Troubleshoot saving documents

Saving documents in Microsoft Word format

I saved a document, but my changes disappeared.

• I opened the document over a network   If a document is stored on a network server, and you save it by clicking Exit on the File menu, and then responding to the message to save your changes, you might have saved a copy of the document on your hard disk. When you reopen the document over the network, you won't see your changes because they're only saved in the copy on your hard disk. To avoid saving your changes to a document stored on a network server in a separate copy of the document, use the Save command (File menu) before you quit Word.

• I saved changes by using AutoRecover, and I don't see them in the recovery file   AutoRecover might not yet have saved your changes to the recovery file before Word unexpectedly shut down. The amount of new information that the recovery file contains depends on how frequently Word saves the recovery file. For example, if the recovery file is saved only every 15 minutes, up to 15 minutes of work can be lost if a power failure or similar problem occurs. To change the AutoRecover save interval, enter a number in the minutes box on the Save tab (Tools menu, Options command).

When I try to save a document, I get a message that my file is too large.

• If a document is too large to save, you can divide it into smaller parts. Cut part of the document and paste it into a new document, and then save each part individually. To print the files in sequence, use INCLUDETEXT fields to connect the documents.
• Convert the document into a master document, and save its components as individual subdocuments.

When I try to save changes to a document, I get a message saying the document is read-only.

You can't make changes to a read-only document. To save changes, you need to save the document with a new name. You can use the same name if you save the document in a new or different folder.

Saving documents in other file formats

The file format I want to save a document in does not appear in the Save As Type box.

• Make sure the file format you want is included with Microsoft Word.
• You or your administrator might have chosen to not install the converter on your computer. If the file format is included with Word, you can install the converter you need.
• You can save a Word document with a different file name extension (for example, your initials).

When I saved a document as text with layout, tabs in my table disappeared.

When you save a document in Text with Layout format or MS-DOS Text with Layout format, right-aligned tab stops in tables might be replaced with spaces. To preserve the table layout when you save a document in one of these formats, avoid using right-aligned tab stops in tables.

When I saved a document in Rich Text Format (RTF), my bitmap icon disappeared.

When you insert a bitmap into a Word document as a linked file and display it as an icon, and then save the document in Rich Text Format (RTF), the bitmap itself is displayed instead of the icon. To make sure the bitmap is displayed as an icon in the RTF version of the document, select the Display as icon check box and clear the Link to file check box (on the Insert menu, click Object, and then click Create from File).

Recovering unsaved changes with AutoRecover

I turned on the AutoRecover feature before I lost my document, but I can't save or open the recovery file.

1. Start Word.
2. Click Open .
3. Locate the folder that contains your recovery files (usually the Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Word folder or the Windows\Profiles\username\Application Data\Microsoft\Word folder).
4. In the Files of type box, click All Files.

   Each recovery file is named "AutoRecovery save of file name" and has the file name extension .asd.

5. Open the recovery file.
6. Click Save .
7. In the File name box, type or select the file name of the existing document.
8. When you see a message asking whether you want to replace the existing document, click Yes.

   Any recovery files that have not been saved are deleted when you quit Word.

Tip

You can quickly find documents that were automatically recovered by using the Find dialog box (in the Open dialog box, click Tools, and then click Find). Use the File name property, and type AutoRecovery*.* in the Value box.

The recovery file doesn't contain my changes.

The amount of new information that the recovery file contains depends on how frequently Word saves the recovery file. For example, if the recovery file is saved only every 15 minutes, then up to 15 minutes of work can be lost if a power failure or similar problem occurs. To change the AutoRecover save interval, enter a number in the minutes box on the Save tab in the Options dialog box (Tools menu).

I used the AutoRecover feature, but I can't find my recovery file.

• You might need to open the recovery file yourself   When the AutoRecover feature is turned on, Word typically opens recovery files when you restart Word after a power failure or similar problem. If for some reason Word did not open the recovery file, you can open it. By default, the recovery file is located in the Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Word folder or the Windows\Profiles\username\Application Data\Microsoft\Word folder. If you changed the location for recovery files, check the new location on the File Locations tab (Tools menu, Options command).

• Word might not have created the recovery file yet   By default, the recovery file is created 10 minutes after you open the document. If Word or your computer stops responding before the recovery file is created, you cannot automatically recover your changes. To have AutoRecover save your changes more frequently, you can change the interval at which the recovery file is saved.

• You might have closed the recovery file without saving it   When you close a recovery file without saving it, the recovery file is deleted. There is no way to recover unsaved changes after the recovery file has been closed.

• You might have deleted the recovery file   Recovery files have an .asd extension. If you delete the recovery file, you cannot automatically recover your changes.

• The document might be a master document   Word can create recovery files for individual subdocuments, but it cannot create a recovery file for a master document.

• Were you using the Visual Basic Editor to change a macro?   AutoRecover creates a recovery file only for a document that has been modified during the current session. If your only changes are in the Microsoft Visual Basic Editor while you have a document open in Word, Word cannot recognize that the document has been modified. To have Word create a recovery file that includes changes to macros edited in Visual Basic Editor, make a change in the Word document itself (for example, add and delete a paragraph return).

Naming documents

When I save a document, the file is saved with an additional file name extension.

When you save a document with a file name extension other than the default extension for that file type, Word adds the default extension to your file name ù for example, a Word document file name may appear as Budget.abc.doc. To save a document with an extension other than the default extension for that file type, you must enclose the entire file name in quotation marks ù for example, "Budget.abc".

The file I saved contains two periods in the file name.

When you save a document with a file name that ends with a period ù for example, Sales. ù Word adds a period and the default file name extension to your file name. For example, a Word document file name may appear as Sales..doc. This occurs because in Microsoft Windows 95, file names can contain some punctuation characters, such as a period or comma. To save a document with the default extension for that file type, do not type the period following the file name. The period is automatically added when you save the file.

The extension is necessary for identifying the file type and which program should be used to open the file.

When I save a document, I get a "same name" error.

Word might be performing an automatic background save. When the Allow background saves check box is selected (Tools menu, Options dialog box, Save tab) and you try to save a long document while Word is performing an automatic background save, Word uses the same file name for both save operations. Wait until the background save is complete, and then save the document. (When Word performs an automatic background save, a pulsing disk icon appears on the status bar.)