How to Fix "You don’t have permission to save in this location" Error
Written by Rimvydas Iliavicius on
How to Fix "You don't have permission to save in this location" Error in Windows 10
Usually, saving files to a specific location isn't a problem. However, if you don't have the necessary permissions, you may get the "You don't have permission to save in this location" error message. This article will show you how to resolve this issue to save the files you want where you want them.
When working with documents and other files such as a .jpg or a .doc/.docx (Word file), saving them to specific folders should not present any problems. However, the "You don't have permission to save in this location" will prevent you from saving files to a specific location. The error message also recommends contacting the administrator to obtain permission and save the file in the Documents (or another) folder.
If you receive the "You don't have permission to save in this location" error, it indicates that you cannot modify files and folders on the computer and need special permissions to do so. The error can appear on systems on which the hard disk is formatted with an earlier version of the Windows NTFS file system.
To fix this issue, you might need to apply solutions such as giving full control to administrators, disabling User Account Control, etc. In the guide below, we describe several possible solutions to the problem.
Note: Before you start, we recommend that you disable any third-party antivirus software on the computer and see if this solves the problem.
Video Showing How to Fix "You don't have permission to save in this location" Error:
Table of Contents:
- Introduction
- Disable User Account Control
- Give Administrative Permission to the Current User
- Give Full Control to Administrators
- Run the Program as Administrator
- Save the File to a Different Location
- Video Showing How to Fix "You don't have permission to save in this location" Error
Disable User Account Control
User Account Control (UAC) is a Windows security feature that prevents the operating system from making unauthorized changes. These changes could otherwise be made by users, applications, or even viruses.
User Account Control is responsible for ensuring that any changes are made by an administrator by obtaining approval first. When you attempt to make important changes, Windows User Account Control verifies if you actually want to allow a particular app to make changes to the device. At this point, you must give permission, otherwise, changes are not approved or executed.
Generally, you are advised to leave User Account Control enabled. However, disabling it might resolve the "You don't have permission to save in this location" error.
To disable User Account Control, type "user account control" in Search and click the "Change User Account Control settings" result.
Move the slider to the "Never notify" position and click "OK" to save the changes. This will stop Windows from notifying you when apps attempt to install software or make changes to the computer or when you change Windows settings.
To save the changes, you must be logged in to an administrator account. See if this fixes the "You don't have permission to save in this location" error.
Give Administrative Permission to the Current User
Give your current account administrative permissions using the group membership options. Right-click the Start Menu and select "Run" from the contextual menu, or simply press the Windows (Win) key + R on the keyboard.
In the Run dialog box, type "netplwiz" and press Enter or click "OK".
In the User Accounts window, select the account producing the "You don't have permission to save in this location" error and click "Properties".
In the User Properties window, click the "Group Membership" tab and ensure that the "Administrator" option is selected.
Click "Apply" to save the changes and try to save the file again to see if you are still receiving the "You don't have permission to save in this location" error.
Give Full Control to Administrators
If you do not have permission to save to a particular location, your account might not have full control over the files and folders. You may be able to solve this problem by giving full control to the administrators group.
To change these security settings, right-click the problematic folder and select "Properties" from the contextual menu.
Go to the "Security" tab. You should see that "Full control" is not allowed. Click "Edit...".
Now, select the "Administrators" account and check the "Full control" checkbox under the "Allow" section. Click "Apply" to save the changes.
The problem should now be solved, and you should not receive the "You don't have permission to save in this location" error when trying to save your files into this particular folder.
Run the Program as Administrator
Running a program without administrative privileges can cause the "You don't have permission to save in this location" error. We recommend that you try to run the program as an administrator. For example, if you attempt to save a Word file and receive the error, run Word as administrator.
Right-click the Word application (or other application giving the problem) and select "Run as administrator" from the contextual menu. Try to save the file and see if you still receive the error.
If this solves the problem, you might want to run that application as administrator each time you run it without selecting "Run as administrator".
To do so, right-click the application and select "Properties". Then, go to the "Compatibility" tab and check the "Run this program as an administrator" checkbox. Click "Apply" to save the changes.
Save the File to a Different Location
This solution is not permanent, and you will need to repeat it each time you save a file. If, however, you only need to save your files a few times, we recommend this simple workaround.
Save your file to a different location and then move it back to the problematic folder that was producing the "You don't have permission to save in this location" error.
We hope that this article was helpful and you were able to fix the "You don't have permission to save in this location" error and can save your files to your desired location. If you know of other methods to solve this problem not mentioned in our guide, please share them with us by leaving a comment in the section below.
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