Autosaving as a six-digit number

Question

Why are excel and word files autosaving as a six digit number to a file "tmp.driveupload"

Answer 1

Where are you storing these files? On a network folder? Or are you using OneDrive?

Generally, Word creates several temporary files as you work with a document. Up until recently, the Microsoft site offered some documentation on how these files are created and used; however, they now seem to have retired that content.

Answer 2

Excel and Word use temporary files and random file names as part of their normal save and AutoSave mechanisms. The six‑digit (or similar random) numbers and the tmp.driveupload location indicate that the apps are writing to a temporary working area rather than directly to the final document name.

For Excel:

• When saving, Excel writes the entire workbook to a randomly named temporary file in the destination folder.
• After the write completes, Excel deletes the original file and renames the temporary file to the real file name.
• If this process is interrupted (for example, by antivirus, sync tools, or permission issues), the temporary file can remain visible with a random name instead of being renamed.

For Word:

• Word also saves to temporary files first, then deletes the previous version and renames the temporary file to the original name.
• Temporary files may be created in the same folder as the document or in a temp directory, and can appear with random names while Word is working.
• These temporary files act as a safety net for data integrity and to free memory.

The tmp.driveupload folder or path is likely used by a sync or cloud‑storage component (for example, a drive upload or sync process) that stages uploads using temporary names. When Office saves, it writes to a temp file; the sync client then also stages that file in its own temp location. If the process completes normally, the file is renamed to the correct document name and the temp artifacts are removed. If it is interrupted, the numbered temp files can remain.

To reduce visible temp/numbered files:

1. Ensure stable connectivity and allow saves/uploads to complete before closing apps or shutting down.
2. Check antivirus or other tools that may lock files during save, as they can disrupt the rename step.
3. Verify that the account has full Modify and Delete permissions on the folders being used; if Excel or Word cannot delete or rename the temp file, the random‑named file will remain.
4. If using cloud sync, confirm that the sync client is healthy and up to date.

The presence of these six‑digit temp files is a side effect of how Office protects data during saves; they are normally transient and safe to ignore or delete once the real document is safely saved and closed.

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References:

• Troubleshoot why Excel doesn't save changes
• You may receive a "Your changes could not be saved" error message when you try to save a file to a network drive in Excel
• Description of how Word creates temporary files
• What is AutoSave?