unable to save new documents

[Adam Sheridan]

Used program to modify vector image. Saved as .ps file. Attempted to begin several new files using new doc command in file menu. When I attempted to use the save, save as, or save a copy commands, no dialog box appeared and the files would not save. Same result using Ctl-S. If I open the .ps file I originally saved, I can use all of the save commands normally.

Windows XP Pro SP 3. Inkscape 0.48.2

[su_v (suv-lp)]

Please add information about OS/platform and Inkscape version (see Inkscape menu' Help > About') to the bug description.

[Adam Sheridan (hueyrescue)]

Sorry. Windows XP Pro SP 3. Inkscape 0.48.2.

[Adam Sheridan (hueyrescue)]

Update. Files will now save using SAVED, SAVEDAS commands but not SAVEACOPY. However, files are not saved with proper data. Example: file saved as .svg or Inkscape .svg do not carry the correct extension and cannot be recognized by XP as vector files. Also cannot be recognized by Scribus as .svg, simply come up as generic file type in the folder. Tested .svg, .eps, and .ps. with same results. Verified by attempting to import into Scribus, the data does not transfer properly and I have a blank space. Uninstalled and reinstalled Inkscape. Same problem.

[su_v (suv-lp)]

> save using SAVED, SAVEDAS commands (…)
> file saved as .svg or Inkscape .svg do not carry the correct extension

Ah, could it be that you are trying to save your files into a path which has a dot or period ('.') in one of the folder names?

That's a known bug and tracked in
 Bug #408566 “Program won't save files without given extension on Win32”
 <https://bugs.launchpad.net/inkscape/+bug/408566>

> but not SAVEACOPY

Additionally, bug #408566 seems to trigger a cascade of failures: due to
 Bug #769725 “The save as dialog gives wrong directory on Win32”
 <https://bugs.launchpad.net/inkscape/+bug/769725>
it seems that
 Bug #805095 “no File->Save As... dialog box if previously opened a file from a USB drive”
 <https://bugs.launchpad.net/inkscape/+bug/805095>
was triggered (see comment #4 there) and none of the file dialogs showed up for you.

In this case, it could be possible to reset the Inkscape preferences (which store the directory opened last time for each 'Save' command separately):

1) quit inkscape
2) in the Explorer, paste this path to the inkscape profile folder into the address bar:
%APPDATA%\inkscape
3) and rename the file 'preferences.xml'
4) restart Inkscape: a new 'preferences.xml' file will be created with the default settings.

Until bug #408566 is fixed, I'd recommend to avoid dots (aka periods) in directory names you access from within Inkscape.

[Adam Sheridan (hueyrescue)]

Very good. I was saving to folders in an offending path. Thank you for pointing that out. I saw the bug on a search of the archives but did not dig deep enough to see that it was the same issue. Have not been able to duplicate the original problem except the SAVEACOPY function. Will try your fix and will update if I see the original problem again.

[su_v (suv-lp)]

Based on the provided information, the ultimate failure to open any 'Save', 'Save as…' or 'Save a copy as…' dialog was due to
Bug #805095 “no File->Save As... dialog box if previously opened a file from root directory of a drive”
<https://bugs.launchpad.net/inkscape/+bug/805095>

Linking as duplicate to bug #805095. Please add a comment here and revert the duplicate status if you don't agree and think these are different issues.