Congratulations to Javier Sotomayor, November 2023 PFRE Photographer of the Month! The theme this month was "Open." Javier Sotomayor - Entry #879 Dave Koch - Entry #877 Peter Wingfield - Entry #874 Here's what Javier has to say: Hello First of all I wa ...
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Do you need help saving files when Photoshop crashes or becomes unresponsive? Whether you're a graphic designer or a real estate photo editor, nothing feels more catastrophic than when Adobe Photoshop freezes while working on a project for hours with a looming deadline.
I learned it the hard way, yet I was able to prevent starting from scratch ever again. After several years of photo editing, I've come up with different ways how to save a file when Photoshop freezes, including steps on how to recover unsaved files.
To save a file when Photoshop freezes, you must first unfreeze the program, relaunch Photoshop, and then recover the files to save them. For example, when you reopen the program, you can enable the Auto Save and Background Save functions, recover from recent files, or recover the project from a temp file.
When Photoshop crashes, several layers, effects, and other edits may go down the drain. If you can't save your file while working, there are ways to recover it when Photoshop freezes. With these techniques, you can save your creative work and have a stress-free real estate photo editing workflow.
Unfortunately, you can't directly save a file once Adobe Photoshop becomes unresponsive. Before anything else, you need to unfreeze Photoshop forcefully. Afterward, that's the only time you can try different methods to save files.
If you're a Windows user, follow these steps to unfreeze Photoshop manually.
For Mac users, follow these steps in closing Photoshop.
After unfreezing Photoshop, there are different ways to recover and save files.
If you have enabled the Auto Save feature in Photoshop, the program will save a backup copy of your work at a set interval. This method ensures you can access the file when you open Photoshop again.
This method lets Photoshop save recovery information in a separate backup file. In this way, Photoshop will automatically open the most recently saved backup copy. You'll know it's a backup copy if the file name now has a "Recovered" added to it.
The bigger the file size, the longer it takes for Photoshop to save your project. There was a time when Photoshop would freeze as you saved large file files. This essentially locks you out of the program and prevents you from doing anything until you finish the saving process.
The second way to save a file when Photoshop freezes is to use the Background Save command. This should let Adobe Photoshop continue saving your large file as you work.
Another way to save your file when Photoshop freezes is to recover from recent files.
As the name implies, temp files hold data temporarily while you're working on a permanent file. These often serve as a backup in case of power loss or program crashes. This is why you can see and recover files from them.
These are steps in recovering Photoshop files from a temp file.
Follow these steps for Mac users.
Aside from enabling the Auto Save feature, there are other precautionary measures you can take to prevent Photoshop from freezing and losing your files.
When Photoshop freezes and you have the Auto Save turned on, you can access the projects by going to File and clicking Open Recent. Alternatively, you may check the temp files.
Adobe Photoshop can become unresponsive and not save your file if you have corrupted preferences or a bug because you still need to update the software. Moreover, Photoshop requires a lot of processing memory to run smoothly. As a result, it may also freeze when your computer doesn't have enough memory.
If you can't save files in Adobe Photoshop, it may be because there's not enough memory space on your hard drive or the file isn't correctly formatted. In some cases, Photoshop won't let you save files if the file is too large for a particular format.
When Adobe Photoshop becomes unresponsive, you need to close the program manually and then relaunch it to save your work. It also helps to enable the Auto Save and Background Save functions once you get back. With these techniques, you can save hours of hard work and prevent losing crucial edits.
