How Microsoft AutoSave Works

Created by Christopher Leonard, Modified on Mon, 7 Apr at 10:38 AM by Christopher Leonard

Application – Microsoft Office Products – How AutoSave Works

What Is AutoSave?

Referenced from What is AutoSave? - Microsoft Support

AutoSave, when turned on, essentially “saves as you go” – changes you perform on a file with AutoSave turned on will be saved as you do them (every few seconds).

You can turn on/off AutoSave by using the switch at the upper right. This is visible in Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. AutoSave may be turned on automatically if you are working with a file saved to a location OneDrive or Sharepoint Online is syncing.

The AutoSave Toggle in Office

What Microsoft products does AutoSave work with?

Word

Excel

Powerpoint

Important things to know

When can you use AutoSave?	AutoSave is available when working on a file that is saved to … OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, or SharePoint Online (not on-prem Sharepoint) If you or your facility has OneDrive automatically syncing your Desktop and Documents folders, then AutoSave will be there and possibly automatically turned on when you work from files in those locations.
When SharePoint/OneDrive is not in the mix …	If the file is saved to another location (or if it hasn't been saved at all, yet), then AutoSave is turned off. It may be enabled automatically the next time you open it. If you turn it on when the file is not in the above locations, you will get a OneDrive prompt asking you to sync that file with OneDrive. Going forward you can use AutoSave.
Older documents and certain features …	Older document types (DOC, XLS, PPT as opposed to DOCX, XLSX, and PPTX), and certain features (especially Excel) may cause AutoSave to be unavailable.
AutoSave depends on OneDrive working properly …	Because AutoSave depends on OneDrive, OneDrive must be working properly, and network/Internet access is required for AutoSave to work. OneDrive is usually pretty good about working around occasional network or Internet unavailability. Extended network or Internet outages will prevent syncing that AutoSave requires. You may want to save a copy locally in those situations. If OneDrive sync is paused, AutoSave is paused too.
OneDrive/Sharepoint integration means your file can be shared live.	Any file syncing with OneDrive or Sharepoint Online can be accessed via a web browser. Such files can be shared with and viewed (and even edited if you provide read/write permissions) via a browser. Change you make will sync back to whoever is viewing it, and they will see changes live as you make them.

Using Version History To “Un-AutoSave” Or Revert Changes

This excerpt from What is AutoSave? - Microsoft Support explains:

I didn't want my changes saved. How do I go back?

You can restore a previous version of the file using Version History. 

At the top of the window, click the filename, and then click Version History. Review the dates and times to find the version that you want to restore, and then click Open version. A second window will open showing that version of the file. To roll back to this version, click the Restore button. For more information on version history, see View historical versions of Office files.