Level 1

87 points

issue with saving web page to the dock in Sonoma

Just installed Sonoma on my M1 iMac and tried putting a web page into the dock to be used as an app. I get this message - "You don't have permission to save the file gmail.app in the folder Applications. To view or select the item in the Finder and choose File >Get Info." Well that doesn't work because I don't have anything called gmail or gmail.app in Applications. Thoughts?

iMac (M1, 2021)

Posted on Sep 26, 2023 12:19 PM

1 reply

★ Helpful

etresoft

Level 8

45,348 points

Sep 26, 2023 5:24 PM in response to ATHiker95

ATHiker95 wrote:

So we got sort of a workaround but it is not ideal situation. I can drag the URL to the right side of the doc and it will give me a picture of a globe. If I hover over it, it will tell me the name of the website. The icon for the web page unfortunately doesn't move over. So once I drag 3 or 4 URL's to the doc, I end up with 3 or 4 globes sitting there. It will not allow me to move the globes to the left side of the line where permanent apps usually reside. So this is what appears to be a bug.

Those are just webloc files - essentially hyperlinks stored to a file.

It sounds like the permissions in home directory are screwed up. Or perhaps your entire home directory is scrambled. Try creating a new user account on your computer. Login to that new user account and try it there. I bet it works fine.

Unfortunately, it can be difficult to track down why your permissions aren't working. It could be just permissions. You said that you "unlocked permissions" but I'm not sure what that means. There is a padlock icon in the Get Info window, but just clicking it won't do anything. You have to unlock and then change permissions. You will have to do that on the Applications folder in your home directory. If your permissions are scrambled, then it won't be able to create those stub apps in the applications folder. So that's why you don't see the apps. It is the Applications folder itself that needs fixing.

However, it could also be your home folder, or something else. There are dozens of various 3rd party system modification apps, system hack apps, "clean up" tools, etc. These things are extremely popular and cause an extremely large number of problems. If these kinds of 3rd party tools are causing the problem, then you might not be able to create Dock apps in your new user account either.

So what I'm saying is that it works fine. There's no bug. Your system is simply scrambled. This is day one for Sonoma. I'm sure in the coming weeks you'll have several million friends in exactly the same spot.

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27 replies

dialabrain

Level 10

120,166 points

Sep 26, 2023 5:45 PM in response to ATHiker95

Try while in Safe Mode. Perhaps you have something installed that's causing a problem.

Use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

You could also try creating a new user account, log into it and see if it works there.

ATHiker95 Author

Level 1

87 points

Sep 26, 2023 8:03 PM in response to etresoft

Thank you for making me look further into permissions. So I did a few things. I went into system settings / privacy and security/ allow full disk access and added Safari. Then I went back to the ~user/Applications folder and clicked get info again. I went to the bottom where the permissions are listed and unlocked it again. Then I clicked the little +a button to add people and saw my name populate on the right column. I thought that was just indicating I already had permissions, but I clicked on my name anyway and then clicked Select. I then relocked it , opened Safari again, went to The NY Times page, clicked on File/Add to Dock - BINGO!!! icon appeared in the dock. (So thanks for leading me to explore further). Interestingly when I was screen sharing with the Apple guy that little + button at the bottom of permissions wouldn't do anything. I also use CleanMyMacX (I know - that is supposedly a big no-no for some folks, but I've never had an issue with it) and went into it and clicked on Repair Permissions (which I had done before I did the stuff above). That didn't work either. (And a big thanks to everyone who chimed in trying to help. Greatly appreciated) P.S - as a final note I went back in and turned off full disk access for Safari and then tried it again - still working ok so that didn't really have anything to do with it

dialabrain

Level 10

120,166 points

Sep 26, 2023 9:13 PM in response to ATHiker95

ATHiker95 wrote:

I also use CleanMyMacX (I know - that is supposedly a big no-no for some folks, but I've never had an issue with it)…

The irony is, there is a very good chance that CleanMyMac caused you to have the problem in the first place. There is a good reason those that do not install CMM don't have the same issues of those that do.

Sep 27, 2023 8:55 AM in response to ATHiker95

I had this issue too, even though I had read/write permission to the Applications folder. I discovered that web apps are not stored in the Applications folder that appears in the Finder sidebar; they are saved in an Applications folder under your User folder. To get there select "Go" in the Finder Main Menu, followed by "Go to Folder ..." (or simply use the Shift+Cmd+G shortcut), and enter "~/Applications". Right click on this Applications folder and select "Get Info". Unlock the padlock at the bottom right of the Get Info window by clicking on it and entering your logon password (if it is locked). Go the Sharing & Permissions: section. If your user name is not listed, click on the + sign and add it. Select "Read & Write" from the drop down list under Privilege against your name. Click on the padlock at the bottom right of the Get Info window to re-lock it. You should now be able to save web apps to the dock.

ATHiker95 Author

Level 1

87 points

Sep 27, 2023 9:06 AM in response to CrizzleMac

CrizzleMac,

Agreed, that is what I did.

Mark

Ronniebel

Level 1

107 points

Sep 27, 2023 9:44 AM in response to ATHiker95

I was able to save my first web app (youtube), and I see it in the Dock, but I'm not seeing it in my Applications folder. I want to open it in Spotlight via keyboard.

ATHiker95 Author

Level 1

87 points

Sep 27, 2023 10:31 AM in response to Ronniebel

Ronniebel,

I am able to pull them up in spotlight search. Make sure the app shows in the Home User / Applications folder and not the one you see at the top left in Finder.

ATHiker95 Author

Level 1

87 points

Sep 28, 2023 2:05 PM in response to dialabrain

I've been using CMM for years without issues. Nonetheless I'll uninstall and reinstall and see if I get the same messages

dialabrain

Level 10

120,166 points

Sep 28, 2023 2:11 PM in response to ATHiker95

Well, paste the following line in the URL field of your browser. You should get nearly 16 million hits in ASC alone of problems CMM has caused.

site:discussions.apple.com cleanmymac

Ronniebel

Level 1

107 points

Sep 28, 2023 2:34 PM in response to ATHiker95

The Spotlight search is now showing the Youtube web app that I created in Safari. Yeah. However, Spotlight is also showing a Chrome version of Youtube, which I'm not sure what that is.

Aleseus

Level 1

8 points

Oct 1, 2023 4:18 PM in response to etresoft

[deleted by user]

Sonma23

Level 1

8 points

Oct 12, 2023 5:33 PM in response to ATHiker95

Deleted, saw you found your desired result

issue with saving web page to the dock in Sonoma