Preview: Permissions error saving PDF to duplicated folder after update

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Level 1

5 points

Preview: Permissions error saving PDF to duplicated folder after update

Running Golden Gate 27.0.1 on a 2024 Mini but having the same issue on my MacBook Air M5 running the same OS. I'm having a new issue saving a file from Preview since updating to Golden Gate.

I have a "client" folder that I duplicate when I get a new client so that all the folders inside are the same for each and I don't have to recreate everything every time. I have a .jpg open in Preview, print to PDF, duplicate the "client" folder, and then save the file accordingly. However, I'm now getting an error message "The operation can't be completed because you don't have permission to access some of the items."

If I duplicate the "client" folder directly from Finder outside of Preview, I don't have any issue. I just go back to preview, print to PDF, and select the folder to save the file. No error message. I only get the error when trying to duplicate the folder through the save menu in Preview.

Before anyone asks, I print to PDF because the document very often needs to be e-faxed, and print to PDF corrects any page size issues that may exist from the photo/jpg that aren't addressed when exporting to PDF.

I have gone through all the permissions in the info sections of all my folders and I have read/write permission as far as I can tell.

Mac mini (M4, 2024)

Posted on Oct 29, 2026 11:03 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

heliokanat

Level 2

354 points

Nov 7, 2026 10:11 AM in response to Daniduck85

The clue is that Finder can write into the same folder and Preview cannot. That points at Preview's own access, or at permissions buried in the duplicated template, rather than the top level folder permissions you already checked. A few things to try, in order:

1. Quick test: create a brand new folder in Finder in the same parent location (not a duplicate of your template) and print to PDF into it from Preview. If that works, the problem lives inside your duplicated template folder, not in Preview or the OS.

2. If the new folder fails too, check Settings > Privacy & Security > Files and Folders (or Full Disk Access) and make sure Preview is allowed. Sandboxed apps can get their access reset by a major update, and Finder would keep working because it is not restricted the same way.

3. If it is the template: select a duplicated client folder, Get Info, unlock Sharing & Permissions, and from the gear menu choose Apply to Enclosed Items. Duplicating copies over any odd access control entries hiding in the subfolders, and this rewrites the whole tree at once. Also check that the Locked box is unticked on the folders.

If step 3 fixes a test duplicate, the lasting fix is to run Apply to Enclosed Items on the original template folder once, so every future duplicate starts clean.

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Answer 2

etresoft

Level 9

60,824 points

Nov 10, 2026 1:45 PM in response to Daniduck85

Daniduck85 wrote:

I only get the error when trying to duplicate the folder through the save menu in Preview.

You can duplicate a folder via the save panel? I never knew that!

But I would never try that. The save panel is a very delicate and funky piece of system software that runs with reduced permissions on behalf of an app. Even though Preview is an Apple app, it will be treated as any other app in this situation. It doesn't surprise me that it would screw up the permissions. That save panel is all about doing funky things with permissions. So don't do that.

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Answer 3

Daniduck85 Author

Level 1

5 points

Nov 10, 2026 1:30 PM in response to heliokanat

Thank you so much for that detailed response. Sadly, it didn't work. The issue is definitely with preview permissions as 1 worked without issue. Going through steps in 3 resulted in the same problem. What's more interesting to me, is that I don't have the issue with adobe though the situation is slightly different. With a PDF open, I can save as > duplicate folder > save PDF to duplicated folder with no error message. So its not even consistently an issue with duplicating a folder from a program's save menu. Who knows.... If you have other suggestions, I'm all ears. Thank you again for your help.

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