Troubleshooting Error Messages Associated With the Program's Data Folder

Reference Number: KB-03125
Last Modified: May 25, 2022

The information in this article applies to:

Chief Architect Premier or Chief Architect InteriorsHome Designer Professional or Home Designer Architectural or Home Designer Suite



PROBLEM

I'm receiving several error messages when I open or close the program. These include one or more of the following:   

"Could not write to your program data folder. Resetting it to default. You can change it in Preferences > General > Folders."

"Unable to open database file."

"Attempting to write the Master List file. Unable to write to the directory. The file cannot be saved"

"Cannot open toolbar configuration file to store the toolbar information in the program."

"The toolbar file could not be saved. It may be read only."

"Your hotkeys configuration could not be loaded. The default configuration will be used instead."

"Cannot open file."

"The file appears to be locked. This could be the result of another user or program using the file. This may also result from having insufficient privileges to access this file."

"Couldn't find default electrical objects in the electrical library. Please check your electrical defaults to make sure all of the defaults are set to an available library object."


Why are these errors occurring?


SOLUTION

This behavior may present itself if the program doesn't have access to the files or locations mentioned in the error messages. This can occur if the Controlled Folder Access setting is enabled for Chief Architect programs on a system with Windows installed, or if the Full Disk Access setting is disabled for Chief Architect programs on a system with macOS.


Please follow the instructions below to ensure that the program has proper access to the files it needs to operate.


Adding Chief Architect/Home Designer as an allowed app in Controlled Folder Access*

*This applies to computers running Microsoft Windows.

  1. Save  your work and close out of the Chief Architect/Home Designer program.


  2. Using Windows Search, type Ransomware protection and click on the system setting option that is listed.

    Search ransomware protection in Windows Search


  3. Click on Allow an app through Controlled folder access.

    Click on Allow an app through Controlled folder access


  4. On the next screen, click on Add an allowed app.


  5. Click on Recently blocked apps and in the window that appears, click the + symbol next to the Chief Architect/Home Designer program.

    Click the plus sign to add Chief Architect or Home Designer to the allowed apps list

    Note: If the Chief Architect program is not displayed, click Browse all apps and navigate to the location the program is installed to. For example, the default file path for the Chief Architect Premier X14 version is: C:\Program Files\Chief Architect\Chief Architect Premier X14\Chief Architect Premier X14.exe, as shown in the image above.

    • Chief Architect Interiors: C:\Program Files\Chief Architect\Chief Architect Interiors X14\Chief Architect Interiors X14.exe

    • For Home Designer Pro, the default file path would be: C:\Program Files\Chief Architect\Home Designer Pro 2023\Home Designer Pro 2023.exe

    • Home Designer Architectural: C:\Program Files\Chief Architect\Home Designer Architectural 2023\Home Designer Architectural 2023.exe

    • Home Designer Suite: C:\Program Files\Chief Architect\Home Designer Suite 2023\Home Designer Suite 2023.exe


    If the program was installed to a different drive or to a different location altogether, please browse to that location instead.

  6. The program will then be added to the allowed apps section.

    Chief Architect X14 is now an allowed app


  7. Launch the Chief Architect/Home Designer program. 

    If one or more of the errors mentioned above continue to appear when opening the program, please contact our Technical Support team directly for further assistance.


Full Disk Access is disabled for Chief Architect/Home Designer

*Applies to Apple macOS machines running macOS Catalina 10.15 or newer.

  1. Save  your work and close out of the Chief Architect/Home Designer program.


  2. Open the Apple  menu and select System Preferences.


  3. Click on the Security & Privacy category.


  4. In the next window, select the Privacy tab at the top.


  5. Scroll down and click on Full Disk Access on the left, then check the box next to the Chief Architect/Home Designer program on the right.

    Enabling Full Disk Access for the Chief Architect/Home Designer program


    If the Chief Architect/Home Designer program is not listed in this section, select the Add + sign to open Finder and select the Chief Architect/Home Designer program from the Applications list.

    Note: You may first need to unlock the dialog by selecting the padlock icon in the lower left corner and entering your User Account password to make changes in this section. 

  6. Launch the Chief Architect/Home Designer program.

    If one or more of the errors mentioned above continue to appear when opening the program, please contact our Technical Support team directly for further assistance.
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