I'm dealing with a strange issue for one of our users who suddenly can't save files to a shared company folder. Whenever he tries, he gets an error saying, "Sorry, we couldn't find (FILE NAME). Is it possible it was moved, renamed, or deleted?"
Here's the scoop: this folder is part of a larger structure, and while some subfolders are problematic, others work just fine. The user can't even drag and drop files into the affected folders anymore. He's been saving files in there for months without issues.
His permissions seem to be the same as everyone else's, and theoretically, he should have delete access based on that. However, the advanced security settings show that his effective access lacks delete permissions in the flawed folders, despite having the same rights in folders where he can save. To complicate things further, other users can still save into these folders without any issues.
He's not running any plugins, and I've tried creating new folders and transferring Excel files, but the problem persists. Any thoughts on what might be causing this?
5 Answers
Here's a wild story: I once had a similar issue where the user accidentally moved the file they were trying to save. You might want to ask him to create a new Excel file and walk you through his saving process. Watching for that could reveal if he's missing something obvious. Just a thought!
One thing to check is the length of the file path, including the document name. You might be hitting a character limit. For example, if the path is too long like mine was, Excel can throw up errors when trying to save. Have you confirmed the length of the path? Sometimes that’s the sneaky culprit.
I once dealt with a problematic installer that created a rogue file on the C drive, messing up Excel. Deleting that weird file fixed everything. Might be worth exploring if there’s any oddball file causing the issue. Have you checked the C drive for any anomalies?
Have you tried reapplying permissions? It’s possible there was a glitch previously in the settings. Sometimes, just resetting them can solve weird permission issues. I suggest running through all the folders from the top down to make sure everything is solid.
I did check all the permissions again, and I went through each folder to re-apply them. Still running into the same problem!
Just a thought, but sometimes the error pops up if the combined directory and file name is too long. Could you try saving it with a much shorter name and see if that does the trick? It might help pinpoint the issue.
I didn’t think about that...but the path is only 168 characters. Seems like that shouldn’t be the issue, right?