Preview is locking me out of my own PDFs, saying I don't have permission to view them even though I do

I've only noticed this since the software update (10.7.1), but I've got a big problem with preview at the moment. I'm trying to open some PDFs (journal articles) saved on my MacBook Pro, which I've previously had no trouble opening, but all I get is an error message saying:

"The file couldn’t be opened because you don’t have permission to view it. To view or change permissions, select the item in the Finder and choose File > Get Info."

I then go to get info for the file, and see that I DO have read and write permission for the file. But it still won't let me open it.

I'm trying to write my Masters dissertation (due in in less than 2 weeks) and it is ESSENTIAL that I'm able to view these files to complete it. Needless to say this is making me very stressed out and frustrated! I'm almost certain they all worked before the 10.7.1 update, but can't be 100% sure.

Any guidance on this would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

George

Preview-OTHER, Mac OS X (10.7)

Posted on Aug 18, 2011 9:04 AM

34 replies

Opiner

Level 1

0 points

Nov 16, 2015 1:08 PM in response to W Stephen Wilson

Simply Quitting Preview worked for me. I like it. Like many computer things, I don't really care "why" it happened.

I had just rebooted on a Monday morning due to a frozen state - using Mavericks - then had this occur with some pdf files I had just accessed last week.

I always like the fastest workaround so I can back to work and not have to be my computers b***h...

Oct 23, 2016 8:46 PM in response to georgeH84

Found something that worked on my end. Came home after a trip, tried to upload pictures off an SD card but nothing was transferring. Then tried to open files which were already on my computer but got the same error you are all getting. Before head butting your computed or blaming your little sister, try this. Restart or force quit Finder. Try again.

Dec 15, 2016 3:24 PM in response to georgeH84

Thank you for the Library setting reply. This has been a frustration since I updated my OS. You saved me hours!

Jul 16, 2017 8:17 PM in response to akerr

terminated sandboxd and the issue is resolved!. Thank you Akerr.

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Preview is locking me out of my own PDFs, saying I don't have permission to view them even though I do