Autosave, Save As and Save a Copy

Introduction

AutoSave is enabled when a file is stored on OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, or SharePoint Online. It automatically saves your changes to the cloud as you're working. And, if other people are working on the same file, AutoSave lets them see changes in a matter of seconds.  

You can see the AutoSave status in the top left corner of an Office document:

The File > Save As option (accessed by the F12 hotkey) has been phased out, this legacy screen has been replaced by the File > Save a Copy feature.

Important: Do you use File > Save As after making changes to an original document or template? If so, we recommend using File > Save a Copy before making your changes. That way AutoSave won't overwrite the original file with the changes. If AutoSave did overwrite the file with your changes, see the section below, "I didn't want my changes saved, how do I go back?"

I didn't want my changes saved, how can I go back?

At the top of the window, click the filename, and then click Version History. Review the dates and times to find the version that you want to restore, and then click Open version. A second window will open showing that version of the file. To roll back to this version, click the Restore button. 

What if I want to do some quick “what if” changes that I don’t want others to see?

The easy way is to turn the AutoSave switch off before you make your changes. If the changes are meant to be temporary and not saved, close the file. Then click No when you are asked to save. If you decide you do want to save the changes, just turn AutoSave back on.

Changing Workflows

AutoSave is helpful in most scenarios, but there a few cases where you might need to change how you normally work. For each of the scenarios, we have outlined what the scenario is, what may go wrong and a recommendation for how to resolve it.

Starting from an existing file, making edits and then doing a Save a Copy to a new file - Anyone who starts from a previous file (for example last quarter's earnings report), edits, and then does a Save a Copy to start this quarter's earnings report will cause the changes to be saved in both files if AutoSave is on. We recommend that everyone do the Save a Copy before making any changes and have even added a reminder in the product when this happens. If a user makes accidental changes, they should use the Version History feature to restore the original document. 

Performing "hypothetical" or "what-if" changes to a file - Anyone who opens a file and does some hypothetical analysis (such as forecasting the impact of market changes on the budget) with the desire to close the file without saving will have inadvertently saved all the changes to the file while AutoSave is on. We recommend turning off AutoSave while doing the hypothetical analysis and then turning it back on once the user is ready to save again.

Dashboards and Viewing Files with Sorts/Filters in Excel - Anyone who sorts or filters a dashboard while AutoSave is on will affect the view of everyone else in the file. If a file is meant to be a dashboard or used by multiple people with sorts and filters, we recommend setting the Read-Only Recommended property on that file using File > Info > Protect Workbook > Always Open Read-Only, so viewers of the dashboard won't save their changes unless they explicitly choose to edit the file.

Finalized or Published Files - Anyone who accidentally edits a finalized, published file with AutoSave on will save their changes to the file. Once a file has been finalized, we recommend setting the Read-Only Recommended property or Mark as Final property on the file, so accidental edits from viewers and readers of the file won't be saved.

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