Selected folder is not writable

[alhurley]

I got this message only when trying to scan to PDF.  Selecting JPEG works.  Folder is not protected, and I have tried multiple locations.  PDF has worked in the past.

[rb011 · Accepted solution]

Hi alhurley,

Thanks for reaching out to the HP Support forums for a solution to your scanning issue.

I understand that you are using an HP Officejet Pro 8500A e-All-in-One Printer with a Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan computer and wen you were trying to scan to PDF you got a message that said that the"selected folder is not writable. I would like to help with that.

What you are likely dealing with is a permissions issue with the selected folder where you are trying to save the scan. I visited the Apple Support Communities and found a possible solution, click here to visit that page.

Another person found that they had to create a new folder to save the scans to because the older folder was left over from a Mac OS X upgrade.

Please let me know if this resolves the issue, or if you require further assistance.

In fact, if this helps you to reach a solution, please click the "Accept as Solution", and the "thumbs up" buttons down below in this message. 🙂

Thanks!

[alhurley]

It's working.  I have no idea why as I didn'nt do anything.  Before I tried to scan I confirmed that it wasn't a permissions problem.  I've printed a couple of docs since the last time I scanned (yesterday) but nothing else.  

[rb011]

Hi @alhurley,

I am glad that it seemed to work itself out, and that you are able to scan again.

Please click the "Accept as Solution", and the "thumbs up" buttons up on my initial reply above so others with similar issues can find the solution easier.

Thanks!

[entropy-reducer]

The problem sounds like it could be related to the folder pre-existing, and the path to it being stored in a config file. The proposed solution given in this thread (change the permissions on the folder) did not work for me because the folder's permissions already allowed writing, and I could write a test file to that folder.

Instead, I created a completely new folder (so that the path is over-written), and saved the scan to that.

This worked for me. 

[idigmydogs]

I changed the "Scan to" from "Desk Top" to Documents and it worked!    THis was not a document on my computer. I was scannng from the hp flatbed.