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enablecloudonlysaveasmode causes Problems in Excel when saving

Ingo Korte 5 Reputation points
2026-06-08T11:40:33.5733333+00:00

Hi,

we wanted to use the "enablecloudonlysaveasmode" policy to force our users to save their data only in OneDrive/Sharepoint Locations instead of local drives.

Unfortunatly this isn't working properly. Every Microsoft App is working fine except Excel.

If "save as" is used and One Drive oder a Teams Share is chosen and save is clicked, nothing happens. The file is still named book1 and is not saved!

If you just trigger "Automatic Save" he dialog to save appears with the message "Something went wrong and we couldn't upload your document." (translated from German "Leider hindert uns etwas am Hochladen Ihres Dokuments.", I don't know the real message in english).

The only way to save the file is to use the Quicksave Button (Floppydisk; "Save"; CTRL-S) and choose one of the already shown shares. Even if you try to choose "other Locations" at this point you end up with the same error if "automatic save" is used.

We had to disable this policy because Microsoft Support does not provide any help since we repported this issue 3 Month ago.

Has anyone solved this problem?

kind regards,

Ingo

Moved from: Microsoft 365 and Office | Excel | For business | Windows

Microsoft Security | Intune | Other
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  2. AI answer

    2026-06-08T11:40:54.5133333+00:00

    The described behavior is not covered directly in the provided documentation, but there are a few supported configurations and limitations around saving and AutoSave that can be used to work around or narrow down the issue.

    1. Verify that AutoSave and cloud saving work without the policy
      • Confirm that Excel files can be saved and AutoSave works correctly to OneDrive/SharePoint when enablecloudonlysaveasmode is disabled. This validates that the issue is tied to the policy and not to OneDrive/SharePoint, sync, or Excel itself.
    2. Ensure Office and OneDrive are fully updated
      • Several saving and AutoSave issues with OneDrive/SharePoint have been fixed by Office updates. For example, issues where:
        • Large files failed to save with Files On-Demand enabled.
        • AutoSave was disabled or greyed out for OneDrive/SharePoint locations.
      • Install the latest Office updates by opening any Office app and using File > Account > Update Options > Update Now.
      • If Files On-Demand is enabled, confirm that the known issue described in OneDrive documentation is resolved by being on a fixed build.
    3. Confirm that AutoSave prerequisites are met
      • AutoSave is only enabled when:
        • The file is saved to OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, or SharePoint Online.
        • The file is opened from the File > Open cloud location (not just a local sync folder in some macOS scenarios; similar principles apply on Windows).
      • AutoSave will be disabled or behave unexpectedly if:
        • The file is in an older format (.xls, .doc, .ppt).
        • The file is in a local OneDrive folder while sync is paused.
        • The workbook uses features that block AutoSave (e.g., Shared Workbook feature, password encryption, restricted access).
      • For Excel, remove blocking features where possible (Shared Workbook, encryption, restricted access) and test again.
    4. Test saving via different entry points
      • Since Save As from Excel’s UI fails while Save (Ctrl+S) to an existing cloud location works, test these paths explicitly:
        • File > Save As to a OneDrive/SharePoint location.
        • File > Save a Copy (if available) to the same location.
        • Open the same library in a browser and upload the locally saved file (this is the documented workaround for some property-related save issues).
      • If saving via browser upload works consistently, this indicates the Excel–cloud integration path is where the policy is interfering.
    5. Check for property-related save limitations
      • For some SharePoint/OneDrive libraries, Excel and PowerPoint cannot save directly if required lookup properties are present. In that case, the documented behavior is:
        • Saving via Save As to SharePoint/OneDrive fails with a property error.
        • Workaround: save to a local device, then upload via SharePoint web UI so the property can be set.
      • If the affected libraries use required lookup columns, test saving first to a local folder, then uploading via the browser to confirm whether this limitation is involved.
    6. Consider using supported alternatives to enforce cloud-first saving
      • Instead of relying solely on enablecloudonlysaveasmode, combine these supported options:
        • Use Group Policy to influence the save experience and hide local/cloud locations as needed:
          • Hide File Locations When Opening or Saving Files under User Configuration\Policies\Administrative Templates\Microsoft Office 2016\Miscellaneous.
          • Block Signing Into Office (set to "None Allowed" forces the old dialog, but this also removes cloud sign-in, so use with care).
        • Use the registry key to default to local or cloud as appropriate:
          • HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Common\General\PreferCloudSaveLocations (set to 0 to enable Save to Computer by default if the goal is the opposite behavior, or leave it at default to prefer cloud).
      • For users who still need local saving in limited cases, rely on Save As (legacy dialog via F12 or Quick Access Toolbar) while keeping the default save experience pointed at cloud locations.
    7. Narrow the scope and collect repro details for escalation
      • Since this appears to be Excel-specific under this policy, test with:
        • A new profile and a clean test machine.
        • A single test user and a single test library with no custom columns.
      • Capture:
        • Exact Excel version/build.
        • Whether Files On-Demand is enabled.
        • Whether the library has required columns (especially lookup columns).
      • Use these details when re-opening or escalating the support case so it can be compared against known save/AutoSave issues.

    Because the provided documentation does not describe enablecloudonlysaveasmode directly, the most reliable path is to:

    • Ensure all known OneDrive/SharePoint save and AutoSave issues are ruled out by updating Office.
    • Avoid libraries with required lookup properties for direct Excel saving.
    • Use the documented save-experience controls (GPO and registry) to approximate “cloud-only” behavior until Microsoft provides a fix or updated guidance for this policy.

    References:

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