The document could not be autosaved. The file has been changed by another application.

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Level 1

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The document could not be autosaved. The file has been changed by another application.

I get this message whenever I work on a document in Numbers or Pages that is located on a SMB network resource:

The document “X” could not be autosaved. The file has been changed by another application.

It pops up every few minutes when I am working on a document and it is so frustrating. How do I stop it happening? No one else is accessing the document.

I am using macOS Ventura v13.0.1 but the same problem also on Monterey.

Some tests that I made, but without success:

Switch Ethernet / Wi-Fi (same problem)
Start the iMac in Safe mode (same problem)
Editing the document using the Guest user (same problem)
Editing the document using a new Admin user (same problem)
Editing the document on a Synology NAS, connected with SMB (same problem)
Editing the document on a different SMB network drive to exclude a Synology bug (same problem)

iMac (24-inch, M1, 2021, 2 ports)

Posted on Nov 28, 2022 8:19 AM

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Answer 1

Badunit

Level 7

30,138 points

Nov 28, 2022 9:48 AM in response to Ivan-andre

Sounds like the file is on a network.

I have read that you can turn off autosave by checking the box for "Ask to keep changes when closing documents" but I do not know if that is true. It is in System Preferences->General. The link below sounds like the same problem wit ha possible answer. There may be more/better answers out there.

Big Sur turn off autosave Pages, Numbers,… - Apple Community

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Answer 2

Ivan-andre Author

Level 1

10 points

Nov 29, 2022 12:28 AM in response to Badunit

Yes, the file is located on a Synology NAS and the iMac connects to it with SMB3 protocol. We also tried to use another network disk and the problem is the same. It is something about M1-SMB-iWork.

Using the AFP protocol seems to work all right but we decided to switch AFP off a long time ago for some problems.

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Answer 3

Carlosmp

Level 1

0 points

Dec 9, 2022 1:51 PM in response to Ivan-andre

I'm having the same issue on a Qnap NAS with Pages and Numbers ( iWork as it used to be)

Much like you say I also believe it's an M1 issue of sorts.

I upgraded from a 2013 Mac Pro a couple of months ago to an Mac Studio. I'm using the same version of Mac OS Monterrey as I was on the Mac Pro and the same files on the Qnap.

These saving errors started to appear on the 2 Mac Studios we are using as soon as they where set up. However it seems that the files do get saved. but the message pops up every time it tries to autosave.

If it was a network issue with Qnap firmware / software it would not be happening to Synology devices and vice versa.

I'm also connected via SMB since I keep reading AFP is no longer recommended.

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The document could not be autosaved. The file has been changed by another application.

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