After upgrade to Monterey, "Save" and "Save As" don't work when Sidecar is being used

Hi all.

I have the same issue. No "fix", but I have a workaround that works for me. Hopefully it helps someone here until the bug is patched.

1. I only get this when using a secondary display. If you get this on a single display then my fix doesn't help.
2. Go to Settings - Displays and set your laptop as your Main display. I usually have mine as my Secondary and my big screen as my Main.
3. Quit the app not working and try again.

I find the screen switching annoying. Thankfully these M1s screen switch quickly.

FWIW, the apps that don't work properly for me until I do this are:

• Audacity (anything to do with file handling, so open, save as, export, import, etc.) - always
• Filemaker (making pdfs) - always
• Numbers (save, save as) - not always, only sometimes

BTW if I set my displays to "Mirror" then I get the weird oversized modal with swathes of grey blank in the "finder window" part of the modal that Matthew was first flagging.

Hope that helps someone! I was getting colleagues to pdf my Filemaker reports until now 😂

-Andrew

Hi all. Update after 12.1 update released today.

Issue is resolved on my machine. FileMaker and Audacity now work with no issues.

Seems to be a squashed bug. I hope the same is true for everyone else.

A

I have been experiencing a similar issue.

After the most recent update (12.0.1), I can't save or download any file format, from any app (Photoshop, Chrome, Indesign).

I have 2 monitors: a normal monitor(main display) and a wacom cintiq. This saving problem happens when I have both these on. I did some tests and noticed these pattern:

In Display Preferences, if I have the normal monitor set as main display:

• When I only have the normal monitor on, I can save normally.
• When I only have the wacom on, I cannot save at all.
• When I have both displays on, I cannot save at all.

In Display Preferences, if I have wacom monitor set as main display:

• When I only have the normal monitor on, I can save normally.
• When I only have the wacom on, I can save normally.
• When I have both displays on, I can save normally.

So a temporary solution for me is to set my secondary monitor as main display in settings. This issue definitely didn't exist before on my mac.

I have 2 extended monitors, one by hdmi the other one using certified adapter on a mac book pro 14inch Pro chip, most of the save dialogs buttons are not clickable with mouse from any app (numbers, safari, chrome, etc.) most of the times (the random is when they work). Depending on the app I can navigate to the selected button using tab and/or arrow keys and activate it with enter key. When I unplug the monitors the problem is fixed. Really annoying and can't back to previous os version as on that I always lost top menu bar when on fullscreen.

I have a similar problem with an external VGA display (HP LE2201w on a MacBookAir M1 with a brand-less USB-c to VGA converter)

I have not tested all programs that have a 'save' or 'save as' dialogue but I had the problem with NeoOffice (Intel) and Firefox (Universal) (both most recent versions).

After reading this discussion, I started testing what triggered the bug in relation to the Display preferences.

It turns out that if I move the Menu bar to the external display, the bug shows up. If I keep the Menu bar on the built-in display the problem does not show up, even if the application window is showing on the external display.

Further test results : If I start with the menu bar on the external display and have the application window open (the bug shows) and then move the menu bar to the built-in display, the bug remains. If I start with the menu bar on the built-in display with the application window op (the bug does not show) and then move the menu bar to the external display, the bug does show.

So for me, the menu bar needs to be on the built-in display before opening the application.

It's not pretty nor handy to have the menu bar on the built-in display which I use as the secondary display, but at least I can continue using the applications.

Try changed System Prefs-->Displays to have the Mac as the main screen (drag white header bar onto that screen).

I have it. Changing monitor order helped.

It seems to work now.. with the 12.1 update

Exact same workflow with ableton live and adobe suite. Disconnect display, save first, reconnect… Honestly it’s a real pain

Matthew,

Thank you for taking us through the steps and outlining the differences between what it is supposed to look like and the abnormalities with Sidecar. We were mostly curious about whether adjusting settings would help, and now that we know it doesn't, you may need to reach out to Apple Support to either report the issue you're experiencing or work with an expert for more advanced troubleshooting.

If you haven't yet, you might create a new user account and test there to rule out potential settings or preferences in your main account.

Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac - Apple Support

If you opt to reach out to Apple Support, you can contact them here:

Contact Apple Support

Alternatively, the Product Feedback portal is a great way to report the issue you're experiencing.

All Our Best.

I'm having the same problem when using a second display (extended desktop) So far it's been an issue when using Vectorworks and Sketchup. There's no way to save your work, you essentially have to disconnect the display, reopen the app, start over, save First, then reconnect your second display, save will work after that because there's no pop-up prompt, but you cannot Save As.

I hope Apple can resolve this quickly as it is counterproductive.

How about update 12.1?

Matthew,

The screenshot is a very helpful visual, thank you. If we understand correctly, this is what you see after you quit and reopen Photoshop, which means that it seems to function normally after you quit and reopen (effectively refreshing) the program.

• Is the what you see when you choose to save from the File > Save As... in Safari?
• If so, has the dialogue box that pops up always been this size?
• Does adjusting the scale at System Preferences > Displays > DisplaySettings > Resolution > Scaled in System Preferences when your iPad is connected impact anything?

Change Displays preferences on Mac - Apple Support

We look forward to learning more!

I can confirm that when the MBP internal display is not the main display, the Save/Save as dialog no longer work. It happens on not just non-Apple app (eg. Word, Excel) but also Mac apps (eg. Safari Download location). Even the "Save as PDF" function from the Print dialog stops working.

Please run Etrecheck and post its full report here.

Use the “additional text” button and paste the report into the text box.