Software & Apps Design How to Unlock a File That Can't Be Saved in Photoshop by Sue Chastain Writer Sue Chastain is a former Lifewire writer and a graphics software authority with web design and print publishing credentials. She's also skilled in WordPress administration. our editorial process LinkedIn Sue Chastain Updated on April 04, 2020 RobinOlimb / Getty Images Design Graphic Design Photoshop Animation & Video 3D Design Tweet Share Email When you try to save a file in Adobe Photoshop CC and you receive a message saying the file could not be saved because the file is locked, you need to remove the lock to avoid losing the work you've already done on the image. If you've already opened and started work on the file, save the image under a new file name, using the Save As command in the File menu. The techniques we outline work for Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7 and macOS. RobinOlimb / Getty Images How to Unlock an Image Before Opening it on a Mac When you run into a series of locked images on a Mac, unlock them before opening them in Photoshop by using the Get Info keyboard shortcut — Cmd+I. Remove the checkmark from in front of Locked on the screen that appears. You may need to enter your administrator password to make the change. Also, at the bottom of the Get Info screen, confirm that you have Read and Write next to your name. If not, toggle the setting to Read and Write. How to Remove the Read-Only Property on a Windows computer Images copied from CDs have a read-only attribute. To remove it, copy the file to your Windows computer. In Windows Explorer (File Explorer in Windows 10), right-click the file name, select Properties and uncheck the Read-only box. If you copy an entire folder of images from a CD, you can change the read-only property on all of them at one time by changing the folder's properties.