General ⇒ Error 'cannot save the file'
Error 'cannot save the file'
I've got a problem with TeXnicCenter which I never had before. I'm running the latest version of the programme on a Windows 7 pc and very often when I want to compile or save my work, I get the error message: "Cannot save the file. C:\(location of the file). The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process."
When I get the error during compiling, no pdf is generated but I get files in the folder where my work is located which look like this: "CRE2B9D.tmp". The more I try and get this error, the more of these files appear in my folder. The error usually disappears when trying to save a couple of times thus so far, I haven't lost any of my work but you can imagine it is bothering me a lot.
I'm having this problem a few months now (since I have windows 7), and very often when I get this message, there are no other programs running. So, this far, I haven't seen any correlation between programs I am running or was running before I got this error. (I sometimes even get this error when I start up my pc and immediately start working in TeXnicCenter.)
When working on my windows xp laptop and compiling the exact same files, I never have this problem so it seems windows 7 related.
Does anybody have a similar problem or knows a solution? I have looked on the internet for this but so far without result.
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Re: Error 'cannot save the file'
- localghost
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Re: Error 'cannot save the file'
Best regards and welcome to the board
Thorsten
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¹ System: TeX Live 2025 (vanilla), TeXworks 0.6.10
Re: Error 'cannot save the file'

Normally, I have all the access rights in my user account, but I will still check it anyway. I've also used WinEdt today instead of TeXnicCenter, so far without problems.
- localghost
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Error 'cannot save the file'
Try to compile another file (or project) with TeXnicCenter (TXC). If the same problem occurs, this might be a problem only of TXC and the developers should know that. If this problem is clearly reproducible, you should describe it once more precisely in the »TeXnicCenter → Development« sub-forum. You may try the current alpha version (TXC2 alpha 3). It can be installed parallel to TXC1 RC1.ylva wrote:[…] I've also used WinEdt today instead of TeXnicCenter, so far without problems.
Board Rules
Avoidable Mistakes
¹ System: TeX Live 2025 (vanilla), TeXworks 0.6.10
Re: Error 'cannot save the file'
So it is a TeXnicCenter problem but not a very reproducible one. Sometimes, like today, it occurs as soon as I write a few things and want to save or compile. Sometimes, I'm not having the problem a couple of days in a row. So I can't really tell what's triggering it. The document I made today had a completely different structure and lay-out than the previous one. So finding what causes it will be difficult I guess. I will continue monitoring it. Maybe I will find the trigger and as soon as I do, I will report it. I will also try the alpha version.
Thanks for the information. Hopefully, one day, this gets sorted out.
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Re: Error 'cannot save the file'
-Check your 'Windows task manager'. See if there is a running process 'pdflatex.exe' using the CPU.
-If so, end the process.
-You should be able to save now.
-This rogue process is caused by compiling and a bug in your TeX code.
kind regard,
Ian Gregory, Sydney.