An unscheduled power outage, a technical problem, or an accidental save cancellation - and an important report or large amount of text is irretrievably lost. But is it so irreversible? Autosave in "Word" saved more than one user, who, by the will of circumstances or his own inattention, canceled the saving of the document. The program automatically saves the files being edited every ten minutes.
Default parameters
Autosave is enabled by default in Word 2007 and all other versions of common office software. If everything works smoothly and without delays, then the user does not even notice the function is working. The information that the document was automatically saved appears every ten minutes on the bottom panel of the program, in the same place where the statistics buttons, the slider for changing the scale and modes (web page, reading, layout mode) are located, and the language and the current page are also displayed ...
It is important that you should not completely replace the standard saving of documents (the "File" and then "Save As ..." commands) with automatic. This is only an emergency measure and cannot be used as a primary conservation method. The function may malfunction, so it is better to automatically restore a document only in case of real need.
With the autosave function turned on, if any failure occurs, you can lose a maximum of the last ten minutes of work. And even less - it all depends on the time of the last save. The default settings can be changed manually so that the autosave in Word happens a little more or less often.
Configuring Autosave Manually
In any version of the office program, the function of automatic saving of a document can be configured independently, depending on the needs of a particular user. How to set up autosave in Word?
In newer versions (2010-2016), to configure, open the "File" tab, select "Options" and then "Save". The checkbox to enable the function is set in the lines "Autosave every X minutes" and "Save the latest version when closing without saving". In the first line, X should be replaced with the required frequency of saving the document in minutes.
In Word 2007, the function is enabled differently: you need to click the round Microsoft Office button, then select "Save", check the "Enable autosave" item and specify the required frequency. There you can also change the location where files will be automatically saved.
Recovering an Autosaved Document
After a malfunction, autosave in Word at the next start will offer to restore the missing document the next time you start the office program. As a rule, the window that appears to the left of the blank sheet contains a listing of all versions of the document, or only the last save is displayed. By clicking on one of the available files, you can restore the document. It is imperative that after the disappeared text appears on the screen, it should be saved in the usual way.
Also, lost files can be found in the "backup" folder. Its location can be found in the "Options" (tab "Save") by calling the "File" menu. It is necessary to copy the address to the clipboard (Ctrl + C), and then paste (Ctrl + V) the path into the address bar of the standard explorer.
What problems can arise
Weak computers with old hardware or little free memory can behave horribly during autosave: get stuck, lag, and bother with requests. Even the standard frequency sometimes causes delays, which significantly slows down the work on the document, let alone those cases when Word autosave is done every one or two minutes.
An alternative method used in order not to lose files in case of unexpected failures is to transfer work with documents to the cloud storage. Google Docs, for example, allows you to create online text documents, presentations and spreadsheets with the ability to access them from any computer and share (read or comment) with the permission of the author.
Autosave in Word often gets stuck, and the service from the information giant quickly saves every file improvement, does not slow down and has a laconic design with all the necessary functions. Another alternative is Microsoft Office Online. The online version limits some of the possibilities, but works well in principle.
One wrong move and you are left with nothing. Power outages or system freezes, the most offensive thing is when everything works, Word "and" Application error ... "at the time when you wrote the most important and necessary.
Microsoft has created such a unique opportunity as Autosave... It minimizes the negative consequences of the above force majeure. Let's take a look at how to properly configure this feature.
In the main Microsoft Office menu (button Office in the upper left corner) in the menu Parameters Word - Saving you need to enable command Autosave... In the list Minutes you must specify how often (in minutes) the program should autosave.
Thus, if you set the saving interval to 5 minutes, then the document will be automatically saved every 5 minutes, and if the power goes out 3 minutes after autosave, then the document will be restored in the form it was 3 minutes ago.
In the same menu, you can specify the path to the directory in which the versions of the open document will be stored - Data directory for auto-recovery. The default is C: \ Documents and Settings \ Username \ Application Data \ Microsoft \ Word \.
Now, let's look at the function Document recovery.
If Word was not shut down correctly, and you did not have time to save your data, but you had autosave enabled, then the next time you start Word "a, the application will be automatically launched. Document recovery.
In the field of tasks Document recovery up to 3 versions of the file are displayed, the last one being the topmost one. You have the opportunity to view each of the versions by clicking on it and continue your work in the required version of the document.
The type of source of the version will be indicated in square brackets next to each version. For instance, Original, Autosaved.
- The original is the version of the document at the time it was opened, or saved using the Save button or CTRL + S.
- Autosave is the version of the document that was created during the last autosave.
When you click on each of the versions, it is automatically displayed on the screen, but in addition, for each version there is its own menu in which you can select Save as… and save the version under a different name, or Close if you are sure that this version is out of date.
After completing all operations with document versions, close the task pane Restoration document by clicking on the button Close... All unsaved versions of the document will be automatically deleted.
Backup
In Word, you can configure to create a backup copy every time you save a document. Thus, in case of loss or damage to a file, you will always have the last saved copy of the document. This is the version of the document saved using the Save button or CTRL + S. Therefore, if you deleted the original document and did not save the last changes, then such changes will not be in the backup copy.
To enable the backup option, use the Office button (in the upper left corner) in the Word Options - Advanced menu, in the Save section, check the box next to the Always create a backup copy option.
Backups will be saved in the same place as the original document. The new backup, while saving the original document, replaces the existing backup. This way, you will always have one source file and one backup in your directory. The backup name is assigned automatically and looks like Copy Document_name.wbk. For example, for the original file Plan.doxc, the backup will be Copy of Plan.wbk.
A backup copy is opened, like a regular document, by a double click of the mouse, but to work in it, you need to save it in doxc format using the Save As ... menu item.
Question answer
I have autosave turned on, but it only interferes with my work, what should I do?
If the document is large and / or contains a lot of graphic objects, then the autosave process will take several seconds, during which time Word will freeze. In this case, it is better to set autosave with a long time interval or turn it off altogether, and after making important information or changes to the document, press the Save button or the CTRL + S key combination on your own.
I can't open the panel for recovering files, although autosave is set to every 10 minutes, what should I do?
In this case, autosaved documents can be opened manually. To do this, you need:
I worked with the document all day - I edited it, and in a hurry closed the document I needed without saving !!! : ((((How to get a backup copy from autosave from somewhere or something ???
If the work of Word was completed correctly and at the end of the work you simply refused to save the changes, then no changes to the document were saved, neither in backups (since it is created from a saved version), nor in autosaves (versions are deleted after the document is saved). Better to train yourself to periodically press the Save button or CTRL + S.
Thanks to the useful "Autosave" function, you don't have to worry about an article or a thesis if you accidentally close a Word document. In addition, none of us is immune from a laptop freezing or a power outage - after all, it will not be so at the right time, and all efforts and new text adjustments will be wasted. It is necessary for each user to set up autosave in Word and, in case of an unusual situation, be calm, because the document will be saved automatically.
Enabling and configuring "Autosave" in Word 2007-2016
In each version of Word, the "Autosave" function is enabled automatically. It happens that the interval between auto-saves is too long (as much as 10 minutes), and it is likely that if the laptop's battery runs out, some of the text will not be saved, since the saving was about 8 minutes ago. And everything that you have scribbled in the last minutes or changed will not apply to the document. To avoid such incidental situations, let's start setting up autosave. Below, information will be provided, where it will be clearly shown where the autosave is located in Word (relevant for versions 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2016).
Go to the "File" tab or click on the "MS Word" button in earlier versions and select the "Parameters" section.
In the pop-up new dialog box, click on "Save". In the presented settings in the subsection "Saving documents" put a tick in front of "Autosave every" 10 "minutes". The next important step will be setting the time, you need to set the shortest period between autosaves in 1 minute.
Be sure to save the settings, click on "OK".
After a sudden shutdown of your laptop, you don't have to worry anymore. When you reopen the document, Word will provide a backup copy of the file with all previously made adjustments, which can be saved in a convenient place, for example, on the desktop or disk.
Autosave in Word 2003
In this version, go to the "Service" menu and click on "Options".
In the windows presented, you need to select "Save". Check the box next to autosave, if it is not there, and set the desired interval. It is best to save the document every minute.
Save the settings by clicking on the "OK" button.
Where files are stored after autosave
Open the "Options" section in the "File" tab and select "Save". In this section, you can find out where the documents saved by Word are located, namely their exact address, which is located opposite the line "Default file location".
To quickly move between files, you can adjust the location of documents in the desired place, it can be any folder on your hard drive. Open Word and go to these settings, in the line "Default file location" click on "Browse".
Now, judging by the picture below, we can say that the path for saving documents has changed. This is a desktop and a folder called "Articles Word". Save the changes by clicking on the "OK" button.
Working with documents will become much easier and safer if you set up autosave correctly. Let the word editor Word think about the safety of your articles.
I don't often publish posts about such banal user things, but today I ran into an unpleasant situation when the winword.exe process froze tightly, crashed and did not save the changes in the edited document. I had to urgently deal with the functionality autosave in Microsoft Word 2010 and try to recover the document. I will add my research to the knowledge box in the form of a ready-made manual for recovering unsaved versions of documents in MS Word 2010. In other programs of the MS Office package, autosave works in the same way.
In MS Office 2010 there is an autosave function, which must periodically save copies of the document during the file editing process. If you start Word after a crash, the system should be in the panel Document Recovery display a list of documents that have not been previously saved. By clicking on the document name (contains a label in the name [ Autosaved]), you can open the last auto-generated copy.
If this window does not appear, you need to start Word and in the section File -> Info -> Manage Versions push the button Recover Unsaved Documents.
A dialog box opens with a directory containing copies of unsaved documents of all MS Office applications.
Advice... V Windows XP this is the directory C: \ Documents and Settings \ % username%\ Local Settings \ Application Data \ Microsoft \ Office \ Unsaved Files
V Windows Vista / 7/8/10- C: \ Users \ % username%
Where % username%- your account name.
As you can see, the files have the extension .asd Are Word AutoRecover files. If the document is new and has not been previously saved by the user, its name will look something like this " AutorecoverysaveofDocument1.asd«.
Try to open such a document. If it does not open due to corruption, you can try using the built-in file recovery function ( Open and Repair). Copies of unsaved documents are stored for 4 days, after which they are automatically deleted. Therefore, do not forget to save the recovered document via the menu File -> Save as.
When editing a document, Word saves the current version of the file to its service directory at regular intervals (by default, every 10 minutes). Autosave settings for documents are defined in the section File -> Options -> Save.
The autosave directory is also listed here.
- For XP this is C: \ Documents and Settings \% username% \ Application Data \ Microsoft \ Word
- For Windows 7andabove- C: \ Users \% username% \ AppData \ Roaming \ Microsoft \ Word
Advice... For centralized management of the autosave settings for Word 2010 documents on the user's computers, you can use.
The autosave directory is specified in the parameter AUTOSAVE-PATH(REG_EXPAND_SZ) branches HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Office \ 14.0 \ (Product)\ Options \ AutoRecoverPath
(Product) need to be replaced with Word, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.
File saving frequency: set by the parameter (type REG_DWORD) in the branch HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Policies \ Microsoft \ Office \ 14.0 \ Word \ Options \ vpref
Possible parameter values (in minutes) from 0 to 120
This directory contains autosave files (* .asd), temporary files (* .tmp), and backup files (* .wbk). File names have a service look and are not suitable for navigating document versions, therefore, in order to find a saved version of a document, it makes sense to open files with the date when changes were last made to the document.
Many Microsoft Office users know how important AutoSaves are. Let's consider a situation when you make large documents, type several sheets of text in a Word or do complex calculations in Excel and the program freezes or simply closes for no understandable reason. Or, for example, at your home / at work, the light was turned off and not everyone has a UPS, as a result of which all your work is simply lost. To avoid such situations, it is better to configure autosave before starting work with Microsoft Office. It is quite simple to do this, but even the most inexperienced user can easily set up autosave in a Word or Excel.
How to turn on autosave in Word 2016
And so, in order to enable autosave, you need to start the program and go to the File tab.
In the Word Options window that opens, go to the Saving tab On the right, find the Saving documents item and tick the Autosave every box and select the time interval after which Word documents will be auto-saved. You can also select the format of the document in which it will be saved.
How to enable autosave in Excel 2016
In Excele, you need to follow all the same steps. Also go to the File tab, go to the options, go to the Save item and enable autosave for Excel.
You can set up a different save interval for Word and Excel, say in Word, autosave will occur every 5 minutes, and in Excel 10 it is very convenient.
How to turn off autosaves
If you do not work with large documents and are confident in the performance of your computer, then autosave can be disabled by simply unchecking the checkbox.
Setting the Autosave Folder
You can also configure the folder for autosave. By default, it is located deep in the system and you just can't get to it. Therefore, you can create a folder on the desktop and specify the path to it in the program. To do this, go to the Microsoft Office settings and select it in the Autosave data directory item.
Where to find autosaves
The autosave feature helps you recover data after a crash or error in Microsoft Office products. Therefore, after the correct completion of work with Word or Excel, all saved copies are automatically deleted and, accordingly, it will not be possible to find autosave. But if the Microsoft Office program closed as a result of an error or failure, then you will find auto-save in the folder that you specified in the program.
