented Mar 7, 2021 at 16:28
  • For my PDF document, the problem is that using SmallPDF removes the form fields from the document. The content is saved from any form fields that have been filled out, but the form fields themselves are removed so you cannot edit it again.
    – Tim Dearborn
    Commented May 27, 2021 at 23:52
0

Still seems to be a problem in Catalina(!). I have a bunch of jpegs I just want to crop. I've just converted them from pdfs to jpegs, so don't want to convert them back again, so the 'export as pdf' comment isn't helpful to me.

The work around I've found is to stay in Finder. Click on the jpeg, press the spacebar to show the file in viewer. Click on the 'pen' icon to show the tools, then on the crop symbol.

The crop corners are white, so can be hard to see, but drag these and press 'Done'. Press the space bar again to close.

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