So I took some photos with my iPhone and uploaded them to my new iMac, Sonoma OS 14.6. Using Photoshop Elements 25 to edit photos, It wouldn't let me I save the edited photos because they were locked. How do I unlock these photos so they can be edited and saved? Thanks.
iMac 24″, macOS 14.6
Was where you were saving the photos locked?
Configure the app for specific access, or for full disk access, maybe?
Controlling app access to files in macOS - Apple Support
Was where you were saving the photos locked?
Configure the app for specific access, or for full disk access, maybe?
Controlling app access to files in macOS - Apple Support
Jeff Donald wrote: …I think he needs to do a Save As in PS Elements and then change format to jpeg when he moves the edited image back over to Photos.
Exactly. I don't know about PS Elements, but Lightroom doesn't have a "Save" choice-- only "Export." Come to think of it, that's true in Photos, as well.
I think he needs to do a Save As in PS Elements and then change format to jpeg when he moves the edited image back over to Photos.
Are you editing the photos with PSE before you import into the library or after. You can do it after if you install the External Editors for Photos from the App Store:
That may get around the locked issue as the file has been imported into Photos and should be unlocked.
Also this is like an edit in Photos that you can revert to original to get back to the unedited version.
It seems like you could use "Save as…" and then delete the original. Some apps seem to require this, in fact, to avoid destroying the original (I think.)
Hi Richard, LR is like Photos, it saves the image immediately after every edit. PS Elements is what’s known as a pixel editor, and must be Saved or Saved AS or you lose your edits if you just close your file without saving. I haven’t quite figured out his workflow, but that’s what needs to be determined. Some screenshots of the locked file symbol or error message would go a long way in figuring this out.
I've now tried various suggestions, but none seemed to work. I called Apple Support and they had me reset all my permissions for both read and write, and the only improvement is that now I am able to save to the Desktop. If I try to save to the original folder or anywhere else, I get a file locked message and PS Elements won't let me save. After considerable time, trying different things, Apple Support is calling it an Adobe PSE problem. I did not have this problem with an older version of PSE on my older iMac. However, I now have a new iMAC and had to upgrade to PSE 2025, so those are the variables. So I will pursue this with Adobe. Thanks for all your ideas and any additional that you may have.
Thanks for your response. When I tried to save the edited file, a message says it can't be saved because the file is locked. JPG format. I tried to change permissions in Finder so that I can read and write that particular file, but no luck so far.
Did you use Layers in the images you edited in Adobe PS Elements?
Thanks, but I did not use layers, and just verified there is only one original layer.
How do you know it’s locked? What file format is you PS Elements file in?
Thanks! I will look into that.
How unlock a photo?
