Why autosave is useful

For anyone who's used to documents that save automatically, all of this may be what you expect, but for people who have been using Word for a long time, this fundamentally changes the way Word works - and you have to get used to it. Saving before you have made any changes seems strange, because you haven't made any changes - but if you wait until you make changes, you have to make the effort to undo them.

To do that, you can press Ctrl-Z to undo if you catch yourself before you close the document. If you don't notice for a while, click the Activity icon in the top right of the windows it looks like a little clock or choose File, Version History, View and Restore Previous versions.

The task pane will show a list of changes to the document; click to open the version you think is before the changes you didn't want, check it and then save that file. You may not see all the versions for a document if it's been a while since Word saved changes you hadn't really realised you were making; I had to restore some documents from the copies I'd emailed or backed up.

Really, Word is being half smart here; I'd like to see it be really smart. If I edit a document and then choose Save As, Word should ask me if I want to save the changes in the original document too, or if I want to have it revert to the version I opened. The Office team changed something very fundamental without really explaining to the users what problems it might cause, making a new feature not quite as useful as it ought to be because it doesn't match the way we've learned to work; I've been using Word since and document saving hasn't changed substantially in all that time, so these are long-held habits to change.

Freshworks expands into IT operations management running its familiar playbook. AI is learning to talk back. Generally, you want the AutoSave option enabled at all times because you never know when you will need it. In case you were wondering how often does Excel AutoSave, the default time is every ten minutes.

You can change this setting, though the process will be explained after the AutoRecover section since the paths for Office and older versions are the same. Although the AutoSave feature is very useful at all times, there is a problem some users complained about.

The problem arises when you try to save a file using Save As and have the AutoSave option enabled. If you use the Save As feature and name the new file something different than the original, it can cause problems and confusion. People complained about this and Microsoft listened. This feature helps you avoid mistakes with AutoSave. Microsoft , Followers Follow.

Best Answer. View this "Best Answer" in the replies below ». Popular Topics in Microsoft Office Which of the following retains the information it's storing when the system power is turned off? Submit ».

Verify your account to enable IT peers to see that you are a professional. Microsoft Office expert. It's still there, it just doesn't work worth a damn. What's making you say it's not there in the Office products? If you store your files locally, autosave doesn't work with these CarlosTech wrote: it only works with files that are stored in Onedrive or Sharepoint.

Mike wrote: CarlosTech wrote: it only works with files that are stored in Onedrive or Sharepoint. If you're equally miffed, there's one more option: You can disable AutoSave by tweaking the Windows registry. That's according to a Microsoft support article. Unfortunately, the hack works only in Office ProPlus. I tried to find those same registry entries in Office Home and came up empty.

Four methods for working around Office 's AutoSave feature Techrepublic. Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy , which we encourage you to read. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion.