Error during auto save - Could not open RTF for writing

Scrivener Scrivener for Windows
1

I have twice now had an error window pop up when Scriv is doing an auto save. First time, I immediately cut and paste what I was working on over to another program. Then compiled the whole project out to Word.

This time, I took the time to read the error msg. It’s odd b/c I’ve done quite a bit of work - over the last couple of days - in this project without receiving the error. I also do manual saves - no issues there - and my auto saves are the default settings so auto save is successful most of the time.

Error: (paraphrase)
Could not open RTF for writing …
Error: Cannot access, being used by other process.
Check for sufficient space on HDD

  • I’'m don’t have Scriv installed on any other machines, nor do I back up to cloud, dropbox, etc.
  • I don’t have any other projects open - only the one I’m working on
  • More than half of my hard drive is available, so lots of storage available

Almost finished a large project with a tight deadline. Would appreciate any solutions or trouble-shooting ideas.

Thanks!

2

The error indicates that another program is temporarily accessing the files in the Scrivener project. Usually we see this with a backup or security program that’s running while you’re working in Scrivener. Memeo Backup (WD AnyWhere), Mozy Backup, and WebRoot’s online sync have caused this in the past, but if you’re running anything of that sort, take a look at the preferences and see if you can exclude your Scrivener projects from the files it monitors. (Your Scrivener project backups are safe to have backed up again by any of this software; this is just for the active projects.)

The message just pops up when the file can’t save, so if you’re seeing it infrequently, it’s likely the files aren’t locked for long, and just closing out the message and trying the save again shortly after will work. There’s nothing wrong with the file itself indicated by this message other than Scrivener not having permission to write to it at that moment.

3

Thank you Jennifer. I’m not running any of those programs, but perhaps Avast is interferring. I’ll have a look at the settings and note - if it happens again - whether Avast is doing something in the background. Appreciate your details response. :slight_smile: