Microsoft Office 365 Save Options
Have you noticed that when working in an Office 365 file sometimes you see a
Save icon at the upper-left with a new
AutoSave slider, but sometimes you don't? And if you see the
AutoSave slider, sometimes it's set to
"On", but you might have also seen it
"Off" by default? When you go to
File on the menu do your
Save options sometimes also appear to change?
Microsoft has changed their file Save behavior to take advantage of the OneDrive for Business Cloud automatic sync feature.
Your Microsoft Office 365
Save options depend on:
-
where an Office 365 file is stored, and,
-
how you access an Office 365 file.
About AutoSave - Changing how you work
Office 365
AutoSave will automatically update changes to a file within seconds of being edited. Because of this, AutoSave is an incredibly useful feature saving your work regularly. AutoSave is particularly useful for same-time collaboration allowing all collaborators to see each other's edits in real time.
As useful as
AutoSave is, for some workflows we will need to
change how we work in order to retain the integrity of the original file.
If your past process was to open and edit a file, then save your changes as a new file, or maybe edit then close the file without saving to preserve the original, your original file will now be overwritten because AutoSave automatically saves changes every few seconds.
Do these things differently to prevent overwriting your original files:
-
Old Process: You typically open an existing file such as a budget, a contract, c then edit only what you need, finally saving a copy well after edits have been made.
Do this instead: Before editing, go to
File and select
Save a Copy. Save the file with a new name. Then begin editing the copy.
OR
Set the file to
Read-Only to prevent changes from saving until you en-enable editing. Go to File >
Info >
Protect file >
Always Open Read-Only.
Do this instead: Set the file to
Read-Only to prevent changes from saving. Go to File > Info > Protect file > Always Open Read-Only. Users have an option to enable editing. Provide instructions to users not to edit the original and instead to save their own copy by going to
File > Save As.
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