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Similar steps apply for MS Excel and MS PowerPoint. Step 1: Click on the Office Button placed on the top left of the interface and navigate to Word Options (or Excel Options Note: Check out the section for Save documents and the options under it. You may change the save format and the location.
Microsoft Word allows you to make an automaticbackup of your working document. If the program crashes or yourcomputer accidentally loses power, the AutoRecover feature willattempt to load the most up-to-date version of your document.
Note: AutoRecover is not a replacement for savingyour document frequently, which is the only guaranteed way ofretaining a valid copy of your work.
- Enabling and using AutoRecover
- Changing the defaultAutoRecover folder
Enabling and using AutoRecover
To turn on the AutoRecover feature:
- In Word 2010, from the File menu, selectOptions. Then, from the toolbar on the left, clickSave to configure AutoRecover options. Proceed to step 3below.In Word 2007, from the Office Button menu, selectWord Options. Then, from the toolbar on the left, clickSave to configure AutoRecover options.In Word 2003, from the Tools menu, selectOptions....In Mac OS X versions of Word, from theWord menu, select Preferences....
- In the window that opens, click the Save tab, icon, orlist item.
- If it is unchecked, check Save AutoRecover infoevery:, and type a value next to 'minutes'. For example, tosave your work every five minutes, type
5
. - Click OK to make the change.
If a system or program crash causes your computer to shut down, reboot and open Word normally. Word should recognize that there is anAutoRecovered file that is newer than the last saved version of yourdocument. It will prompt you to open and save the AutoRecovered file.
If the AutoRecover function does not prompt you to open the backupfile, you may still be able to recover your work. Search your harddrive for a file called
AutoRecovery
or*.asd
. In Windows, for help searching your hard drive,see ARCHIVED: In Windows, how do I locate a file if I know itsname or its contents? Then follow the appropriate instructions below.Finding AutoRecovered files in Windows
Note: The folders containing the AutoRecoveredfiles may not be visible. To make them visible, see ARCHIVED: In Windows, how do I view hidden files?
Word for Windows saves AutoRecovered files with the name
AutoRecovery Save of filename.asd
, wherefilename
is the name of the document on which you wereworking:- In Windows 7 and Vista, the file is storedin the
UsersusernameAppDataRoamingMicrosoftWord
folder (username
will be replaced by the author'susername). - In Windows XP, the file is stored in the
Documents and SettingsusernameApplicationDataMicrosoftWord
folder (username
will bereplaced by the author's username).
When you find the file, double-click to open it. Alternatively, fromWord's File menu, choose Open... and browse tothe location of the file.
Finding AutoRecovered files in Mac OS X
Word for Mac OS X saves the AutoRecovered file as
AutoRecoversave of filename
, where filename
is the name ofthe document on which you were working. The default AutoRecoverlocation is:Replace
username
with the short name of your account inMac OS X, Office version
with the version of Office youhave, and filename
with the name of the document. Ifit's not there, try searching for it with Spotlight, which you canaccess from the magnifying glass icon in the top right of theFinder menu bar. Once you find the file, drag it to theDesktop. Double-click it, or, from Word's File menu, chooseOpen... to browse to and open the file.Changing the default AutoRecover folder
To change the folder in which AutoRecovered files are stored:
Word 2010 and 2007
- In Word 2010, from the File menu, chooseOptions.In Word 2007, from the Office Button menu, selectWord Options.
- From the toolbar on the left, click Save, which willpresent you with options to customize how documents are saved.
- Next to AutoRecover file location:, clickBrowse to choose the folder where you want Word to save yourAutoRecovered files.
- Click OK.
Other versions of Word
- In Word 2003, from the Tools menu, selectOptions.... In Mac OS X versions of Word, from theWord menu, select Preferences....
- In the window that opens, click File Locations.
- Under 'File types', choose AutoRecover files and clickModify....
- Choose the folder where you want Word to save your AutoRecoveredfiles. Click OK orChoose.
- Click Close or OK.
Here’s a very basic tip about Word, Excel and Powerpoint.
You already know the basic concept. When you’ve prepared something that you might re-use, you can save it as a template. Click File / Save As / Save as type / Word Template (*.dotx).
When you create a new file from a template, the Office programs make a copy of the template for you to work on. You’ll be prompted to save the edited file with a new name, and the template won’t be changed.
It turns out things have changed between Office 2010 and Office 2013. Two questions have different answers:
– Where are the templates saved?
– How do you use the templates that you’ve saved?
File location of Custom Templates
When you click on File / Save As / Word Template (or Excel or Powerpoint), the program should automatically change to the correct location for custom templates. Make sure this is where your templates are saved!
Office 2010
C: Users [UserName] AppData Roaming Microsoft Templates
Note: AppData is a hidden folder. If you need to find it manually, you can get to it by browsing to C: Users [UserName] and typing in Appdata after the user name in the address bar.
Office 2013
C: Users [UserName] Documents Custom Office Templates
If you upgrade to Office 2013 and your custom templates are not moved automatically, Microsoft has a FixIt that will move them to the right place.
Templates are not synced by Windows 8 automatically if you’re using multiple Windows 8 computers, but it’s easy to sync them with Skydrive.
If you’re a Skydrive user, create a Skydrive folder named Templates, then manually set it as the location for custom templates in each Office program on each computer. The setting is under File / Options / Save / Default personal templates location.
Using Custom Templates
When you click on File / New, you’ll see a selection of online templates instead of custom templates that you have created.
In Office 2010, click on My Templates to see the custom templates stored in the default location.
In Office 2013, after you have created a custom template, you will see a new option for Personal when you click on File / New.
Templates are powerful! If you’re not using them yet, it might be the next thing to learn about Microsoft Office. Lynda.com has a tutorial about Word templates that quickly dives very deep, but the first fifteen minutes would bring you up to speed on the basics.