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Because there are a number of possible reasons why this Warning message might display, there are also a number of different possible resolutions.

Removable Drives and Network Locations

If you are working on a file that is saved somewhere other than your local hard drive - for example, on a network server or on a removable USB drive - begin by confirming that you can actually browse to that location in Windows Explorer.  If you cannot do it, the program will not be able to, either.

If you can access the network or removable location, bear in mind that the process of saving in Chief Architect will be slower to that location than if the file were located on your local machine.

We do not recommend that you work in this fashion for a number of reasons, including program slowness; but if you do this, expect to be patient when saving files - particular large files.  To learn more, see article 521 in our Help Database: When I work in large plans, Chief Architect seems to slow down.

If you attempt to save a plan or layout file when Chief Architect is still in the process of performing the last save command, this message will display.  Click OK and wait a few moments while the program finishes saving.

Auto Archive and Undo Files

Chief Architect automatically saves Archive files for your named files in the program's Data folder.  To learn more, see article 99: How to access Archive files.

By default, the Data folder is located in your Documents directory (My Documents in Windows XP). 

If you specify a non-default location for the Data folder that is either not the local hard drive or not writable per your Windows operating system, this Warning message may display whenever the program saves an Archive file.

Similarly, if you specify a non-default location for your Documents directory that is either not located on the local hard drive or not allowed by your operating system, this message may display when the program saves an Archive file.

A similar situation can occur if you specify a non-default location for your Chief Architect Undo directory.  If you choose a location that is not on the local hard drive, or not allowed by Windows, this Warning may display when the program writes an Undo file or when you try to use the Undo command.

Other Applications and File Locking

There are a variety of different programs that can temporarily lock files on your computer while they are running - for example, backup utilities and anti-virus or other security software. Consider scheduling file backups and hard drive scans during the times when you are typically not working, or schedule them less frequently during those times. 

On occasion, your Windows operating system may identify a file as locked, or accessed by another program, when it is not.  Usually, if you wait a few minutes the issue will resolve itself; however, you may find it necessary to reboot your computer.

Pathname Length

Windows allows a maximim file pathname length of 260 characters, and it is very important to remember that a file name is not the same thing as its full pathname.  For example:

• A file name of Smith.plan has 10 characters.
  
  
• If this file is saved in a user's Documents folder its full pathname will be, C:UsersuserDocumentsSmith.plan which has 24 characters.
  
  

Bear in mind that Chief Architect creates Archive copies of named plan and layout files on a regular basis, and that these files' pathnames are typically longer than those of the original files.  For example:

• The full pathname of the Smith.plan file might be, C:UsersuserDocumentsChief Architect Premier X5 DataArchivesSmith_b8f17c2e88a82622dc3c96618e1a4976e0d2f795Smith_2012_11_28.plan which has 134 characters.