Saving sketch fails silently when files are read-only

[wilamsworld]

Describe the problem

If you load a read only .ino then try to save the IDE does not notify that the file is Read Only and it appears to save to this file although it has not.

To reproduce

1. Create a sketch.
2. Use your operating system to set the read-only attribute of the sketch file.
3. Make a change to the read-only sketch file in the Arduino IDE editor.
4. Select File > Save from the Arduino IDE menus.

🐛 Arduino IDE does not communicate to the user that it could not save to the file. If you open the file in a text editor you will see the change was not saved.

Expected behavior

I would expect a popup or similar to notify the file was read-only

Arduino IDE version

Original report

7c86f1f

Last verified with

8f8b46f

Operating system

Windows

Operating system version

10

Additional context

The unsaved state is indicated by the ⬤ icon on the sketch tab, but this is not sufficient communication.

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Additional reports:

• Saving sketches in a read-only filesystem. #1768
• https://forum.arduino.cc/t/download-of-ide-2-0-3-to-my-w10-pc-for-uno-where-is-it/1061945/21
• https://forum.arduino.cc/t/saving-files-on-windows-only-works-sometimes/1049690
• https://forum.arduino.cc/t/read-only-example-sketched/1079344
• https://forum.arduino.cc/t/interesting-file-saving-happenings/1136943
• https://forum.arduino.cc/t/cant-save-sketches-file-returns-to-original/1161762
• https://forum.arduino.cc/t/where-is-the-zip-libraries/1164433/61

Issue checklist

• I searched for previous reports in the issue tracker
• I verified the problem still occurs when using the latest nightly build
• My report contains all necessary details

[per1234]

Thanks for your report @wilamsworld!

it appears to save to this file although it has not.

Since the meaning of this was not immediately apparent to me, I'll add my findings.

File > Save

Normal saving via File > Save does not give the appearance of saving. The "dirty" marker remains on the sketch tab.

File > Save As...

There is no indication of a problem with the "Save As" operation but the new sketch does not contain the unsaved changes from the original read only file.

Close window

The IDE presents the usual save confirmation dialog. If you select Save, the window closes without any indication of a problem but the unsaved changes in the file are not saved.

[kittaakos]

Expected behavior

I would expect a popup or similar to notify the file was read-only

After proposing a fix in Theia (eclipse-theia/theia#12354), this is what IDE2 can provide "natively" as part of the next Theia version updates (#1976):

readonly_1501.mp4

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Update:

as part of the next Theia version updates (#1976):

IDE2 already has the patch in #1976—no need to wait for another Theia release cycle.

[jl-esp]

Issues still exists in :
Version: 2.1.1
Date: 2023-06-30T16:04:40.277Z
CLI Version: 0.32.3

I get no notification that the file is read-only and unable to be saved.

[jl-esp]

I looked at the changelog for the nightly build and it listed:” - fix: warn user when IDE cannot save the sketch [8f8b46f]”
I downloaded it and see the following:

There is a white dot that indicated unsaved changes. This is a huge improvement.
Any idea when this will migrate to the release version?
Thanks much!!

[kittaakos]

I looked at the changelog for the nightly build and it listed:” - fix: warn user when IDE cannot save the sketch [8f8b46f]”
I downloaded it and see the following:

👆 that was a fix for a different problem.

Issues still exists in :
Version: 2.1.1

It's expected. This issue is open as it is not implemented yet. The fix is available neither from the nightly nor the release build, as it (kind of) depends on eclipse-theia/theia#12354. Thanks for your patience.

[jl-esp]

Thank you - at least this is an improvement from zero notification that I had before.

Anticipating the real fix. I read the bug you posted and it looks promising. A pop-up would be ideal.

Thanks!!