Solve Could Not Complete Your Request Because of A Program Error

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Encountered “Could not complete your request because of a program error” while opening or saving your PSD file? This is quite a common issue faced by photoshop users. In this article you will learn effective solutions for the Photoshop program error. However, in case you have a corrupt PSD file, you can make use of this Remo PSD repair software.

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Photoshop as we all know is a trending and famous photo editing application for many professionals across the globe. However, even the best photo editing application is not free from errors. Here in this article, let us try to understand more about the error “Could not complete your request because of a program error” and how to fix the photoshop program error.


I was working on a large .psd and hadn't saved in about an hour. Got the error message and it wouldn't work no matter what format I tried to save to. Can someone please help me? 

Yes, in this article we will provide you with the solutions that will help you tackle “Photoshop can't save program error”. 

photoshop program error

What is the Photoshop program error?

Photoshop’s "Could not complete your request because of a program error" or “could not save as psd because of a program error” is quite infamous and has been around for many years in the Adobe community. However, the error usually occurs while using the Photoshop application or while trying to access any PSD files on Photoshop.

If you are facing a program error when you are trying to open or save an image file. quickly modify the image file extension to .jpg or .png according to the current format and the error will be fixed.

As Photoshop could not complete your request because a program error does not have a fixed method, it is advised to troubleshoot the error with all of the methods mentioned below until it is fixed.

Scenario 1: Fix “Photoshop can't Open Program Error” Scenario 2: Repair Photoshop can't Save Program Error”
Reset Photoshop preferences to fix program error Update Photoshop version 
Disable Generator to Fix Photoshop Program ErrorGrant Photoshop "Full Disk Access" in macOS System Preferences
Unlock the Library Folder on Mac to Fix Program ErrorHide all layers in the Layers panel then Save again

Scenario 1: Fix "Photoshop can't open Program Error

Reset Photoshop Preferences to Fix Program Error

Resetting the preferences of your Photoshop application fixes many random errors. It is suggested to follow the steps mentioned below as using keystrokes to reset preferences will clear your workspace settings and might lose a few panels.  To reset the preferences settings on a Windows computer, follow the steps given below.

Step 1: Press the Windows logo button + R to open the Run dialogue box.

Step 2: Type or copy-paste this command %AppData% and hit Enter.

Step 3: Go to Roaming > Adobe > Adobe Photoshop > CSx > Adobe Photoshop Settings.

(Here, x refers to your Adobe Photoshop version)

Step 4: Find the Adobe Photoshop CS6 Prefs.psp and Adobe Photoshop CS6 X64 Prefs.psp files and then copy them to the desktop.

remove preference file to fix photoshop program error

Quick-Tip:

You can quickly reset the preference settings of your Photoshop application on a Windows computer by using the keystrokes Alt+Ctrl+Shift right after double-clicking on the Photoshop application. However, this will delete your Actions Palette, color settings, and Workspace Prefs unlike the manual method which is listed-above.

shortcut to delete preference settings to fix photoshop could not complete your request because of a program error

To reset the preference settings on a Mac, follow the steps given below:

Step 1: Go to Library > Preferences > Adobe Photoshop CSx Settings.

Step 2: Copy and paste CS6 Prefs.psp file to the Desktop.

Quick-Tip:

Just like using the keystrokes to reset the preference settings on a Windows computer, same can be followed in Mac by pressing Option+Command+Shift right after double-clicking on the Photoshop application.

Disable Generator to Fix Photoshop Program Error

Disabling Generator within the Photoshop application is widely known to fix could not complete your request because of a program error for many users. Follow the steps given below to disable this setting.

Step 1: Launch Adobe Photoshop application, click on Edit and select Preferences.

Step 2: Click on Plug-ins and uncheck the Enable Generator button.

Step 3: Click on OK and restart the Photoshop application, the error will be fixed.

Unlock the Library Folder on Mac to Fix Program Error

If your Mac system has a locked library, the Photoshop application cannot access few elements. Thus, unlocking the library folder can quickly fix could not complete your request because of a Photoshop program error. Follow the steps mentioned-below to unlock the library.

Step 1: Go to Finder and then search for ~/Library/.

Step 2: right-click on the Library folder and select Get info from the drop-down menu.

Step 3: Uncheck the Locked option and reboot your Photoshop application.

In the below section, we will be talking about the program error which occurs while saving the .psd file and the effective trouble-shooting fixes for it 

Scenario 2: Repair Photoshop can't Save Program Error”

Update Photoshop version 

By updating your Adobe Photoshop to the latest version, you will be able to fix the error which occurs while saving your PSD file. Due to incompatibility of the photoshop version could be the root cause for the Photoshop error to occur while saving. Hence, by updating the Photoshop version you will be able to resolve the issue.

Grant “Full Disk Access” macOS 

Note - this method is only applicable for the mac users who are encountering this error on Photoshop. Follow the listed solutions to fix the issue 

  1. To change the preferences on your macOS follow the given 
  2. Click on the Apple Menu
  3. Then go to System Preferences 
  4. Click on Security and Privacy 
  5. Then click on Privacy  
  6. See if the lock button down the pane is locked and untick the tab if it is locked. 

Hide all layers in the Layers panel then Save again

In some cases, depending on the Photoshop version you might come across this error while saving the PSD. Hence we recommend you to hide the layer by clicking on the layer box while saving the files. Try saving the PSD once you are done hiding the layers.

By using any of the above-given methods, you should have fixed could not complete your request because of a Photoshop program error. However, if you are still facing the error even after following all the troubleshooting methods, this means that your PSD File is heavily corrupted. Using a professional PSD repair tool to fix the Photoshop program error is highly recommended.

Remo Repair PSD tool built with a powerful repair algorithm which can help you fix errors associated with the PSD file. Additionally it can restore your Palettes, layers and color modes after fixing the inaccessible PSD File. Download the tool now to preview your repaired Photoshop file for free.

Conclusion

The article summarizes how to fix the Photoshop error on 2 different sequences while opening and while saving with the following listed solutions. If you have any further queries regarding the article make use of the comment section below.

About the Author: Tony Landry

Tony Landry is a Web Content Editor at Remo Software. He loves to write, edit, and manage content for users trying to troubleshoot and fix problems on Windows, Outlook, storage drives, and Cloud storage networks. With an aptitude that transcends writing, Tony is recognized as a Microsoft Outlook, Word, and PowerPoint expert. His comprehensive solutions…