Adobe is very handy not only while working on different projects, but the capability of exporting to a variety of file formats is often well appreciated by the editor’s community. But while exporting some files you may see this error message on your screen – “Adobe Save for Web Error. Could not complete this operation.“. So, if you are in the same situation, looking for an immediate way out of this situation, you have just landed on the correct page. But before you jump to main solutions, try these quick remedies for an easy resolution.
Workarounds –
1. If this is the first time, close Photoshop, launch and give it another try.
2. Try to export the file in another format (like .JPEG) or to a completely new location.
Fix 1 – Decrease the image size
Before you do anything we suggest you take a look at the size of the image compared to the canvas size. If the image seems to be absurdly bigger (15,000 inches), try to decrease the measurements to pixel and test again.
Now, if the canvas size is smaller than the picture itself, adjust the canvas to be exactly the same size as the picture or a size bigger.
Now, you can try to save the file for the web again. If the issue persists, go for the next solution.
Fix 2 – Edit the Registry
If adjusting the size of the image doesn’t work, try editing the registry.
1. Type “regedit” in the search box.
2. After that, tap “Registry Editor” to access it.
Warning – You are going to tweak your registry. As Registry Editor is a very important part of your system, you should make a registry backup beforehand.
When the Registry Editor opens up, tap on “File“. Then tap “Export” to create a new registry backup on your system.
Later, you can use this backup if things go wrong.
3. Now, expand the left-hand side this way ~
Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Adobe\Photoshop\
4. Next, on the right-hand side, select the key (which is a number) on the left-hand side.
[In our case, it is “90“. It may change depending on which version of Adobe Photoshop you are using.]
5. On the right-hand side, right-click on the space and, then click on “New>” and “DWORD (32-Bit) Value“.
6. Name this value as “OverridePhysicalMemoryMB“.
7. After that, double-tap to give it a new value.
8. Then, set the value to “16000” and click on “OK” to save these changes.
After creating this value, just close the Registry Editor.
Then, restart the system. After restarting the computer, launch Adobe Photoshop and try to save the file for the web again.
Fix 3 – Check the naming
While saving the file, make sure that you have named the file in the correct manner. The file name should not bear any characters like @, -, _, \, \, etc. in the name.
In case you are saving a file associated with an animation that has a source video file, make sure that the source path does not contain any special characters that we have mentioned before.
Fix 4 – Preview the picture
If saving the picture is throwing up the error message, you can try to preview it and then save it within the browser.
1. Open the image file.
2. Then, click on “Edit” on the menu bar and tap “Export“.
3. Next, tap “Save for Web (Legacy)” to export it.
4. In Save for Web screen, tap “Preview…” to open the file in the browser.
This will open the file in the browser.
Now, you can save the file as you wish directly from the browser.
5. Just, right-tap the image on the browser and tap “Save picture as…“.
This can be a good alternative solution for the issue.
Fix 5 – Turn ON the Optimized Export settings
Some users have reported that turning ON the optimized export settings can fix the issue.
1. Open Adobe Photoshop.
2. Then, press the Ctrl+K keys together to open Preferences.
3. When the Preferences window appears, tap “Technology Previews“.
4. Then, check the “Enable optimized Export As” box.
After that, try to save the file for the web and test if that works.
Fix 6 – Make sure Adobe Photoshop is updated
Adobe patches bugs glitches like this regularly with regular updates.
1. Open Adobe Photoshop on your system.
2. Once Adobe Photoshop opens up, click on “Help” on the menu bar.
3. Next in the drop-down menu, click on “Updates…” to find Photoshop updates.
Now, you will notice several pending updates for all the Adobe apps along with the pending Photoshop update.
You can update all or just update the Photoshop app only.
After updating Photoshop, try to save the file again. Check if this works out or not.
Fix 7 – Lift up the RAM usage
The issue may also occur if Photoshop is restricted to using less RAM than the available amount.
1. Launch Adobe Photoshop on your system.
2. Once Photoshop opens up, press the Ctrl+K keys together.
This will open the Preferences panel.
3. In the Preferences opens up, go to the “Performance” tab.
4. After that, on the right-hand side, you will see the ‘Memory Usage’.
5. Just click on the “+” to adjust the RAM amount as you prefer.
We recommend you allow at least 75% of the free RAM for
6. Finally, click on “OK” to save the changes.
After that, close Adobe Photoshop and relaunch it.
Fix 8 – Reset Photoshop Preferences
You can reset the Photoshop preferences and fix the issue.
1. You have to open Photoshop if it isn’t already opened yet.
2. Now, tap on “Edit” on the menu bar.
3. Next, tap on the “Preferences” menu to access it. Then, tap on the “General” from the side pane.
4. After that, hit the “Reset Preferences on Quit” option.
5. You will see a warning message on your screen. Next, tap on “OK” to proceed further.
Now, close the Adobe Photoshop. Then, relaunch it. Try to save the file for the web again.
Fix 9 – Empty the Temp folders
You should empty the Temp folder and then check.
1. Just press the Windows key+R keys together.
2. Then write this in Run and click “OK“.
%temp%
2 . You will find multiple files and folders here.
7. Select all of the files and tap the bin icon to completely empty the folder.
8. In the File Explorer screen, go this direction –
C:\Windows\Temp
9. Just like before, select all the contents of the folder and press the “Delete” key to completely empty it.
After emptying the folder, close the File Explorer.
Open Adobe Photoshop and check whether you can save the image file for Web or not.
Your problem should be solved.