TextEdit randomly locks documents on Mac OS 10.15
February 26, 2021 6:18 AM Subscribe
Basically, I open and sometimes edit a doc for a few minutes in TextEdit and then it announces that I no longer have permission to edit the doc and that it is locked. However, I am the admin account and the doc is not locked when I use 'Get Info'! Googling tells me to delete the .plist file for TextEdit, which are the preferences, and that Apple will just replace those preferences when I restart. However, I can't find a .plist file for TextEdit in Mac OS 10.15!
I use TextEdit as an all-purpose organization tool to keep my many, many lists, so I'd really like it to work smoothly. I appreciate any help MeFites might offer!
I use TextEdit as an all-purpose organization tool to keep my many, many lists, so I'd really like it to work smoothly. I appreciate any help MeFites might offer!
I have Big Sur and there the plist is [My hard drive]>Library>Preferences>com.apple.TextEdit.plist.
Your Library folder may be hidden. If it is, here is how to see it:
To access the Library folder, open the Finder and then, while viewing the Go pull-down menu, hold down the Option key to see the Library. It shows up between the Home and Computer menu options. Open the Library folder and select the column view so that you can see the Library folder itself (and not just its contents). Simply drag the Library folder to the sidebar to add it to your favourites, where it will remain visible.
posted by TheRaven at 6:40 AM on February 26, 2021 [2 favorites]
Your Library folder may be hidden. If it is, here is how to see it:
To access the Library folder, open the Finder and then, while viewing the Go pull-down menu, hold down the Option key to see the Library. It shows up between the Home and Computer menu options. Open the Library folder and select the column view so that you can see the Library folder itself (and not just its contents). Simply drag the Library folder to the sidebar to add it to your favourites, where it will remain visible.
posted by TheRaven at 6:40 AM on February 26, 2021 [2 favorites]
I have Big Sur and there the plist is [My hard drive]>Library>Preferences>com.apple.TextEdit.plist
This is not the correct location, although TheRaven's instructions for accessing the correct file are correct and clear. The actual file is located at:
[My hard drive]>Users>[Username]>Library>Preferences>com.apple.TextEdit.plist
You should not need to delete this file frequently (I can see it happening on rare occasions—of course if you need to save your file you need to save your file!) so I have concerns that something else is going on to cause this problem. Are you storing your files within your user account's allocated space (meaning, on your Desktop or in your Documents folder, as opposed to a folder that is meant for other things, like the root of the hard drive or your Applications folder)? Are you syncing these documents with iCloud or Dropbox? Are you opening the files in multiple apps or on other devices (like on your phone)?
posted by bcwinters at 8:08 AM on February 26, 2021
This is not the correct location, although TheRaven's instructions for accessing the correct file are correct and clear. The actual file is located at:
[My hard drive]>Users>[Username]>Library>Preferences>com.apple.TextEdit.plist
You should not need to delete this file frequently (I can see it happening on rare occasions—of course if you need to save your file you need to save your file!) so I have concerns that something else is going on to cause this problem. Are you storing your files within your user account's allocated space (meaning, on your Desktop or in your Documents folder, as opposed to a folder that is meant for other things, like the root of the hard drive or your Applications folder)? Are you syncing these documents with iCloud or Dropbox? Are you opening the files in multiple apps or on other devices (like on your phone)?
posted by bcwinters at 8:08 AM on February 26, 2021
Response by poster: To answer bcwinters' question: an example file that this happens with is a file called Music.rtf, where I keep a list of music that I want to remember to listen to. It's a TextEdit file with tables in it, to separate the music by mood. I do have a visual icon on the file, instead of the generic TextEdit file icon. It is stored on the Desktop. Sometimes I keep it on a folder on the Desktop called Lists. I don't sync the file (or any files) with iCloud or Dropbox - I use TimeMachine to back up my files on an external drive. I don't open the file in multiple apps - I'm maybe funny in that I like to do TextEdit files to keep my lists simple. I don't open it on my iPhone.
I am on Mac OS Catalina. I have been thinking about upgrading to Big Sur, as I have a late 2015 retina 4k iMac, so it's eligible for Big Sur. But still, when I look exactly where you tell me (and where Google told me), I see:
com.apple.TelephonyUtilities.plist
com.apple.textInput.keyboardServices.textReplacement.plist
com.apple.TextInputMenu.plist
So, no com.apple.TextEdit.plist...
posted by Tchozz at 8:18 AM on February 26, 2021
I am on Mac OS Catalina. I have been thinking about upgrading to Big Sur, as I have a late 2015 retina 4k iMac, so it's eligible for Big Sur. But still, when I look exactly where you tell me (and where Google told me), I see:
com.apple.TelephonyUtilities.plist
com.apple.textInput.keyboardServices.textReplacement.plist
com.apple.TextInputMenu.plist
So, no com.apple.TextEdit.plist...
posted by Tchozz at 8:18 AM on February 26, 2021
Oh wait! I believe it's in Containers now instead. Follow TheRaven's instructions for getting to your User Library, then look for this instead:
Containers/com.apple.TextEdit/Data/Library/Preferences/com.apple.TextEdit.plist
Strange question, is it possible that you are browsing to the folder containing the affected RTF file in column view? If so, there was a bug a while back where having a file selected in column view (so it shows some file metadata in the right-most column) would lock the file so it then couldn't be saved. Clicking somewhere else in the the file list (so no file was selected) would unlock it again.
posted by bcwinters at 8:30 AM on February 26, 2021
Containers/com.apple.TextEdit/Data/Library/Preferences/com.apple.TextEdit.plist
Strange question, is it possible that you are browsing to the folder containing the affected RTF file in column view? If so, there was a bug a while back where having a file selected in column view (so it shows some file metadata in the right-most column) would lock the file so it then couldn't be saved. Clicking somewhere else in the the file list (so no file was selected) would unlock it again.
posted by bcwinters at 8:30 AM on February 26, 2021
Response by poster: Thank you! It is in fact in the Containers pathway, so now I know where it is to delete it.
I do not have the file selected in a Finder window, no. I decided to do a little test - I opened the Music file and let it sit for a second. Then I started making some minor edits, and sure enough, after a moment or two, it gave me the message that it couldn't be saved because it was locked. I copied all of the text and made a new TextEdit file and let that one sit. I have made several edits on it and it has not given me an error message. I imagine the issue is that there is an image on the file - maybe there's a bug that if you give an .rtf file an icon, then TextEdit might eventually throw that error. I suspect this because there is another file that gets this error frequently and it also has a custom icon on it.
posted by Tchozz at 9:07 AM on February 26, 2021
I do not have the file selected in a Finder window, no. I decided to do a little test - I opened the Music file and let it sit for a second. Then I started making some minor edits, and sure enough, after a moment or two, it gave me the message that it couldn't be saved because it was locked. I copied all of the text and made a new TextEdit file and let that one sit. I have made several edits on it and it has not given me an error message. I imagine the issue is that there is an image on the file - maybe there's a bug that if you give an .rtf file an icon, then TextEdit might eventually throw that error. I suspect this because there is another file that gets this error frequently and it also has a custom icon on it.
posted by Tchozz at 9:07 AM on February 26, 2021
If the external icon was downloaded from the internet, it may be carrying Mac OS's quarantine attribute. This used to be a mild irritation when I was a Mac OS user a decade ago, but with the (generally laudable) security improvements in the OS, I wouldn't be remotely surprised if quarantine now gets triggered more easily.
posted by scruss at 10:14 AM on February 26, 2021
posted by scruss at 10:14 AM on February 26, 2021
Curious if you have tried a different editor (e.g. BBEdit, which will default to free features only once the trial runs out, so essentially it’s TextWrangler at that point)? I’m in text files on Catalina and Big Sur all the time and am not seeing similar locking in effect, but I am not using TextEdit.
Worth a try - next time file locks, try opening it with a different editor and see if it still reports as locked - that would at least tell you if it’s the file or the program that is problematic.
posted by caution live frogs at 10:01 AM on February 27, 2021
Worth a try - next time file locks, try opening it with a different editor and see if it still reports as locked - that would at least tell you if it’s the file or the program that is problematic.
posted by caution live frogs at 10:01 AM on February 27, 2021
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posted by mhoye at 6:27 AM on February 26, 2021 [1 favorite]