Save, back up, and recover a file in Microsoft Office

Excel for Microsoft 365 More…

You can save a file to a folder on your hard disk drive, a network location, the cloud, a DVD, the desktop,
or a flash drive. While you must identify the destination, if it is different than the default folder, the
saving process is the same regardless of what destination you choose. By default, Office programs save
files in the default working folder.

Additionally you can save a file in a different file format, such as RTF, CSV, or PDF.

Saving a file to OneDrive or SharePoint allows you to access it on any device and enables features such
as AutoSave and Version History, which can help prevent data loss if your file closes unexpectedly.

To save your file:

Press CTRL+S or select File > Save.

Tip: You can also select SaveSave icon on the Quick Access Toolbar.

You must enter a name for the file if you are saving it for the first time.

Tip: Save your file to a cloud location, such as OneDrive or SharePoint, to be able to access it anywhere,
collaborate with others in real-time, and access Version History.

Office 365Office 2016 – 2019

By default, if you’re signed in, files are saved to your OneDrive. If you want to save the current file
somewhere else, click the Location drop-down to see additional recently-used locations. If the location
you want isn’t there, you can open the full Save As window by selecting More save options.

The save dialog in Microsoft Excel for Office 365

Tip: If you save your file to OneDrive or SharePoint, AutoSave will be enabled by default, so you don’t
have to remember to save as you go.
If you’d like to change the default location for these saves to one of your other recently-used folders,
select the Location drop-down, right-click the folder location you want to set as the default and select
Set as Default Location.

A screenshot of how to set the default location in Word while saving a new file

If you want to save to a location other than your recently-used folders, select More locations. If you
haven’t received this update yet, your Office applications will continue to use the File menu for saving.

Tips:

You can also press F12 or select File > Save As to open the File menu.

If you’re used to using keyboard shortcuts when closing your document, such as ALT+F4, you can quickly
choose to “Don’t Save” the file by using the keyboard accelerator key for that button (ALT+N).

Save a copy as a new file (Save As)

Tip: If you’re going to create a new file based on an existing file, but only want your changes saved in the
new file, it’s a good idea to Save a Copy before you’ve made any changes. That way your original file will
remain unchanged and all your edits will be in the new copy. You can also right-click the original file and
select Open a copy.

Press F12 or click File > Save a Copy

By default Office will save the copy in the same location as the original. If you’re happy with the existing
location go on to step 3. If you want to save the new copy in a different location choose it at this point.

Location

Description
Sites – [Your Company Name]

SharePoint or Office 365 Groups document libraries

OneDrive – [Your Company Name]

OneDrive for Business

OneDrive – Personal

OneDrive for consumers via your Microsoft account

This PC

Your local device, including any connected hard drives or flash drives

Browse

Opens the File Explorer so you can navigate to any location on your computer.

Give your new copy a name and click Save.

Your original file will be closed and you’ll now be working in the new copy you just created.

Tip: If you find yourself creating new files based on existing files often, you may want to use templates
to make the process easier and safer. See Create a template for more information.

Save as a different format

You might want to save your file in another format so that you, or somebody else, can open the file in a
different program or older version. For example, you might want to save your Word document as a Rich
Text File (RTF) or your Excel workbook as a Comma-Separated Values (CSV) file.

Important: If you save an Office file in a format other than the Open XML format (such as .DOCX, .XLSX,
or .PPTX) some connected experiences and modern features like AutoSave or Accessibility Checker
won’t work on that file.

Click the File tab.

Click Save As.

Choose a file location, such as OneDrive or This PC to store your file.

In the File name box, enter a new name for the file.

In the Save as type list, click the file format that you want to save the file in. For example, click Rich Text
Format (.rtf), Word 97-2003 (.doc), Web Page (.htm or .html), or Comma Delimited (.csv).

Click the file type drop down to select a different file format for your document

For more information about how to save files in PDF (.pdf) or XPS (.xps) formats, see Save or convert to
PDF or XPS.

Click Save.

Back up and recover your files

How you back up and recover your files depends on where and when you saved it. To learn more about
a feature, including which versions of Office support it, select the name of the feature in the table
below.

Recover lost or deleted files

Windows 7
Note: If you’ve recently updated Windows 10 and are having problems finding files, see Find lost files
after the upgrade to Windows 10.

If you can’t find a file on your computer or you accidently modified or deleted a file, you can restore it
from a backup (if you’re using Windows backup) or you can try to restore it from a previous version.
Previous versions are copies of files and folders that Windows automatically saves as part of a restore
point. Previous versions are sometimes referred to as shadow copies.

Restoring files from a backup

To restore a file from a backup, make sure the media or drive that your backup is saved on is available,
and then follow these steps:

To restore files from a backup

Open Backup and Restore by selecting the Start button , selecting Control Panel, selecting System and
Maintenance, and then selecting Backup and Restore.

Select Restore my files, and then follow the steps in the wizard.

Restoring files from previous versions

Restore deleted files and folders or restore a file or folder to a previous state.

To restore a deleted file or folder

Open Computer by selecting the Start button , and then selecting Computer.

Navigate to the folder that used to contain the file or folder, right-click it, and then select Restore
previous versions. If the folder was at the top level of a drive, for example C:\, right-click the drive, and
then select Restore previous versions.
You’ll see a list of available previous versions of the file or folder. The list will include files saved on a
backup (if you are using Windows Backup to back up your files) as well as restore points, if both types
are available.

Note: To restore a previous version of a file or folder that’s included in a library, right-click the file or
folder in the location where it’s saved, rather than in the library. For example, to restore a previous
version of a picture that’s included in the Pictures library but is stored in the My Pictures folder, right-
click the My Pictures folder, and then select Restore previous versions.

Picture of the Previous Versions tab

Some previous versions of files

Double-click a previous version of the folder that contains the file or folder you want to restore. (For
example, if a file was deleted today, choose a version of the folder from yesterday, which should contain
the file.)

Drag the file or folder that you want to restore to another location, such as your desktop or another
folder.

The version of the file or folder is saved to the location that you selected.

Tip: If you don’t remember the exact file or folder name or its location, you can search for it by typing
part of the name in the search box in the Documents library.

To restore a file or folder to a previous state

Right-click the file or folder, and then select Restore previous versions.

You’ll see a list of available previous versions of the file or folder. The list will include files saved on a
backup (if you’re using Windows Backup to back up your files) as well as restore points, if both types are
available.
Picture of the Previous Versions tab

The Previous Versions tab, showing some previous versions of files

Before restoring a previous version of a file or folder, select the previous version, and then click Open to
view it to make sure it’s the version you want.

Note: You can’t open or copy previous versions of files that were created by Windows Backup, but you
can restore them.

To restore a previous version, select the previous version, and then select Restore.

Warning: The file or folder replaces the current version on your computer, and the replacement can’t be
undone.

Note: If the Restore button is unavailable, you can’t restore a previous version of the file or folder to its
original location. You might be able to open it or save it to a different location.