Save changes to excel file

Question

I am using Microsoft® Excel® for Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2412 Build 16.0.18324.20092) 64-bit on Windows 11.

I have tried multiple suggestions in Community but no luck so far. One problem I can't get around is selecting save as. I only have Make a Copy on file tab or the save icon in toolbar. I realize if I turn off autosave I can save as but then same problem with not being saved. I'm sure there is some easy solution to this. I keep forgetting to save as PDF before closing which is the only way I see to be able to see a sheet with changes.

I have tried with both auto save on or off and no change even if save a copy. I did try copy and paste to new sheet and that does seem to work but think there must be an easier way.

Fred

Answer 1

Hi Fred,

I went through your post carefully and I spent some time on simulating some tests for your concern where it seems like the behavior you described are all by default since I can reproduce the exact same result when opening an online workbook from Excel desktop app. To make sure I can share with you clearer, I recorded two GIFs for you but due to the community upload limit, the quality might be low.

• First one, we can see this is an online workbook as the AutoSave is on, and there has a syncing status icon near the Save button on top bar. And only have Save a Copy on left File bar.
• Second one, it shows when I made some changes and I manually clicked the Save button, when I close the workbook and reopen it, the changes have been saved correctly. If you made lots of changes, you can monitor the Saving status finished as showing Saved before close the workbook for double safety.

As you can see, when I opened a OneDrive workbook, it indeed only shows the Save a Copy option on left bar. However, since the AutoSave feature is turned on for any OneDrive file, by default, user can edit as they want, and the changes will be automatically saved. So on the second GIF you can see, when I open the edited workbook again, the changes I made have been already saved. For some details, you may check this official article where it describes the details more clearly: What is AutoSave? - Microsoft Support

Hence, if I understand your concern correctly, I believe your demand is to make sure that the changes you made can be saved successfully to the original version of the workbook in case any possible data loss. If so, then I think you no need to worry about this and simply click on the Save button on top and close the workbook after the Saving process finished.

However, if the issue happening on your side is that the changes are not really get saved, then please come back to me and I will provide you some related suggestions regarding to the sync failure issue of AutoSave files. You may confirm by creating a new workbook saved to OneDrive and see if the changes can be saved/synced correctly like the test I made for you above, which will help to confirm if the issue is only happening on a specific file.

Please correct me if I made any misunderstanding or if there have anything else I can do for you.

Your patience is highly appreciated. Hope you a nice day and stay safe!

Best Regards,

Mia

Answer 2

Hi,

I have never used OneDrive and save files either to my desktop or a client file folder and linked to my contact app, GoldMine. Whenever a new Excel or Word file is opened, it requests whether to link to a contact or not. I know this isn't possible but sometimes file contents are saved and others not. I have tried using the default save but cannot find them after saving. Files in OneDrive might not be linked in my contact management app?

Fred

Answer 3

Hi Fred,

You can check whether a workbook is saved to your OneDrive or local drive by clicking on the file name when it's opened in Excel. And as you mentioned you usually get forced with some automatic windows to request link to some 3-rd party apps. To confirm what is causing the files sometime get saved correctly while sometimes not, you can create a brand-new workbook from Excel app and then manually save it to Desktop location to check the result.

I appreciate your understanding that sometimes initial suggestions may not solve the problem very soon. However, we can work together to reduce and resolve the situation. Therefore, please be patience and provide more screenshots back with me so that we can continue working.

Please correct me if I made any misunderstanding and I will be here waiting for your updates to offer any further support.

Appreciate your time and patience. Hope you a nice day and stay safe!

Best Regards,

Mia