“You do not have permission to save to this location” when saving in AutoCAD Products | AutoCAD | Autodesk Knowledge Network

You do not have permission to save to this location. Contact your administrator to obtain permission.

When trying to SAVE or EXPORT any file (type) from AutoCAD Products, the following error message appears:

Causes:

This is a system-level permissions error, not a native AutoCAD Products error. It typically indicates an issue with Windows or Mac permissions and user access rights to a particular file, folder, or directory or that the file, folder, or location has been set to ”read-only” to prevent accidental moving or delete of files.

Solution:

Try one or more of the following solutions:

Save the file as a new name

1. Enter SAVEAS or go to File > Save As.
2. Specify a name for the file.
3. Save the file to another location, such as the Desktop.

Note: Sometimes modifying the AutoCAD saving process by entering on the command line ISAVEBAK and ISAVEPERCENT set them both to 0 (zero) can help.

Elevate AutoCAD permissions

Elevate AutoCAD permissions and then relaunch AutoCAD with elevated permissions by right-clicking AutoCAD and selecting Run this program as administrator (Windows operating system). The elevated permissions may allow it to save to the desired location.

Check for file permissions

On Windows, right-click the DWG file and check to see if it is set to ‘Read Only’ or ‘Unlock Hidden’.
 


On macOS, select the file and choose File > Get Info.
 

Check for folder permissions

It might be necessary to edit the permission of the folder in question to apply Full Control access to it.

1. On Windows: Right-click > Properties > Security.

2. On macOS: Right-click > Get info > Sharing & Permissions.

Note: Contact the system administrator for more assistance if the user does not have appropriate permissions to change folder settings.

Check for Windows Defender interference

There is a possibility that Windows Defender is inadvertently blocking access. AutoCAD could be falsely flagged as harmful.

• Turning off Controlled folder access may alleviate the issue:
  1. In the Start menu type windows defender security center.
  2. Click Virus & threat protection > Virus & threat protection settings.
  3. Turn off Controlled folder access.
• Note: To keep Controlled Folder Access enabled, add AutoCAD’s EXE file (i.e., acad.exe or acadlt.exe) to the Allow an app through Controlled folder access section.
• Add Autodesk folders to the exclusion list of Windows Defender. See How to set up antivirus (AV) exclusions to improve stability and performance of Autodesk software

Make OS permissions directory

On macOS, permissions problems with the Home directory can cause this message. See 

Test by logging into the system under a different user profile

Download the file

If receiving the file through email attachment, download the file to a local folder first.

Elevate AutoCAD permissions and then relaunch AutoCAD with elevated permissions by right-clicking AutoCAD and selecting Run this program as administrator (Windows operating system). The elevated permissions may allow it to save to the desired location.On Windows, right-click the DWG file and check to see if it is set to ‘Read Only’ or ‘Unlock Hidden’.On macOS, select the file and choose File > Get Info.It might be necessary to edit the permission of the folder in question to apply Full Control access to it.There is a possibility that Windows Defender is inadvertently blocking access. AutoCAD could be falsely flagged as harmful.On macOS, permissions problems with the Home directory can cause this message. See Change permissions for files, folders or disks on Mac